Signature edition guitars usually cost more than the standard models they are based on, but sometimes the enhanced features make them worth the extra bucks. The Emmylou Harris L-200 signature guitar is one of those that is worth the money - well worth it.
Features
Based on a smaller version of the big boy of jumbos, the J-200, the Emmylou Harris signature is an all solid-wood guitar with curly maple neck, back and sides and top-grade spruce top. The guitar contains a Shertler Bluestick saddle pickup and a compact preamp with hole-mounted volume control.
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| The Emmylou Harris L-200 |
The 24/3/4-inch scale neck, with a 1 11/16th-inch nut width, sports a rosewood fretboard decorated in individual pieces of crest-design mother of pearl. The headstock and body are bound with ivoroid binding, and the pickguard is decorated with a vine-flower design pattern.
The gold-plated, vintage-style Kluson tuners are classy looking with their plastic tulip keys. The Gibson phosphor bronze light gauge strings are attached to the body via a Gibson moustache bridge, which is made of rosewood and sports two fancy blocks of mother-of-pearl near its back.
To get a big sound out of a smaller guitar, Gibson utilizes vintage scalloped bracing, one-inch from the sound hole. This bracing style allows the top to vibrate more freely - yielding better bass and treble.
The guitar's construction was excellent with just a couple of glue drops evident inside the soundbox. The preamp is mounted on the back's inside - with two watch-sized round batteries that can only be replaced when removing the strings. The preamp wires hang freely to their under-saddle destination. The end-pin/cord connector is metal.
The Audition
Maple body guitars are not always my cup of tea, sonically speaking, but I really liked the Emmylou Harris L-200. Even though Gibson sent me the guitar just one month after it had been assembled, dried and set up, it sounded great right out of the case!
It could be strummed authoritatively, but never lost its string resolution. Its balanced midrange and treble made for intricate finger picking or clear strumming of country and folk rhythm chords. The taller-than-normal frets (compared to my Martin D-35) made it easier to play - even with not exactly low action.
Bigger jumbos often feel, well, big. With the thinner body and downsized bouts, the Emmylou Harris L-200 feels light and is comfy to hold and play - standing up or sitting down. Though it is smaller than a J-200 or a big Guild jumbo, the guitar is still plenty loud. And the sound emanates from all around the top - not a narrow projection that I have heard from smaller acoustic guitars.
Acoustically, I recorded the Gibson with an Earthworks SR-71 instrument microphone, and the recording came across as big as the full-sized guitars that I had on hand for comparison. As with the bigger guitars, I had to tame some of the bass proximity effect with my Mackie mixer's low-cut filter, but the end result was a top-notch recording. Great for rhythm.
Plugging in, the guitar's acoustic's characteristics were relayed quite convincingly. The under-saddle PU gives a presence boost, but it does not sound thin through an amp or mixer. This is one guitar that sounds good plugged in or acoustic. Although there was no on-board preamp EQ, I liked the sound as is.
Conclusion
The Gibson Emmylou Harris edition L-200 is a best buy acoustic guitar. Its quality construction, balanced sweet sound, plugged in or not, made me not want to put it down. With a bunch of guitars in for review, I kept picking up this one.
The $3,300 retail price ain't chump change (about $2,300-$2,400 on the street), but this guitar is worth it.
