Gibson Acoustic SJ-250 Monarch

From its inaugural appearance in 1937, Gibson’s J-200 set a standard others have been trying to match ever since. Today—nearly 71 years later—the legacy of Gibson’s “King of the Flat-tops” lives on in the new J-200 Standard. Upon its introduction in the late 1930s, the J-200 immediately filled a need for a deeper, more balanced and powerful sound. It gave purveyors of the new American music scene of the 1930s a reliable, well-built instrument, capable of projecting the sound of the guitar well beyond that of any other acoustic on the market—a fact that still holds true today. It is simply the world’s most famous acoustic guitar, and certainly one of most popular, as evidenced by the list of players that have made it their primary acoustic instrument, among them Ray Whitley, Emmylou Harris, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Gram Parsons, and Pete Townshend.