The J-160E was Gibson's second attempt at creating an acoustic-electric guitar (the first being the small-body CF-100E[2]). The basic concept behind the guitar was to fit a single-pickup into a normal-size dreadnought acoustic guitar. The J-160E used plywood for most of the guitar's body, and was ladder-braced, whereas other acoustic Gibsons were X-braced. The rosewood fingerboard had trapezoid inlays, and the guitar had an adjustable bridge. For amplification, a single-coil pickup (an uncovered P-90 pickup)[1] was installed under the top of the body with the pole screws protruding through the top at the end of the fingerboard, with a volume and a tone knob.
John Lennon and George Harrison frequently used one with The Beatles, both on-stage and in the studio. Gibson produces a standard J-160E and a John Lennon J-160E Peace model, based on the J-160E he used during the Bed-In days of 1969. Epiphone makes an EJ-160E John Lennon replica signature model.
"The 70th Anniversary John Lennon J-160E is built in the exacting image of the groundbreaking original J-160E of the 1950s and '60s. ... Gibson applied a great deal of forward-looking, out-of-the-box thinking to the design of the J-160E in 1954. ... To build one of the world's first truly successful electro-acoustic guitars, Gibson re-drew the blueprint: it crafted a three-layer laminated Sitka spruce top with ladder bracing specifically to resist feedback, used a mahogany back and sides for added warmth and richness, added an adjustable bridge, and installed a P-90 pickup (without traditional cover) beneath the top at the end of the fingerboard, along with a single volume and tone control and a 1/4" output jack. In addition, the guitar's solid mahogany neck was attached at the 15th fret to give performers plenty of access to the highest of the instrument's jumbo frets."
^Duchossoir, A. R. (1998). "CF-100E". Gibson Electrics – The Classic Years. Musical Instruments Series. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 165. ISBN978-0-7935-9210-4.
"As implied by its designation, the CF-100E is the electric version of the CF-100 Florentine cutaway acoustic introduced by Gibson in 1950. First marketed in 1951, the model was discontinued in 1959 owing to its flagging sales. ... / NECK • 24 3/4" scale length ... • 19-fret bound rosewood fingerboard ... / Structurally, the CF-100E was a fancier off-shoot of the traditional LG series built with a sharp Florentine cutaway. The main evolution during the 50s was the inception of a 20-fret fingerboard in 1955. / SHIPPING TOTALS – A total of 1,257 CF-100Es were shipped between 1951 and 1959 with a peak of 250 instruments in 1952."
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