“Now with the rich sonic allure of rosewood”: Three timeless Gibson acoustics have received a rosewood reinvention – bringing new visuals and tones to the table

Gibson has given three of its most popular acoustic guitar platforms a rosewood reboot as part of its new Standard Rosewood lineup.

Positioned under the brand's Modern Collection, the lineup comprises J-45, SJ-200 and Hummingbird models, all of which have been given both an ornate Rosewood Burst finish as well as a tweaked rosewood build.

In each instance, a Sitka spruce top has been paired with rosewood back and sides, replacing the mahogany and maple of previous versions.

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According to Gibson, this change has been introduced to deliver “exciting new tonal options” – namely, a “richer bass response and greater harmonic complexity”. Not to mention they look mighty smart, too.

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These curations of rosewood and spruce have been fashioned into the shape of either the round-shouldered, workhorse dreadnought J-45; larger, more luxurious square-shouldered Hummingbird; and the “King of the Flat-Tops” SJ-200.

As you work your way up the line, the spec sheets become a little more elegant, but all flaunt the updated build schematic, as well as mahogany necks, 12”-radius Indian rosewood fingerboards, Tusq nuts and bridge pins, and 20 standard frets.

In each case, a compound Dovetail neck-to-body joint is used, as are LR Baggs electronics: VTC systems for the J-45 and Hummingbird, and an Anthem pickup for the SJ-200. Unplugged tones are finessed by traditional hand-scalloped X Bracing.

Differentiating features include inlays – Dots for the J-45, Split Parallelograms for the Hummingbird and Graduated Crowns for the SJ-200 – and hardware: the SJ-200 opts for Grover Imperial tuners, while the others favor Grover Rotomatics.

Rosewood Belly Up bridges are also used for those latter two models, while a more grand 2-Bar Moustache rosewood bridge can be found on the SJ-200.

What this all means is, these are your standard Gibson acoustics, though “now with the rich sonic allure of rosewood”, which hopes to deliver both a new tonal take on the time-old acoustics as well as a neat cosmetic option.

These are top-of-the-line Gibson acoustics, so they’re priced accordingly: $3,699 for the J-45, $4,599 for the Hummingbird and $5,999 for the SJ-200.

Head over to Gibson to find out more.