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The guitar arrived early


Cougar

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I've eyed the Songwriters for a while, mainly the 12-strings. But of course they're ridiculously expensive. Then I saw this one listed as used (not stamped used!), at a much more reasonable price. It's a 2018 (with "2018" stamped on the back of the headstock; what's that about?). I can't imagine anyone returning it after buying it brand new, but maybe that's the story. Or maybe it was a demo that nobody touched. It was up on reverb (briefly) by Chicago Music Exchange. They were great. I got prompt reponses to my emails, their guy answered my questions, dealt reasonably, that was it, I'll take it.

 

So it actually arrived two days early with UPS. (Of course, they're the ones who set the original delivery date, so who knows.) Still, the truck had apparently been out all day and finally got to me around 6 pm. The box was hot, but cooled down fairly quickly once I got it inside. CME has their own box that suggests waiting 24 hours. It also has a Shockwatch Monitored Shipment device that turns red if the package is bumped too hard. It was red.

 

I wasn't too worried about that. The box was still in good shape. So I had been waiting for the delivery, which is bad enough, and now I'm waiting for the box/guitar to acclimatize. This is worse! msp_sad.gif

 

It was getting late. I left it in the box overnight. Opened this morning. Flawless. FLAW-LESS. A super superior "rosewood" burst, and the abalone rosette is just killer. This is a 2018 Limited Edition Rosewood Burst Songwriter Deluxe 12-String. (That links to a GuitarCenter demo model that exemplifies mine. [i got a much better deal than GC's offering!]) Limited Edition seems to mean they put a "Limited" on the truss rod cover. I don't know what makes it any different than the Songwriter Deluxe Studio, but that's just fine with me. After checking her over for any tiny flaw, finding none, I tuned her up. I must say, My Guild JF30-12 sounds a little fuller, richer. But of course it does, it's a jumbo. The Songwriter's a 16"-lower-bout square-shoulder dread. It's got a 12-string tone of its own. It is definitely a keeper. Somehow my camera makes the burst color redder than it is. It's more like the photo in the linked GC ad. Anyway, here are some pics. It really happened!

 

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Nice looking guitar, congratulations!

 

Is the bird beak and unbound fretboard standard for SW's? I'm not familiar with that model.

 

CME is great to work with. I've bought a few from them.

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Thanks, guys. Yeah, I'm into gorgeous. Or should I say, I'm a sucker for gorgeous, and this guitar is a seductress! Plays and sounds great, too. I keep my Guild in drop D, so I'll keep the Songwriter in standard tuning. Totally jazzed with this guitar!

 

 

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The sunburst top, bridge, pickguard, rosette, rosewood B&S, inlays, rw headstock, back stripe - beautiful touches everywhere, and they all seem to come together perfectly in this guitar!

True. I love the ebony fretboard on my JF30-12, but I don't think an ebony board would work as well as the rosewood does on this "rosewood burst" Songwriter. It just fits in.

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Cougar, the "cooling down Phase" must have been terrible, knowing the new guitar is here. Have a lot of fun with this beautiful instrument.

 

I´m just curious - which string gauge is Gibson using fpor 12-strings in the factory Setup? 10? 11? 12? And how is the Tuning of the G-octave string? This is mostly an adventure on 12-string guitars [unsure]

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Thanks, guys!

 

I´m just curious - which string gauge is Gibson using fpor 12-strings in the factory Setup? 10? 11? 12? And how is the Tuning of the G-octave string? This is mostly an adventure on 12-string guitars [unsure]

I'm assuming they're 10s, but I haven't checked on the web. Yeah, that G-octave string is kinda fragile. It tuned right up, though.

 

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