Gibson J-185 Century 12-Fret Vintage Amber

The Gibson J-185 may not be as well-known as some of its stablemates, such as the J-45™, SJ-200™, and Hummingbird™, but among guitarists in the know, it is one of the most beloved acoustic guitars in Gibson history. First introduced in 1951, the body was based on the famous Gibson 1920s-era L-5 models, and has the same basic shape and size. It is also similarly shaped, although slightly smaller than the SJ-200, with the shorter 24.75” scale length found on the J-45 and Hummingbird, giving it a distinctive tonality all its own. 

Gibson now proudly releases a new take on this classic design: The J-185 Century 12 Fret. It retains many of the classic features that players love about the J-185, but features a 12-fret neck-to-body joint instead of the standard 14-fret joint. Why is this important? With a 12-fret neck joint, the neck is shorter and the position of the bridge plate is relocated, which places it further from the body’s waist and closer to the center of the widest area of the body, where it can drive the top more efficiently, making the guitar more comfortable to hold and play and resulting in a tone that is warm, punchy, and resonant and that responds ideally to the dynamics of fingerstyle players and players with a lighter picking attack. 

J-185 models of any type are relatively rare, let alone versions with a 12-fret neck. Now, the beautiful tone of a 12-fret neck is available to all in the form of the Gibson J-185 Century 12-Fret. Part of the new Century Collection celebrating 100 Years of Gibson Flat-Tops, it features a mahogany body with a Sitka spruce top, with single ply cream top and back binding framing the body’s perimeter. 

The mahogany neck has a fast-playing SlimTaper™ 12-Fret profile and attaches to the body at the 12th fret with a compound dovetail neck-to-body joint that is fastened with hot hide glue, just like all of the Gibson acoustic models. The bound rosewood fretboard is equipped with 19 standard frets and adorned with simple mother-of-pearl dot inlays. 

The headstock is outfitted with open-back Golden Age strap tuners with cream buttons and features an early-1900s Gibson script logo decal for a vintage-inspired touch. Another vintage-inspired detail is the sloped rectangle closed-slot rosewood bridge, which is similar to those found on early J-45 models. The nut and saddle of the J-185 Century 12-Fret are bone, while the bridge pins are TUSQ®. The J-185 Century 12-Fret features a Gibson oval teardrop pickguard and a hand-sprayed satin nitrocellulose lacquer finish in your choice of Vintage Amber, Vintage Sunburst, or Ebony. It comes packed in a premium Century Collection tweed hardshell case and is available in both right and left-handed versions. Pick up a J-185 Century 12-Fret today and experience the sweet tone of a 12-fret neck Gibson jumbo acoustic for yourself.