With legendary stories surrounding it, the J-200 is one of the acoustic guitars that best represents George Harrison's artistic maturity with The Beatles.
While John Lennon remained faithful to his Gibson J-160E, George Harrison, always in search of new sounds, turned to the Gibson J-200. Purchased in the United States in 1968, this “jumbo” guitar with a deep, balanced voice quickly made its way into the studio. It appears during the White Album sessions, where Harrison used it for the acoustic demo of While My Guitar Gently Weeps, recorded on 25 July 1968, and likely also on the version included on the album.
A famous legend claims that Harrison's J-200 later ended up in the hands of Bob Dylan, who displayed it on the cover of his album Nashville Skyline (February 1969). According to photographer Elliott Landy, Dylan said that the guitar was a gift from George. However, it is unclear exactly how this transfer occurred, or whether the guitar given to Dylan was actually a different instrument: Harrison continued to use his J-200 during the Let It Be/Get Back sessions (January 1969) and the Abbey Road recordings later that summer. What is certain is that a beautiful Gibson J-200, with sunburst finish and the characteristic “moustache” bridge, appears on 31 August 1969, when Harrison and Dylan met in person on stage at the Isle of Wight Festival.
Legend or fact aside, the Gibson J-200 remains one of the guitars most closely associated with George Harrison, a key part of his mature acoustic sound with The Beatles.
The guitar in our photo is a Gibson J-200 Standard. You can spot it in our video for While My Guitar Gently Weeps.
