Advanced Jumbo thoughts?

[jimmyboy]

 

Cool.!!!

[Gibson Artist]

I am not sure why you guys think an AJ​​ PRO is a short scale.It has 25.5" scale length according to Gibson website.

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Acoustic-Instruments/Round-Shoulder/Gibson-Acoustic/Advanced-Jumbo-Pro/Specs.aspx

 

I own one.Got mine for $1,250 off reverb.I have compared my AJ PRO and a standard AJ from my friend.it's like comparing standard bracing D28 VS. scalloped/forward shifted bracing HD-28V.They both sound good on their own way.

 

But when I compared an AJ PRO to my SJ which has everything almost the same.Round shoulder,Sitka over Rosewood,X-Bracing except SJ has short scale length.I like the SJ better.It's like J-45 on steroids.It's Rosewood guitar that sounds like Mahogany and I don't know why.

 

**Edit** Another thing that AJ PRO different than the rest Gibson round shoulder Dreadnaught is that it has belly down bridge like D28.

Very nice! Thanks for the info.

[jimmyboy]

Very nice! Thanks for the info.

 

AJ PRO is a very nice guitar at a very good price.You will get a custom J45 Rosewood with the look of SJ plus regular scale like AJ.If you expect low bass like AJ you will be disappointed. But if you want more focus on the mid and high like D28 but still get good amount of bass volume,put Martin lifespan or D'addario EXP16 strings on and you will love it. Sometime GC exclusive guitars ain't that bad. Look at Martin MMV for example.

[generaldreedle]

AJ PRO is a very nice guitar at a very good price.You will get a custom J45 Rosewood with the look of SJ plus regular scale like AJ.If you expect low bass like AJ you will be disappointed. But if you want more focus on the mid and high like D28 but still get good amount of bass volume,put Martin lifespan or D'addario EXP16 strings on and you will love it. Sometime GC exclusive guitars ain't that bad. Look at Martin MMV for example.

 

The SJ is rosewood?

[jimmyboy]

The SJ is rosewood?

Mine is Rosewood. But the original SJ should be Mahogany.

[Jinder]

The inlays of the Pro sort of make it a long scale Rosewood SJ...Gibson nomenclature is so confusing!

[Red 333]

I haven't seen one in a while, but my recollection is that the AJ Pro has standard Gibson x bracing and lighter back bracing (like a J-45 Standard). An unmutated AJ has the wider x and heavy back braving. My impression was that the depth of the body was a tad shallower, too, no?

 

Anyway, they are/were terrific values, and very nice guitars. With those appointments (belly down bridge, unbound neck, parrellogram inlays, teardrop guard, Sitka over rosewood) it's sort of a long-scale Woody Gutherie SJ with a pickup. I've never owned one but have read many raves from those who do.

 

Red 333

[62burst]

I am not sure why you guys think an AJ​​ PRO is a short scale.It has 25.5" scale length according to..

Red 333 was mentioning that there was a small run of short scale AJ’s made- it would be interesting to hear how one sounded, as some part of the Standard AJ’s power derives from it’s long scale length.

[EuroAussie]

I currently got my AJ on sale, as Im looking to get a little 0 or 00 sofa parlour.

 

Hard to bond with the AJ, I reckon if i was primary a finger or flatpicker it would be guitar of real interest, but its an average strummer. Has that rustic, grumpy, open but not very refined tone. Very projective, Id say too projective for a vocalist, sounds very average plugged in, but most rosewoods sound poor plugged in.

 

Look awesome though, really light for its size, looks and feel really long, as it was extral long scale. The burst is to die for.

[62burst]

The SJ is rosewood?

 

 

Mine is Rosewood. But the original SJ should be Mahogany.

As Dave F was saying with the photo of his (on the red guitar cloth),the Dwight Yoakam Advanced Jumbo was a small custom run of AJ’s spec’ed with rosewood back & sides. . . and a piece of trivia: the dice on the pickguard (which someone here who knows about dice pointed out), with that combination showing, is actually impossible to have.

[jimmyboy]

As Dave F was saying with the photo of his (on the red guitar cloth),the Dwight Yoakam Advanced Jumbo was a small custom run of AJ’s spec’ed with rosewood back & sides. . . and a piece of trivia: the dice on the pickguard (which someone here who knows about dice pointed out), with that combination showing, is actually impossible to have.

 

Wait a minute.The honky Tonk Deuce was base on AJ???

http://www.gibson.com/Products/Acoustic-Instruments/Round-Shoulder/Gibson-Acoustic/Dwight-Yoakam-Honky-Tonk-Deuce/Features.aspx

 

From my understanding.SJ is the fancy version of J-45. According to info from Gibson website. The honky tonk using J45 1940' style then it must be the SJ.

[62burst]

Wait a minute.The honky Tonk Deuce was base on AJ???

. . .

 

From my understanding.SJ is the fancy version of J-45. According to info from Gibson website. The honky tonk using J45 1940' style then it must be the SJ.

Sorry for the confusion, Jimmy, got my threads mixed up- yes the Honky-Tonk Deuce is definitely a variety of Southern Jumbo, not an AJ.

[Jinder]

I currently got my AJ on sale, as Im looking to get a little 0 or 00 sofa parlour.

 

Hard to bond with the AJ, I reckon if i was primary a finger or flatpicker it would be guitar of real interest, but its an average strummer. Has that rustic, grumpy, open but not very refined tone. Very projective, Id say too projective for a vocalist, sounds very average plugged in, but most rosewoods sound poor plugged in.

 

Look awesome though, really light for its size, looks and feel really long, as it was extral long scale. The burst is to die for.

 

I was the same with the RW AJ. I really wanted to step up to the plate and be “an AJ player” but I just couldn’t bond with it in the long term. The Maple AJs, on the other hand, seem a really natural fit for me. Loads of dynamic range and power on tap if you want it, but will be docile if you wish. I found the RW AJ to be a bit cold, but I’d still like to have another swing of the bat with one one day. Looking forward to getting my hands on my Maple AJ when I head out to CO the week after next!

[Rambler]

It's not going to sound at all like your J50. Punchier, less sparkle. Kind of like a guitar with P90s compared to a strat. Not better or worse, but definitely a different sound.

[MissouriPicker]

Gets real confusing. All these different guitars with the same name. All comes down to how much you enjoy a guitar and not get hung-up on the name. My AJ isn't really an "AJ," because it's koa and short scale, but it's truly a great guitar for me, so I don't care. My Southern Jumbo is rosewood (that mystic kind...at least that's the name they gave it) so it's really not an SJ. And if it were mahogany, it would be identical to a J45, aside from maybe a cosmetic difference. But, I wanted a so-called Southern Jumbo that really wasn't just a J45. All I know is that's it's a killer guitar. There are certainly enough bird names to use for all of Gibson's different models, but it's good marketing to tie a new model to the Hummingbird, Dove, J45, AJ, J200....all flagships of the Gibson line......A good guitar is a "good guitar." Years ago I used to get all wrapped-up in tone and strings and all the bullcrap about "it sounds like a" in guitar forums. My last ten or so Gibsons have been bought just because I like them. As we get older, we often do get wiser and in my case I've learned that a good guitar is a "good guitar." Doesn't matter what the tone wood is, or if it sounds like a J45 or a D18, or if the bridge is bone or graphite. All that matters is that I enjoy the guitar. All the stuff about the different supposed attributes of various guitars is fun to talk about, but ultimately doesn't mean a thing if I simply just like a guitar. If you really like the guitar, then you've kind of found your "Holy Grail," which is another topic as well as attribute assigned to guitars that don't really exist.

[Jinder]

Gets real confusing. All these different guitars with the same name. All comes down to how much you enjoy a guitar and not get hung-up on the name. My AJ isn't really an "AJ," because it's koa and short scale, but it's truly a great guitar for me, so I don't care. My Southern Jumbo is rosewood (that mystic kind...at least that's the name they gave it) so it's really not an SJ. And if it were mahogany, it would be identical to a J45, aside from maybe a cosmetic difference. But, I wanted a so-called Southern Jumbo that really wasn't just a J45. All I know is that's it's a killer guitar. There are certainly enough bird names to use for all of Gibson's different models, but it's good marketing to tie a new model to the Hummingbird, Dove, J45, AJ, J200....all flagships of the Gibson line......A good guitar is a "good guitar." Years ago I used to get all wrapped-up in tone and strings and all the bullcrap about "it sounds like a" in guitar forums. My last ten or so Gibsons have been bought just because I like them. As we get older, we often do get wiser and in my case I've learned that a good guitar is a "good guitar." Doesn't matter what the tone wood is, or if it sounds like a J45 or a D18, or if the bridge is bone or graphite. All that matters is that I enjoy the guitar. All the stuff about the different supposed attributes of various guitars is fun to talk about, but ultimately doesn't mean a thing if I simply just like a guitar. If you really like the guitar, then you've kind of found your "Holy Grail," which is another topic as well as attribute assigned to guitars that don't really exist.

 

Amen to that. I’m a firm believer that if it sounds and feels right, it doesn’t matter what it is. I love the way my Gibsons look, and they’re great stage guitars due to the striking visual element of the J180, Humminfbird (or Birds in my case) and SJ200, but that’s just a bonus for me. I bought all my guitars because they feel and sound the way I want a guitar to.

 

I tend towards Maple as a favourite tonewood, but I have an equal number of Mahogany Gibsons to Maple ones, and if you factor in my Epis and my Tak, I actually have twice as many Mahogany instruments than Maple ones. In truth, I don’t really think about the constituent tonewoods when I’m playing at all, and as you say, this stuff is fun to pore over and analyse but the analysis goes away when lost in the moment.

[Old Neil]

I have a 12 fret, Adirondack topped AJ that I love (and wrote a thread about an eternity ago somewhere here).

I have had plenty of Martins in my time, including customs and 40 series but I cannot honestly say the AJ is ‘Martinesque’. The AJ has better note separation than most large body Martins and the AJ bass, while powerful, is more focused, with greater ‘vertical depth’ than the boomier, lateral spread of a typical Martin dread bass end.

Application I find best suited to my AJ/playing style are arpeggiated picking to support a strummed rythmn track on another guitar (like a J-45/Hummingbird).

In fact this is exactly what I did on a recent track I recorded. I will make a separate post about this but here is a quick Soundcloud link:

https://soundcloud.com/user-755150884/to-be-in-love-with-you

[RhythmDr.]

Sup, ya'll! New forum member here but have owned/played a Natural top AJ since 2004 or so. My Natural top has the east indian r/w back/sides (no maple). I've been looking at adding another AJ to my arsenal, specifically one with a red spruce top. I've stumbled upon the 12 fret version and I've been searching the internet for information but there's not much out there.

 

Would love more info on the 12 fret version of this. Like year made (guessing these were a limited run), sound/tone differences from standard AJs. As y'all know, these 12 fret models are few in numbers, so IF I were to purchase one, it would be online without the option of playing a bunch.

 

All that said - I'm a huge fan of the Advanced Jumbo and would like to get more involved in this topic. Also, happy almost Friday :)

[RhythmDr.]

Yay, my first post finally posted (thanks, Tim!).

 

Anyways, back to the legendary AJ. Let's talk, folks. I'm trying to obtain my 2nd and not sure which red spruce version I want since there are several options. Would love to generate further discussion on these. Here are the models I've noticed that have red spruce tops and rosewood b/s:

 

• 
   
  
• Gibson 75th Anniversary Custom Shop Advanced Jumbo
  
• 2015 Gibson Custom Shop "Luthier's Choice" Advanced Jumbo
  
• Gibson Advanced Jumbo 12 Fret
  
• Gibson Advanced Jumbo Limited Edition 2013
  

 

Then there are some late 90s/early 2000 models that are Red spruce with Braz RW, but those are $5k plus.... I personally can't see the Brazilian RW being worth that much more.

[Old Neil]

RhythmDr.:

I have played a fair selection of 14 fret AJs and of course own a 12 fret version. Differences from the standard model:

Adirondack (red spruce) top

Due to the 12 fret neck:

The soundhole appears closer to the neck but not sure if this is actually the case)

It’s listed as long scale but feels like a short scale guitar, especially compared to the 14 fret AJ

Subjectively more comfortable to play than the 14 fret AJ

 

Great deep, rich sound with pretty, articulate highs. IMO a wonderful guitar.

[RhythmDr.]

RhythmDr.:

I have played a fair selection of 14 fret AJs and of course own a 12 fret version. Differences from the standard model:

Adirondack (red spruce) top

Due to the 12 fret neck:

The soundhole appears closer to the neck but not sure if this is actually the case)

It’s listed as long scale but feels like a short scale guitar, especially compared to the 14 fret AJ

Subjectively more comfortable to play than the 14 fret AJ

 

Great deep, rich sound with pretty, articulate highs. IMO a wonderful guitar.

Thanks for the reply. Do you remember the original list price on it? Also wondering if anyone has purchased a guitar internationally from Japan? There's a 12 Fret AJ on Reverb from Japan but I've heard stories of ebay/reverb sellers who see a guitar locally (in Japan) and list it with a high markup assuming someone will purchase online in which they would then go purchase the guitar from the local guitar store.

 

On a sidenote, I looked at my AJ last night and mine is from 2002 and is a standard model aside from the natural top. I've also been playing some vintage J-45s here in Chicago but the ones I'm looking at sell in the $3k-$4k range and as much as I do enjoy the tone and should get something different (instead of another AJ), it's hard to justify that price when to my ears, the AJ is a better sounding git.

 

Edit to add: Link to said 12 fret from Japan - https://reverb.com/item/7166607-gibson-advanced-jumbo-12-fret-joint

[tpbiii]

 

Here are our large Gibsons from 1935 and 1936. The 35 Jumbo is on the back right.

They are (l-to-r) back 36 Jumbo35 (Trojan), 36 Advanced Jumbo, and 35 Jumbo -- front 36 Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe, 35 Roy Smeck Radio Grande.

In the fall of 1936, Gibson redesigned, repriced, and renamed much of their line. With regard to the Jumbo -- which had been introduced in 1934 -- they remove some of decoration, dropped the price to $35, and renamed it the Jumbo 35. Before it was officially released, they sold a number of them under the design project's name of Trojan. The one in the picture is the only Trojan/Jumbo35 documented by FON in the shipping ledger.

 

Both of those guitars have three unscalloped tone bars -- standard on Jumbos and Trojans.

 

At the same time, they introduced the Advanced Jumbo. The body was more tapered, the scale was longer, and the AJ was (EI) rosewood. Ours -- a very early and rare one -- has three scalloped tone bars. Most AJs were built with two tone bars. J-35s went to the AL body shape in late 1937.

 

The Smecks were built before and after the the 1936 change and although their design evolved in bracing details, they basically kept their names and designs. They have the same body shape as the Jumbo and Trojan, but two tone bars and 12 frets to the body..These are converted Hawaiians..

 

The people who play loud traditional string band music (eg bluegrass) basically number these guitars -- along with the Martin D-28 and D-18 -- among the best guitars ever built. Martin built a lot more, thus arguably are better known.

 

Let's pick,

-Tom

[RhythmDr.]

 

Here are our large Gibsons from 1935 and 1936. The 35 Jumbo is on the back right.

They are (l-to-r) back 36 Jumbo35 (Trojan), 36 Advanced Jumbo, and 35 Jumbo -- front 36 Roy Smeck Stage Deluxe, 35 Roy Smeck Radio Grande.

In the fall of 1936, Gibson redesigned, repriced, and renamed much of their line. With regard to the Jumbo -- which had been introduced in 1934 -- they remove some of decoration, dropped the price to $35, and renamed it the Jumbo 35. Before it was officially released, they sold a number of them under the design project's name of Trojan. The one in the picture is the only Trojan/Jumbo35 documented by FON in the shipping ledger.

 

Both of those guitars have three unscalloped tone bars -- standard on Jumbos and Trojans.

 

At the same time, they introduced the Advanced Jumbo. The body was more tapered, the scale was longer, and the AJ was (EI) rosewood. Ours -- a very early and rare one -- has three scalloped tone bars. Most AJs were built with two tone bars. J-35s went to the AL body shape in late 1937.

 

The Smecks were built before and after the the 1936 change and although their design evolved in bracing details, they basically kept their names and designs. They have the same body shape as the Jumbo and Trojan, but two tone bars and 12 frets to the body..These are converted Hawaiians..

 

The people who play loud traditional string band music (eg bluegrass) basically number these guitars -- along with the Martin D-28 and D-18 -- among the best guitars ever built. Martin built a lot more, thus arguably are better known.

 

Let's pick,

-Tom

I'm jealous of that collection!

 

Off topic here but has anyone played an old Harmony Sovereign H1260? I've been thinking of adding one of them as well but never played one personally. I've heard plenty on the internet and they can be had at a tremendous value with all solid tone woods.

[Dave F]

Here are our large Gibsons from 1935 and 1936. The 35 Jumbo is on the back right.

.......

Let's pick,

-Tom

What tone woods are the two jumbo's?

[Gibson Artist]

I'm jealous of that collection!

 

Off topic here but has anyone played an old Harmony Sovereign H1260? I've been thinking of adding one of them as well but never played one personally. I've heard plenty on the internet and they can be had at a tremendous value with all solid tone woods.

Im jealous too! haha.