It's hard to go wrong with a nice acoustic Gibson from the 60's, they provide excellent value for money and are fantastic recording guitars. This here Gibson Country Western from 1963 is no exception...

Introduced in 1955 as a more upmarket alternative to the J45 and J50, the Country Western was marketed as a natural finish version of the pre-existing (sunburst finished) Southern Jumbo, much the same as the J50 was to the J45. Up until 1962 it shared the slope shouldered design of the J45/J50, but from '62 onwards adopted the square shoulders of the Hummingbird.

This is a really nice example! Being from 1963 it originally came with a plastic adjustable bridge, however when it arrived at the shop the bridge plate had cracked and really wasn't fit for purpose. We took the guitar to Dave King who has put a really nice Martin style bridge and saddle on the guitar, making it a much better instrument in the process. Otherwise this is a totally stock guitar, with no other repairs.

If anyone wants to reinstate the original bridge it is in the case.

Construction is the usual spruce top with mahogany back and sides, while the neck is mahogany with a rosewood fingerboard. The split parallelogram inlays are in nice condition and look really cool.

This guitar is in really nice condition. The back and sides are still a deep and vibrant red, and apart from the usual minor dings and scratches it's very clean. The back of the neck has a couple of marks, one up at the end under the nut, where a strap has been attached with some string, and one underneath the 8th/9th frets where the lining of a previous case has interacted with the finish. The correct Kluson Deluxe tuners are in good working order, and the original frets are in great condition and have years of life left in them. 

All the sonic hallmarks of a great acoustic are here in this guitar. There's great projection, dynamic range, and balance between the high and low end. We can see this being a fantastic recording instrument, but pop a decent pickup in and this will be a great live instrument too!

A fantastic sounding early 60's Gibson acoustic, with a fixed bridge, and in nice condition... What's not to like?