For Cougar: CJ-165

[bobouz]

Carrying over a discussion from the Gibson board for Cougar, since I don’t know how to post pics there! This is my 2007 CJ-165ec. Back, sides, & neck are flamed maple, the pickup is a soundhole mounted (‘07 & ‘08 only) Fishman Aura Ellipse unit. Lower bout is 15” wide, depth is 4-5/8”, scale length is 24.75”, and the neck width is slightly greater than 1-11/16”. Neck profile is just a bit chunkier than many of my Gibson’s. As somewhat of a rare bird, I’d been looking for one of these & was fortunate enough to find this example about four years ago:

 

[HeyMikey]

Tell more please! I think that model is not only gorgeous but about as perfect a size and config for what I like to play. When I was having a hard time finding smaller Guilds with wide necks that model kept coming up in discussions. I almost bought one but never found the right one at the right price. Then I found the Guilds I was looking for so stopped searching the the Gibson. Maybe some day. Gorgeous guitar Bobouz.

 

[Cougar]

Such a beauty! Thanks, Bob, for the additional info on that model. I didn't know the ebony fretboards on this model only came with the rosewood back and sides, and then only for a couple years back around 2006-2008 AFAIK. I sure love my Guilds with the ebony boards. Apparently Gibson got into some trouble importing ebony back some time ago, and now even their super-high-end acoustics don't have ebony fretboards, which is a shame!

It's hard to believe the super high prices people are getting for CJ165's these days... that is, when you can find one for sale. I've always had a "thing" for the CJ165, but I'll tell ya, my F50R really fills that void in spades!

 

[davismanLV]

Bob, that's one of the prettiest Gibsons I've ever seen!! It has everything! Just enough bling and nice appointments and without a cartoonish looking pickguard or over-the-top bridge. Just BEAUTIFUL. Thanks for sharing it with us!!

 

[bobouz]

Just a few more bits of info re the CJ-165: As mentioned, originally only the rosewood-bodied version used ebony for the fingerboard & bridge, which is where this discussion first started with Cougar over on the other board. Initially released in the non-cutaway version in 2006, the CJ-165 became the J-165 in, I believe, 2010. (Edit: At some point, Gibson switched from using ebony on the rosewood bodies, which I hadn’t realized). Gibson’s supply problems hammered their stock-on-hand for both ebony & rosewood in 2012. I have a 2011 ES-335 limited-edition with a ebony fretboard, but I haven’t seen Gibson use ebony since then.

Also, the cutaway bodies featured a soundhole-mounted Fishman only in 2007-2008. The following year, it was changed to the more common (at that time) side upper-bout cutout mount.

As for the body size of the CJ-165, it’s quite similar to the 15” Guild F-30 from it’s ‘70s & early ‘80s small-jumbo shaped era. Very comfortable fingerpicking couch guitar!

 

[HeyMikey]

How would you describe the sound of your maple version?

What are the dimensions of that sound hole? For some reason it looks big to me in proportion to the guitar.

 

[bobouz]

How would you describe the sound of your maple version?
What are the dimensions of that sound hole? For some reason it looks big to me in proportion to the guitar.

Easy question first - the soundhole is a standard size. But yes, visually it looks large for some reason & I initially thought the same thing!

As for tone, as a maple jumbo shaped body, I would say the tone has a lot in common with others I own of the same breed: well balanced from string to string, punchy & percussive notes, with quick decay. But what significantly separates each one is the overall body size. A good 17” maple jumbo will typically give you a belly-vibrating bass response. A good 16” example will retain a healthy chunk of that bass response, but sound exceptionally balanced from string to string, and a good 15” jumboish body like this one looses some more of that bass rumble, but still retains all the other characteristics without sounding tinny. This particular example hits that mark nicely for my fingerpicking style. The bass notes couldn’t possibly project like a stellar F-50, but they don’t get lost either. Just another interesting alternative to be explored.