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Fuller's 1935 Jumbo vs Fuller's 1939 J-35


aaronmarkson

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Hey All - First post here, but I've already gained a bunch of insight from reading threads on the forum, so thank you.

 

I'm looking at a couple Fuller's Gibsons for sale. One says 1939 J-35 on the label, and the other says 1935 Jumbo. The specs seem to be the same. Any insight on the differences?

 

I have a J45 TV that is great, but have always wanted the older Gibson sound. I played a '41 J-35 at a local shop... that's the tone, for sure. Then Played a Kopp K-35... Yup... Incredible. Dry and warm, yet crisp and articulate without being bright or harsh. A more raw sound than my j-45 tv. More responsive no mater if playing lightly with fingers or pushing it to the limit with a pick. (Mine is a 2007 Sitka model, so the Red Spruce may be a contributing factor)

 

Anyhow... Any information about the differences between these Fuller's guitars would be fantastic.

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Hey All - First post here, but I've already gained a bunch of insight from reading threads on the forum, so thank you.

 

I'm looking at a couple Fuller's Gibsons for sale. One says 1939 J-35 on the label, and the other says 1935 Jumbo. The specs seem to be the same. Any insight on the differences?

 

I have a J45 TV that is great, but have always wanted the older Gibson sound. I played a '41 J-35 at a local shop... that's the tone, for sure. Then Played a Kopp K-35... Yup... Incredible. Dry and warm, yet crisp and articulate without being bright or harsh. A more raw sound than my j-45 tv. More responsive no mater if playing lightly with fingers or pushing it to the limit with a pick. (Mine is a 2007 Sitka model, so the Red Spruce may be a contributing factor)

 

Anyhow... Any information about the differences between these Fuller's guitars would be fantastic.

 

I can't give you information on the new guitars, but I can tell you about the models on which they are based. We have a actual 1935 Jumbo and a 1936 J-35. BTW, that is not the same as having a 1939 J-35. I will explain.

 

The Jumbo was introduced in 1934 and was made until 1936. It was Gibson's first 14-fret slope flat top, and it had the same body shape has the Hawaiian guitars -- RSRG and RSSD. As far as I know, they all had three unscalloped tone bars and a huge, slightly raw sound.

 

Our J-35 -- 1936 -- is essentially the same guitar without some of the decorations. But that same year, Gibson introduced the Advanced Jumbo -- a rw guitar that had a slightly thinner body and typically two scalloped tone bars. The J-35s in 36 and early 37 had the Jumbo body, but then Gibson switched to the Advanced Jumbo body shape for the J-35s as well in late 37. Thus a 39 would have had the AJ body shape. J-35s from that period were a mixed bag for bracing -- two and three tone bars, scalloped and unscalloped. You would need to listen to know what you had, but in general they were less raw than the old Jumbos but not as full or warm as their Martin competitors.

 

End of history lesson. Good luck.

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Here’s a shot of the inside of my ‘94 ‘34 Jumbo Centennial. Looks like they missed the boat and only used two tone bars

 

DC114E23-874B-4332-80EF-7A5726AA8875_zps2tndvxs5.jpg

 

I can't give you information on the new guitars, but I can tell you about the models on which they are based. We have a actual 1935 Jumbo and a 1936 J-35. BTW, that is not the same as having a 1939 J-35. I will explain.

 

The Jumbo was introduced in 1934 and was made until 1936. It was Gibson's first 14-fret slope flat top, and it had the same body shape has the Hawaiian guitars -- RSRG and RSSD. As far as I know, they all had three unscalloped tone bars and a huge, slightly raw sound.

 

Our J-35 -- 1936 -- is essentially the same guitar without some of the decorations. But that same year, Gibson introduced the Advanced Jumbo -- a rw guitar that had a slightly thinner body and typically two scalloped tone bars. The J-35s in 36 and early 37 had the Jumbo body, but then Gibson switched to the Advanced Jumbo body shape for the J-35s as well in late 37. Thus a 39 would have had the AJ body shape. J-35s from that period were a mixed bag for bracing -- two and three tone bars, scalloped and unscalloped. You would need to listen to know what you had, but in general they were less raw than the old Jumbos but not as full or warm as their Martin competitors.

 

End of history lesson. Good luck.

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Here’s a shot of the inside of my ‘94 ‘34 Jumbo Centennial. Looks like they missed the boat and only used two tone bars

 

DC114E23-874B-4332-80EF-7A5726AA8875_zps2tndvxs5.jpg

Dave, those pin holes in the bridgeplate look really chewed up, and one string ball end is actually sucked up into the plate. What's happening there?

 

That's also the largest bridge bolt I've seen.

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Dave, those pin holes in the bridgeplate look really chewed up, and one string ball end is actually sucked up into the plate. What's happening there?

 

That's also the largest bridge bolt I've seen.

I bought it used but it looked like it had barely been played

I’ve only changed strings once

That E does look bad

I’ll swap out some unslotted pins and see if that helps

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I bought it used but it looked like it had barely been played

I’ve only changed strings once

That E does look bad

I’ll swap out some unslotted pins and see if that helps

 

 

I would also check the pin (and pin hole) diameters and the pin taper. If those are un-tapered holes--which they almost certainly are--you might want to try to get some un-slotted pins with a less dramatic taper to force the ball ends to the surface of the plate.

 

A couple of my newer Gibsons came with very loose pins which I replaced for the very reason.

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I can't give you information on the new guitars, but I can tell you about the models on which they are based. We have a actual 1935 Jumbo and a 1936 J-35. BTW, that is not the same as having a 1939 J-35. I will explain.

 

The Jumbo was introduced in 1934 and was made until 1936. It was Gibson's first 14-fret slope flat top, and it had the same body shape has the Hawaiian guitars -- RSRG and RSSD. As far as I know, they all had three unscalloped tone bars and a huge, slightly raw sound.

 

Our J-35 -- 1936 -- is essentially the same guitar without some of the decorations. But that same year, Gibson introduced the Advanced Jumbo -- a rw guitar that had a slightly thinner body and typically two scalloped tone bars. The J-35s in 36 and early 37 had the Jumbo body, but then Gibson switched to the Advanced Jumbo body shape for the J-35s as well in late 37. Thus a 39 would have had the AJ body shape. J-35s from that period were a mixed bag for bracing -- two and three tone bars, scalloped and unscalloped. You would need to listen to know what you had, but in general they were less raw than the old Jumbos but not as full or warm as their Martin competitors.

 

End of history lesson. Good luck.

 

Thanks for the history lesson. I wonder if these 2 Fuller's guitars I mention are indeed different like the originals, or if they just get labeled different to confuse me. Any info on the Fuller's would be great. I emailed Fuller's but haven't heard back yet.

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Thanks for the history lesson. I wonder if these 2 Fuller's guitars i meantion are indeed different like the originals, or if they just get labeled different to confuse me. Any info on the Fuller's would be great. I emailed Fuller's but haven't heard back yet.

 

 

Chances are that they are the same body planform, and the same as the AJ and J-45 in planform. The jumbo is likely to have a full constant depth body, while the J-35 should be the tapered-depth body that we associate with post-OJ bodies to this day.

 

Fuller's is known for reasonably accurate reproductions. I have one of their 1943 Southern Jumbo re-issues. Except for the fact that it has a bound fretboard and a more modern neck profile, it is a quite accurate reproduction of a 1943 banner SJ.

 

Their special-run Gibsons are always nice, and they take pride in the details.

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Well,I see you messaged me on another thread,so I hope my input is helpful.My Fuller's '39 J-35 is a 2011 model,bought new in 2012.I was prepared to get a boutique J-35 from the usual popular builders,but Fuller's asked me to simply try the guitar and they gave me a 2 week window to decide.It took me literally 30 seconds to know it was going nowhere!!

Dry,woody and direct tone....Not super loud,but loud in a very vintage way.Really,"really" nice tonality and very responsive....Nothing to not like.The used market goes from around 1800-2000 bucks,based on condition.Btw,the case is not so hot,but the guitar certainly "is"!

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Well,I see you messaged me on another thread,so I hope my input is helpful.My Fuller's '39 J-35 is a 2011 model,bought new in 2012.I was prepared to get a boutique J-35 from the usual popular builders,but Fuller's asked me to simply try the guitar and they gave me a 2 week window to decide.It took me literally 30 seconds to know it was going nowhere!!

Dry,woody and direct tone....Not super loud,but loud in a very vintage way.Really,"really" nice tonality and very responsive....Nothing to not like.The used market goes from around 1800-2000 bucks,based on condition.Btw,the case is not so hot,but the guitar certainly "is"!

 

Thanks for the info and your experience. I too starting thinking I'd start saving my money for a boutique version, but then came across reports of these Fuller's Gibson guitars. The prices are certainly attractive, and I'd love to keep it Gibson.

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