I drove to meet the seller this morning and impatiently waited at a Starbucks just off the Hwy. Raleigh showed up with all three guitars. First I tried the Hummingbird. Spruce and Rosewood. Lovely balenced sound. Then he brought out the J-45. Spruce and Mahagony. Serious lower tones but at the same time complex. We played both for several minutes switching off. That way I can hear both at a distance. Finally he breaks out the 1993 J-200 Standard. It appears to be a perfect match of the 20th aniversary edition. AAA Spruce and AAA Maple. Longer neck, nice and wide. Hard to judge the tone sitting on the tailgate of a truck but I knew that was the one. Lowest list price on this guitar new is $3,800. This guitar is in amazing condition. 17 years old and looks like it just left the factory. Built at the Bozeman, Mt. plant. Raleigh told me his house was hit by a tornado in the Spring and he realized that maybe owning 50 guitars was a bit excessive.
So I get the J-200 home and as usual, replace the strings and use guitar polish to shine her up. Decided on Light Medium (EJ-16) strings and tuned it up. I play for a few minutes and then let the strings start to stretch. About an hour later I took her in to the guitar room. I start playing and this guitar is a cannon. Way low bass response, like a freight train. Beautiful tone. With the volume of sound coming through this guitar I can sing as a prefer to, which is loudly. Right from the gut. Unlike most of my guitars, the J-200 is lower than my vocal range and my voice rings out above the guitar. This is the guitar I've been looking for. I want to marry this guitar.
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