J 150 @Daves

[JuanCarlosVejar]

If anyone is looking for a J 150:

 

https://davesguitar.com/products/gibson/sj-150-06/

 

 

 

 

JC

[62burst]

Nice find, Juan Carlos- For anyone looking for a superjumbo without the full bling of the big ‘200, these ‘150’s are a rare find. MOP (?) block logo, tulips and torch on the headstock, with rock-hard looking maple on the neck. Bridge nicely shaped, nice top.

[EuroAussie]

This is a really good price on a J-150 when the 150/200 models went through some crazy period where ALL of them from that period sounded rediculously good and consistent. Never played a bad sounding one from the 2002 - 07 period.

[Hall]

I have a J-150 and it's one of my favorites. The feel and sound are great, and the no bling is cool in its own way. That one at Dave's looks very tempting to me.

[sbpark]

Damn, that isa gorgeous guitar at a great price. Tempted, but want to go on a nice vacation next month, otherwise I'd be considering this guitar!

[Jinder]

I’ve loved every 150 I’ve played. A lot more consistent run of guitars than the 200s that were coming out at the time. As EA says, it was an insanely good run of instruments. This is a real treat for someone at that price.

[sbpark]

I’ve loved every 150 I’ve played. A lot more consistent run of guitars than the 200s that were coming out at the time. As EA says, it was an insanely good run of instruments. This is a real treat for someone at that price.

 

This is a bit reassuring, because I've owned two J200's, both from the early 2010's, and one sounded glorious while the other seriously sounded thin and way to bright with no low end at all.

[Jinder]

This is a bit reassuring, because I've owned two J200's, both from the early 2010's, and one sounded glorious while the other seriously sounded thin and way to bright with no low end at all.

 

Did you have any setup work done on the one that was lacking in firepower? I’ve found that too many luthiers set them up like a Taylor and hand them back to the player, who subsequently finds it thin and unsatisfying.

 

A Super Jumbo NEEDS some action and headroom to be hit hard-my 2015 has a medium action and sounds wonderful. I dropped in a shorter saddle some months ago to try it with a skinny setup and 50% of the magic disappeared. Meaty strings (12s at least) and headroom setup wise really help to make them sing.

[bobouz]

In 2001, I purchased a new J-150, even though I already had a mahogany-bodied '96 J-100xtra, as well as a maple-bodied '00 J-100xtra. Around this time, it seemed like every J-100 or J-150 I played sounded very good. But not so with the J-200s, as there were a number of outright duds in there (no projection & thuddy in tone).

 

Unfortunately, the '01 J-150 had a neck twist that made it very difficult to attain ideal action, and the '96 J-100 had too fat of a neck, so they were eventually trade away.

 

The '00 J-100 remains, and is a lifetime keeper. For sure, there were some stellar guitars coming out of Montana during the early 2000s.

[sbpark]

Did you have any setup work done on the one that was lacking in firepower? I’ve found that too many luthiers set them up like a Taylor and hand them back to the player, who subsequently finds it thin and unsatisfying.

 

A Super Jumbo NEEDS some action and headroom to be hit hard-my 2015 has a medium action and sounds wonderful. I dropped in a shorter saddle some months ago to try it with a skinny setup and 50% of the magic disappeared. Meaty strings (12s at least) and headroom setup wise really help to make them sing.

 

I set my own guitars up most of the time with average action that tends to lean on the slightly higher side because I can have a heavy right hand. It wasn't the set up. I set them up the same. The one was seriously a dud. Gorgeous to look at, but really did not sound good at all. And given I had two of them and one sounded spectacular, I am even more convinced the other was was junk. I also prefer 13's on all my larger guitars except for my J45 that actually sounds better with 12's. The J200 that was magical sounded good with both 12's and 13's.

[MissouriPicker]

Pretty fair price for the J150. If mine had a 1 & 3/4in nut, I'd never have sold it. Real butt-kicker of a guitar.

[zombywoof]

That is a pretty skimpy neck carve though. Baby sure ain't got no back.

[BoSoxBiker]

Did you have any setup work done on the one that was lacking in firepower? I’ve found that too many luthiers set them up like a Taylor and hand them back to the player, who subsequently finds it thin and unsatisfying.

 

A Super Jumbo NEEDS some action and headroom to be hit hard-my 2015 has a medium action and sounds wonderful. I dropped in a shorter saddle some months ago to try it with a skinny setup and 50% of the magic disappeared. Meaty strings (12s at least) and headroom setup wise really help to make them sing.

Do you have a preferred string height for your Super Jumbos that you can/would share?

[sbpark]

Do you have a preferred string height for your Super Jumbos that you can/would share?

 

String height (action) is player dependent. What one person prefers/likes may be different for the next guy.

 

And stating that a particular guitar prefers higher action, etc., is not limited to the J200's! Every guitar will sound worse the lower you go with the action. You lose low end, sustain, etc. the lower you go. This is the compromise we all face with acoustic instruments.

[BoSoxBiker]

String height (action) is player dependent. What one person prefers/likes may be different for the next guy.

 

And stating that a particular guitar prefers higher action, etc., is not limited to the J200's! Every guitar will sound worse the lower you go with the action. You lose low end, sustain, etc. the lower you go. This is the compromise we all face with acoustic instruments.

Agreed. Doesn't hurt to hear a tip and possible option, though.

[zombywoof]

String height (action) is player dependent. What one person prefers/likes may be different for the next guy.

 

And stating that a particular guitar prefers higher action, etc., is not limited to the J200's! Every guitar will sound worse the lower you go with the action. You lose low end, sustain, etc. the lower you go. This is the compromise we all face with acoustic instruments.

 

I know more than a few players who will say this is all a myth. But for decades I believed you needed to overdrive a top by going with heavier gauge strings and an action on the high end of normal. I still prefer a higher action but probably because I am used to it. But I wonder if what it is really about is the break angle of the strings. If you have ever gone too far sanding the flat bottom of a biscuit bridge trying to lower the action you will see how quickly you can lose sound when you lose the break angle. I own a couple of guitars which started out with pinless bridges. Virtually no break angle to speak of. But replace those with a pin bridge and the guitars became more focused and responsive while driving the top better yet with no appreciable change in the action. For grins I once ramped the bridge on one of my old Regals. Same thing. Vast improvement while keeping the action just where it sat.

[bobouz]

But I wonder if what it is really about is the break angle of the strings.

Yup, I've been on board with that for a long time. Whether thru ramping or shaving the bridge (as a last resort), if you can remain in the ballpark of a 45 degree angle, it'll be fine.

 

My favorite bridges are those that have the pins very close to the saddle, which helps to guarantee a steep angle. Least favorite would be something like the J-200 four-ribbon bridge, which puts the pins far south of the saddle.

[Dave F]

Yup, I've been on board with that for a long time. Whether thru ramping or shaving the bridge (as a last resort), if you can remain in the ballpark of a 45 degree angle, it'll be fine.

 

My favorite bridges are those that have the pins very close to the saddle, which helps to guarantee a steep angle. Least favorite would be something like the J-200 four-ribbon bridge, which puts the pins far south of the saddle.

 

Looks around 25 to 30 degrees with the slots. Hmmm.

 

[EuroAussie]

Few yeas ago i did a fresh strings shoot out with some of my acoustics, and there was a voting system which sounded the best - The J-150 won out, against some much pricier competiton.

 

Its my favourite guitar in the stable along with the SJ.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUKtgHPiM5z1Dk4e5v2qsOJw&time_continue=307&v=WNcDl8cnCtE