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Advanced Jumbo Herringbone


Victory Pete

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Here is our 36 played by Tony Watt.

 

This was part of a series Tony did for us last year that involved a number of iconic Martin and Gibson guitars. eq 35 D-28, 35 D-18, 36 Trojan, 35 JUMBO, etc. Tony admits he is biased toward old D-18s -- no love for Gibsons and no love for RW Martins even. That day he scored the AJ highest.

 

Best,

-Tom

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There are Gibsons out there other than AJs that sound like the love child of a Martin dread and a Gibson jumbo When the guy who restored my '42 J-50 handed it back to me he called it a "once in a blue moon Gibson" meaning it has a low end that, in his words, would make a pre-War Martin D-28 run for cover. I was also told never let it go because chances of running across another one were not good. My first through was I wished I had shelled out the $750 for the AJ I ran across for sale many decades back hanging on the wall of a local music store. But at the time it might just have well have been $1 million.

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There are Gibsons out there other than AJs that sound like the love child of a Martin dread and a Gibson jumbo When the guy who restored my '42 J-50 handed it back to me he called it a "once in a blue moon Gibson" meaning it has a low end that, in his words, would make a pre-War Martin D-28 run for cover. I was also told never let it go because chances of running across another one were not good. My first through was I wished I had shelled out the $750 for the AJ I ran across for sale many decades back hanging on the wall of a local music store. But at the time it might just have well have been $1 million.

[/quote

 

 

ZW,

 

Can you post a pic of said J 50?

 

 

 

 

JC]

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Can you post a pic of said J 50?

 

JC]

 

Gladly. What I was told about this guitar is that not only was it amazingly lightly built but it has the 1930s style tall un-scalloped top braces. The back braces are tall and knife edge thin.

 

Here is what it looked like when I stumbled across it.

 

012-1.jpg

 

During the restoration it was discovered that one of the book matched top pieces had been flip flopped and that somewhere down the line it was discovered and a burst (which was missing when I found the guitar) had been shot to try and cover the mistake. What it looks like today.

 

Gibson_J-50_LG-2_006.jpg

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There are Gibsons out there other than AJs that sound like the love child of a Martin dread and a Gibson jumbo When the guy who restored my '42 J-50 handed it back to me he called it a "once in a blue moon Gibson" meaning it has a low end that, in his words, would make a pre-War Martin D-28 run for cover. I was also told never let it go because chances of running across another one were not good. My first through was I wished I had shelled out the $750 for the AJ I ran across for sale many decades back hanging on the wall of a local music store. But at the time it might just have well have been $1 million.

Oh, yeah! Decades ago at decades ago prices. One of the reasons time travel (with cash in pocket) has appeal. At the time, though, I recall the $ bought a lot more, so - relatively speaking - we were still cutting loose of serious money. BUT, the number and variety of serious guitars available seemed to be greater than at present. That might not hold true for everyone, though it certainly corresponds to my experience☺

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Oh, yeah! Decades ago at decades ago prices. One of the reasons time travel (with cash in pocket) has appeal. At the time, though, I recall the $ bought a lot more, so - relatively speaking - we were still cutting loose of serious money. BUT, the number and variety of serious guitars available seemed to be greater than at present. That might not hold true for everyone, though it certainly corresponds to my experience☺

 

Back then I would go out to buy an LP and then bring it home and hope I had enough money to pay the electric bill at the end of the month to play the record. Also, before the internet many of us did not even know what an AJ was. My first Gibson was an L-00. I bought it because it was cheap, I liked the burst and I loved the way it sounded. Back then there was no way I could find out what year it was built though. I would not even have known it was an L-00 if the guy who owned the store had not told me.

 

I lucked out with the J-50. It was sold to me as a refinished 1943 J-45. It was not until I talked with JT (his book was not yet out) that I figured out what I had. The guy who repaired it was able to fill in the blanks when he found evidence of an original burst. What I did know about the guitar was that even with a split back seam, four other open back cracks, and a loose brace, it had a low end like I had never heard on a Gibson.

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Good to see that one got straightened out. Bridge and saddle look much better (what was going on with that saddle and break angle?).

 

Zooming in on the photo pre-burst #2, and looking at the features in the grain- that's spruce?

 

 

Here is a better shot of the pre-burst top. I always thought the first bridge and pickguard looked like they were scrounged off a Yamaha. I was not expecting the re-fin. I was only anticipating getting the top "touched-up." The repair guy said he just did not feel right about not restoring the guitar to what it looked like when it left Kalamazoo. John Thomas has asked to use this photo if he ever does a revised version of his book.

 

Gibsons003-1.jpg

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This will be on a plane tonight on its way to my guitar stable. I think this one sounds best with Sitka vs. Adirondack because it has a nice even round tone, the Adirondack one I saw on YouTube was very limited to the high end and was a bit stiff. The notes seem to jump out on the Sitka model.

 

 

 

 

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This will be on a plane tonight on its way to my guitar stable. I think this one sounds best with Sitka vs. Adirondack because it has a nice even round tone, the Adirondack one I saw on YouTube was very limited to the high end and was a bit stiff. The notes seem to jump out on the Sitka model.

 

 

A plain old Sitka/RW AJRI has been my main acoustic for nearly 15 years. I've owned a truckload of old Gibson dreads, and the AJRI is up there with the best. You will have a good guitar there; enjoy!

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A plain old Sitka/RW AJRI has been my main acoustic for nearly 15 years. I've owned a truckload of old Gibson dreads, and the AJRI is up there with the best. You will have a good guitar there; enjoy!

 

I have a J-45 Custom with Sitka and Rosewood and it's sound is pure bliss, I imagine this Advanced Jumbo will be similar sounding with more punch.

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The Advanced Jumbo came today. I did my usual inspection process, check for finish flaws, alignments, fit and finish. Looking at the finish in good light and watching the reflections off of the lacquer gives you a good indication of the body contours and the level of the finish. It looked good. Then I tuned it up and strummed. I was stunned by the first sounds I heard. Very responsive and open with the factory strings, 53-12 which are a bit light for me. Thinking it had the LR Baggs Element Piezo pick up in it, I had plans to take it all out like I had done to my J-45 Custom and Southern Jumbo. I was pleasantly surprised to find the LR Baggs Lyric internal microphone in it. It sounds pretty good plugged in to. So after lunch I took her down to the shop to put my favorite strings on, Martin Phosphor Bronze SP Mediums, 56-13. I took it back up stairs, tuned and was horrified by what I heard, no bass and very thin treble. All my other new Gibsons are about a year old now and they sound a lot better than when they were new. So after some hard strumming the top seem to loosen up a bit. I anticipate this top will open up just like all the others. I guess the lighter strings keep the top a bit looser and more responsive with the lower amount of tension pulling on it. I guess that is why Gibson puts on light strings, so it will sound good out the door, which it certainly did. This guitar has Schaller Vintage Copper tuners, little things like Waverly's. I guess I like them, they do look puny on what already is a small head stock. All and all though I am pretty impressed. I look forward to the huge sound these classics are suppose to have. I will post photos soon, just not looking forward to the hassle of Off Site Hosting, you would think Gibson by this time would get with the program and get an adequate Photo Downloader here, after all, what better way to sell guitars than to get everyone drooling over numerous pictures of their guitars. Gibson certainly is a peculiar company.

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........put my favorite strings on, Martin Phosphor Bronze SP Mediums, 56-13. I took it back up stairs, tuned and was horrified by what I heard, no bass and very thin treble.

Choked. I've had medium gauge sets stifle a guitar as well, the additional tension damping the top to a noticeable degree. It may or may not "adjust" to the tension over time.......may be that it needs lights to sound its' best. The AJ is a nice instrument, like a long scale, "big brother" J-45 Custom. Hope it works out to your liking.

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I find the AJ rewards the experienced player. Its not as forgiving as a Hummingbird or SJ-200. Its very responsive and likes a lighter touch, individual note play rather than full strumming. But once you get a grip of it its highly rewarding in its own way. Not for the faint hearted.

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I ran D'Addario mediums on my AJ for about 10-11 years, and it sounded great. Switched to D'Addario lights and it sounds just as good. I use the EXPs now, but the plain old PB D'Addarios sounded a bit better.

 

I was playing my AJ just last night and thinking what I always do: "Man, what a great guitar". Hope you sort yours out.

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Choked. I've had medium gauge sets stifle a guitar as well, the additional tension damping the top to a noticeable degree. It may or may not "adjust" to the tension over time.......may be that it needs lights to sound its' best. The AJ is a nice instrument, like a long scale, "big brother" J-45 Custom. Hope it works out to your liking.

 

It seems to be changing a bit already, It has been at Musician's Friend for over a year in its case, so maybe it is just shy.

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Choked. I've had medium gauge sets stifle a guitar as well, the additional tension damping the top to a noticeable degree. It may or may not "adjust" to the tension over time.......may be that it needs lights to sound its' best. The AJ is a nice instrument, like a long scale, "big brother" J-45 Custom. Hope it works out to your liking.

 

Absolutely agree with Buc here. My old AJ HATED medium strings, with the forward shifted bracing you don’t need all that tension to get the top humming. The best strings I found for my AJ were Martin SP Lifespan 12-54s. A nice thick sounding string with a bell-like top end that really sang on my AJ.

 

I’ve got long-term plans to own another, but probably a Maple one this time.

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