Gibson Acoustic 1957 SJ-200 Acoustic Guitar - Vintage Sunburst VOS Reviews

Definitely the best of the best of the SJ-200 line. The tone is off the charts and the playability is outstanding. The sunburst with the gorgeous flaming is out of this world, and the vintage finish makes it one of my new favorites.

There are a number of models available for the SJ200 and in my opinion the 1957 combines the best features of all.
The aged top gives it a head start on a great tone, the shape of the neck is by far the best in my opinion and the burst finish and flamed back and sides look amazing !
Of course these kind of appointments don't come cheap ! But after a couple of strums on this beauty, my wife told Greg Baum our sales engineer... "You need to get the case for that one" She's a real keeper !! So's the wife ! LOL
I highly recommend The 1957 SJ200, it truly is "King if the Flat Tops

This is an update to my last review. I had difficulty with a bad stock saddle, and I requested and received a replacement from Gibson, but that was virtually identical to the saddle that didn't work for me, so I've tried numerous aftermarket and hand shaped saddles, and I've settled on the Graph-Tech Black Tusq (Stringsaver) model PS-9000-00 replacement saddle, although it requires shortening on both ends to maintain the radius and fit the saddle slot, and flat sanding on the body of the saddle as the slot is very narrow. This saddle provides a good upward string bend from the bridge pins and is perhaps the perfect low/medium action height as is. It should not require shimming unless one likes a higher action or a hard bluegrass strum. As to strings, I've dropped the 13s in favor of Martin 11s from the Flexicore series, and surprisingly, despite the much easier play, I'm getting better note separation and just as much thump as I had with the heavier strings. However, on this guitar the strings could be just a bit higher in tension, and I think Thomastik Infeld Spectrum series 11s or even 10s may increase the tension just enough. I still prefer the playabilty of my Martin guitars with their 1 3/4 and 1 13/16 inch nut widths, but one gets used to the narrower nut width of the Gibson, and there's just something about this guitar that makes you feel it's worth the effort and time to sort it out. On another note, I've been using Humidipaks in the case and they seem to last a very long time. Haven't had to replace the first of them yet!

Part 1 (2 part review) - This is a difficult review for me, because Gibson's SJ-200 is one of those storied guitars that almost every player aspires to own. Most find the guitar beautiful, with its inlaid fretboard and mustache bridge. Even the pickguard looks good when you see it in person. However, beauty is only skin deep and the 1957 SJ-200 had enough issues for me that I considered returning the guitar, but then, the positives convinced me to keep it.
The tone, the VOICE of the guitar is quite good, with nice thump, but the guitar is not as loud as I had expected.
The top's finish, as advertised, is more of a satin and not heavy at all. I like it as I value sound quality more than flashiness, and it is a beautiful guitar, even though one can see where the top's clear coat or final spray was barely applied. The rest of the guitar is finished with a bit more polish.

This is a somewhat larger guitar and there is something about its size that gave me a sore shoulder quickly. I had to learn to hold it at a different angle, cuddle it, to be comfortable with it. It's a bit larger and deeper than average, and it's also more of a stretch.

The big body is fairly light weight, but it has a very thin neck. There's just no meat to it at all, nothing to hold onto when pressing Barre chords, so I had no leverage to work with. Add low fret wire height with the very stiff stock strings and it required a heavy press to get clear sound for any chord, even though the guitar was tuned down to D when it arrived from Sweetwater. I've been trying different string sets to get lower tension. While discussing strings, the tuners that come with this historic 1957 model are likely what one could have expected in 1957. There was significant looseness between the gear and the tuner button. On the plus side, after changing strings out 5 times to date, the tuners have tightened up and are holding tune reasonably well. I think the original high-tension strings were perhaps too high for the tuners, or perhaps the tuners needed to be wound and unwound a lot to break them in. Anyway, they should be sufficient.
Oddly, both Gibson and Sweetwater's 55-point quality check folks missed the too-low and incorrectly shaped saddle that was installed on this guitar. When the guitar arrived, the high E and B (first and second) strings were nearly on the fretboard. I couldn't get clean sound from either of them. A heavy adjustment to neck relief brought them up only a touch, while increasing the height of the wound strings too much. It seems the saddle was shaped incorrectly and was not a good match for the fretboard. I know this from experience and having the correct tools to measure and properly perform setups. I have reshaped the stock saddle and attached shims, so it is a better match for the fretboard, but shims should be a temporary solution, so I've ordered new saddles in hope of finding a better one-piece fit. I have contacted Gibson customer service about the saddle, but have not yet received a response.

The case is well-done, with a light brown Tolex-like covering with Gibson branding on the top. The pink interior has decent cushioning and an upper bout back bolster. It provides a good cozy fit. There are four latches of good quality, one locking. The neck pocket is typical, and was stuffed with the key for the lock, typical accessories, and nice new Humidipaks. There was also a very useful but short handled truss rod wrench, and the expected Gibson "Certificate of Authenticity" for the 1957 model.

The Gibson 1957 SJ-200 is pricey and was disappointment at first, but feels better to me now. I've learned to hold it in a way that doesn't hurt the shoulder above my fretting hand. Lower tension strings improve its playability and save the fingers, and the temporary saddle is working well, although I hope to have a better one before long. It's not the fingerstyle player's guitar that Martins are, but it's beautiful and seems special in its own way.

Gibson Historic Series 1957 SJ-200. Part 2: In my first review I was rather negative on this guitar. However, I'm becoming used to its particular characteristics and perhaps it's getting used to me. It's loosening up, showing some personality, and I've found myself playing old songs in a new way. I still think it should have had better quality control (that saddle was just wrong), but after spending a lot of hours with it, I've found it's a pretty good blues and jazz guitar, and it produces some unusual harmonics that are quite interesting, although that may be from the strings I'm using. One thing I really like is the depth of the bass thump I'm now hearing when playing without a thumb pick, but there's a vibration sometimes that may be a loose brace, or perhaps it's just a string or two vibrating against bridge pins. I've contacted Gibson Customer Service about getting a new saddle. Anyway, I've bumped it from 3.5 to 4 stars. FWIW, Sweetwater did pack it well, double boxed.