For today’s Guitar of the Day, we turn to an instrument that both Beatles guitarists, John and George, used extensively over the years on almost all their albums, as well as on stage during their sold-out world tours. More accurately, it’s an affordable recreation of the Gibson J-160E that John Lennon owned: It’s officially dubbed the Epiphone John Lennon EJ-160E and it’s Sweetwater priced at just $499.97! Miked up, you get the glossy acoustic guitar sound heard on such Beatles hits as “And I Love Her,” “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “All My Lovin,'” “I’ll Be Back,” and dozens more. Plug into a Vox AC30 (or a similarly “chimey” amp) and you have Lennon’s live acoustic sound thanks to the built-in mini-humbucking neck pickup. Word is, George and John regularly swapped out their respective J-160Es, as they were purchased at the same time and were therefore hard to tell apart.
This acoustic has the classic dreadnought design, so it projects well and has a nicely balanced tone thanks to its solid spruce top along with real mahogany back and sides. The guitar also has a solid mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard and those trademark Gibson trapezoid inlays (just like the ones on a Les Paul). Speaking of the neck, it has the chunky, rounded profile so emblematic of late 1950s Gibsons, though it’s quite easy to play because the action is set low. While The Beatles were not the first band to use acoustic guitars in a modern rock setting, they certainly proved conclusively that almost any well-crafted song benefits from the addition of an acoustic, not just ballads. Today we take that for granted, but it took four lads from Liverpool (with a little help from producer George Martin) to lead the way. Like almost every guitar in our warehouse, this one includes free shipping right to your door via FedEx!
