docr Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 I had the chance to buy a brandnew 2018 Gibson Dove last week from one of the Five Star Dealers in Germany for a reasonable price. A beautiful Instrument, sounds good, good workmanship, the action is a little low for my feeling but this could be changed. There are some differences to other Gibsons Acoustics: - The case has a wine-red colour with the word "Gibson" - not black with "Gibson Acoustic". It fits perfectly, but I have never seen this colour. - The orange label inside the guitar says "Limited Edition" - What is the difference between "Limited" and "Normal Editions"? - The pegs are from Grover but with "Keystone" knobs instead of the Standard knobs - The pickguard is thinner and of a better Quality than the "flubby" guards I have on a J45 for example. So my question to the experts is if I bought something Special or just a good Standard product? This would be no problem anyway as I like the guitar. Thank you for your answers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 ....the action is a little low for my feeling but this could be changed. Right. Better too low than too high! So my question to the experts is if I bought something Special or just a good Standard product? This would be no problem anyway as I like the guitar..... No expert here, but if you like it, that's the main thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 If it has an orange label in it instead of the white label ... It’s not a “standard production” guitar. That’s probably why it has the keystone tuners. The Standard 2018 Dove on the website has rotomatic grovers. JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Does it have a Custom Shop logo on the back of the headstock? I’d love to see pics of the guitar and case. Doves have never had the “flubber” guards because of the inlaid MOP dove in them, so that tallies. It could well be that it’s a limited run with different woods-perhaps a quilted or high flame back and sides, or an Adirondack top. It’s unlikely that it would be given an orange label and limited status if it was just the machineheads that were different. The chrome keystone buttons were always standard on Doves until 2006 or so when they started using the standard Rotos...visually the standard Roto butterbean buttons look a bit wrong on a Dove to me. A good Dove is a wonderful instrument. I’ve owned a couple but have yet to find “the one”. I will in time, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docr Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 If it has an orange label in it instead of the white label ... It’s not a “standard production” guitar. That’s probably why it has the keystone tuners. The Standard 2018 Dove on the website has rotomatic grovers. JC Made the same Observation with the Tuning machine heads ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docr Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 Does it have a Custom Shop logo on the back of the headstock? I’d love to see pics of the guitar and case. Doves have never had the “flubber” guards because of the inlaid MOP dove in them, so that tallies. It could well be that it’s a limited run with different woods-perhaps a quilted or high flame back and sides, or an Adirondack top. It’s unlikely that it would be given an orange label and limited status if it was just the machineheads that were different. The chrome keystone buttons were always standard on Doves until 2006 or so when they started using the standard Rotos...visually the standard Roto butterbean buttons look a bit wrong on a Dove to me. A good Dove is a wonderful instrument. I’ve owned a couple but have yet to find “the one”. I will in time, though. Hello Jinder, It has no "Custom Shop Logo" on the back of the headstock. That´s funny as I have one on a 2018 Southern Jumbo I could find in a store in Berlin some months ago - have to check, if the SJ has a white or orange label. Will make some photos - the case is really nice. Yes, the MOP dove would not fit in the flubby pickguard. I hope the one on the dove will stay longer as the flubby Version on my 2017 Hummingbird is starting to lift. Hummingbirds and Doves are the "heroes" of my youth, started picking guitar in the late 70s. My Concord Hummingbird clone which I could pay as a Student in 1978 is still in good shape, but now I have the originals. Wood - will make pictures as soon as I have some time, will need some days. By the way - can I add pictures showing Gibson brand products here in the Forum without getting problems? I´m not joking, the internet is a little difficult sometimes. Back to the wood - as far as I can see it has a normal, quite bright sitka top. The back, sides and neck are beautiful, flamed maple, the red is rather "red" (hard to described for a non-native speaker). Looks very nice. You are right, I was grown up with the optics of keystone tuners on these guitars, even my HB clone has them. The be honest, I cannot imagine that the wood is very special as I payed 2.700 Euro for it. You are in the UK - just look for music stores in Germany, easy to find. Do not know if ís "the one". I am glad to have this nice Instrument. Will try to adjust the trussrod a little and maybe change the Bridge as the strings buzz too early for me, am used to D28 with medium strings.On the other Hand it is very easy to play with this setup. Do you have any experience using medium strings on a Dove? Is is robust enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Seems like Gibson issues darn near as many LEs as they do stock instruments. Makes me miss the day when if you wanted a J-45 your big choice was which case to go with. To answer your question, to my eyes it appears that many times the LE edition is a more or less a blinged out version of the standard guitar. Little, if any, structural difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Hello Jinder, It has no "Custom Shop Logo" on the back of the headstock. That´s funny as I have one on a 2018 Southern Jumbo I could find in a store in Berlin some months ago - have to check, if the SJ has a white or orange label. Will make some photos - the case is really nice. Yes, the MOP dove would not fit in the flubby pickguard. I hope the one on the dove will stay longer as the flubby Version on my 2017 Hummingbird is starting to lift. Hummingbirds and Doves are the "heroes" of my youth, started picking guitar in the late 70s. My Concord Hummingbird clone which I could pay as a Student in 1978 is still in good shape, but now I have the originals. Wood - will make pictures as soon as I have some time, will need some days. By the way - can I add pictures showing Gibson brand products here in the Forum without getting problems? I´m not joking, the internet is a little difficult sometimes. Back to the wood - as far as I can see it has a normal, quite bright sitka top. The back, sides and neck are beautiful, flamed maple, the red is rather "red" (hard to described for a non-native speaker). Looks very nice. You are right, I was grown up with the optics of keystone tuners on these guitars, even my HB clone has them. The be honest, I cannot imagine that the wood is very special as I payed 2.700 Euro for it. You are in the UK - just look for music stores in Germany, easy to find. Do not know if ís "the one". I am glad to have this nice Instrument. Will try to adjust the trussrod a little and maybe change the Bridge as the strings buzz too early for me, am used to D28 with medium strings.On the other Hand it is very easy to play with this setup. Do you have any experience using medium strings on a Dove? Is is robust enough? In my experience, a properly set up Gibson will handle medium strings with no problems. I enjoy Mediums but like to tune them down half a tone to Eb, more for playability’s sake than any structural worries. My gigs are usually lengthy shows so the easier the action and tension the better! My Maple AJ and Epi Texan both have 13s tuned down to Eb...short scale guitars such as my J180 are tuned to concert pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docr Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 Here are some photos. As already mentioned the colour of the case is different, there was a leather guitar strap and a tool for the trussrod in the case. The case fits perfect, just another look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Congratulations - Doves are magnificent guitars (and must have (if not waffle-back), then tulip tuners). Hard to see the p-guard from here, but everything looks fine. And regarding the action, you got the black tool there to fix it. Don't go too high though - dirty-low-action-Doves are so kool. Let's hear some sounds, , , and see more pics. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Ouuh, , , the case is a hit too ^ Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docr Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 Sorry, cannot attach additional photos at the moment - my 500k are used. Is there a way to add more pictures? Sound - will try to record some. I am no professional musician, working in an industy job and music is the best compensation for the stress during the daytime job. I was "socialized" with an Ibanez Humminbird clone in 1978 which I could buy for 480 DM 40 years ago. Now I have a "real" Gibson Huminbird with a floppy pickguard curling of the top and the Dove you see on the Pictures and I like both. Action of the Dove is "low as hell" - had released the trussrod a little and try not to hit so hard as on my D28. On the other hand the dove plays very comfortable. As already mentioned the price was quite good - 2.700 €. The lacquering in the region of the nut is sloppy, the lacquering of the frame on the side of the high e-string shows a small part with a slightly rougher surface, obviously some "fog" from the lacquer - but I don´t see this while I´m playing. The sound is good and different to my Hummingbird or J45 - and of course to Martins. And it smells good! No idea why the case is red and a different set of "goodies" than delivered with other Gibson acoustics is in the case. Maybe they packed it in the wrong case? The experts in this forum had no answer to this question. The advantage is that the Dove case is easy to find in the "case stack". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Congrats on the new Dove. The new Gibson cases look good from here. Are you saying the Dove case appears to be red in color to you? Looks to be a mottled brown to these eyes. Nice photos- a nice change to see the Dove photographed outdoors. . . but I see you’ve got the D’Addario mini tuner kept on the headstock; ‘just wanted you to know that I did the same until I found that it had eaten into the lacquer on the headstock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docr Posted August 13, 2018 Author Share Posted August 13, 2018 Congrats on the new Dove. The new Gibson cases look good from here. Are you saying the Dove case appears to be red in color to you? Looks to be a mottled brown to these eyes. Nice photos- a nice change to see the Dove photographed outdoors. . . but I see you’ve got the D’Addario mini tuner kept on the headstock; ‘just wanted you to know that I did the same until I found that it had eaten into the lacquer on the headstock. The colour of the case - it is hard to say, it is not really red, a mixture between brown and red, do not know a perfect word in English language. The outdoor place is my main rehearsal and session "bench" in summer - under an apple tree with the risk of getting damages of instruments or musicians by apples falling down at the moment as it is far too dry here. Thank you for the hint with the micro-tuner. Had some funny experiences with nitro coatings, I will take it off as long as the guitar is not played. As already mentioned, would have more photos but was running against the 500 kByte wall ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Sorry, cannot attach additional photos at the moment - my 500k are used. Is there a way to add more pictures? Imgur.com is a fairly intuitive image hosting site. Selecting “BCC code” (this will be displayed on the right side of the page among link options, once you click on the uploaded photo in your “Images”) will allow you to directly embed several photos into a post here. But first go into Imgur’s edit and make sure the image size is +/- 600 pixels. . otherwise, you might post some comically large photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted August 13, 2018 Share Posted August 13, 2018 Here are some photos. Wow, that's a beauty! Yeah, you have to upload your photos to another site, like imgur as 62burst mentioned. Then paste the link to it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.