Jinder Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 WOW...what a piece of work this guitar is. Absolutely lovely. It needs a setup and a wee intonation tweak, as newies always do, but the tone is HUGE and it sounds great whatever tune you attack with it. It looks incredible too...lush, extra-flamed back and sides, beautiful evenly-grained Sitka top absolutely COVERED in silking. Part of what makes my Dove so special to me is that it was made for me by Gibson by commission, via my band's new endorsement deal...it's brilliant to be a Gibson endorsee, but possibly even better to know that my guitar was built specifically for me by a company with such a rich and amazing history, and that has had such a profound effect on popular music in the last 114 years. I feel really lucky. After I picked it up from the Gibson offices, I went to see Brian Wilson play at The Royal Albert Hall, and arrived a couple of hours early...so, I whipped out the Dove, tuned her up and sat in the park outside the RAH playing and singing for a couple of hours in the sunshine-well, in the shade, as I didn't want to sit with a brand new guitar in direct sunlight! For all interested, the first few songs I played on her were: 'Heaven Knows I Need You Now' 'The Letting Go' 'Keep Me In Your Heart' (all by my band Mercurymen) 'If I Needed You' 'Pancho & Lefty' (Townes Van Zandt) and plenty more. After that, my band and I went on tour with Deacon Blue, making one of the Dove's debut gigs a show at Liverpool Echo Arena, playing to 10,000 people! Talk about in at the deep end...she performed brilliantly though, and sounds absolutely lovely plugged in, even attracting several complimentary comments at the merchandise stall about how great all our guitars sounded. I played the Dove, my bandmate Simon played my SJ200 and Hummingbird, and my other bandmate Gavin played his J45RW. The guys have a Hog J45 each on order and I've also ordered a Mandolin...I can't wait to get my hands on that. Apologies for my rambling...this post should have read:"New Dove-it's great!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarstrummer Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I can't remember, have you posted pictures yet? Now, you just need to figure out how to make it over for the Gibson Homecoming so you can see where it was made! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 you lucky dog! i'm currently endorsed by estaban. let's see some pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted July 17, 2008 Author Share Posted July 17, 2008 I haven't posted pics yet...I don't have a working digital camera at the moment, but when I do I'll slam pics up! Yes indeed I must get over to Homecoming one of these years...hopefully if my band get the chance to do some live work in the US I can coincide it :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 many congrats! The Dove from above may need explanation over the pond but really pleased you're happy with it after the debacle last time withe the 165 nor was it a 185? The Dove is just such a pretty guitar. Don't know if you've noticed on EvilBay but there's a guy in Manchester who has a selection of new Gibby. I was sorely tempted by a 'Burst SJ-300 but have set my sights on picking one up next June at the Homecoming. Sorry you can't make tommorrow but we'll sort something out next time! Happy Dove Days BR John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 I haven't posted pics yet...I don't have a working digital camera at the moment' date=' but when I do I'll slam pics up! Yes indeed I must get over to Homecoming one of these years...hopefully if my band get the chance to do some live work in the US I can coincide it :-)[/quote'] jinder, does your band have an agent in the U.S.? i've discovered quite few great bands in support slots on tours that come through our venue. bands i have otherwise never heard of. my latest fav was supporting pete yorn. they are called minibar and i believe they're from the UK, if i'm not mistaken. great band that captured my attention during their sound check. made it a point to watch their entire set (usually i'm at dinner during the openers) and snag their CD. a very happy find! would love to see the mercury men on our stage. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertjohn Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Nice one Jinder. Let's see some pics when you can. Shame about tomorrow but give John or I a shout when you are next in town. Love to meet up for a pint. BTW, if you need any of your Gibson's set up etc, John and I know the man for the job. No names but you may know him anyway. He's in Suffolk. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefleppard Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 congrats on the dove from above (josh ritter lyric?)! pics, pics, pics..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLiveSoundGuy Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Cheers, for the years, to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 jinder' date=' does your band have an agent in the U.S.? i've discovered quite few great bands in support slots on tours that come through our venue. bands i have otherwise never heard of. my latest fav was supporting pete yorn. they are called minibar and i believe they're from the UK, if i'm not mistaken. great band that captured my attention during their sound check. made it a point to watch their entire set (usually i'm at dinner during the openers) and snag their CD. a very happy find! would love to see the mercury men on our stage. cheers[/quote'] Wow, Minibar! I wasn't sure if they broke up. I bought an album of theirs years ago after reading a piece in No Depression Magazine (which folded recently). I haven't kept up with their later work. When did you seem them play? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Wow' date=' Minibar! I wasn't sure if they broke up. I bought an album of theirs years ago after reading a piece in No Depression Magazine (which folded recently). I haven't kept up with their later work. When did you seem them play? [/quote'] it was november of '07. hope they're still at it. they have a great sound. gonna miss the no depression mag. it was a great resource. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Congratulations on the new guitar, Jinder! It sounds heavenly! Thank you for listing first songs, too! You, JohnT, Thermionik*, AlbertJohn, and everyone in the UK can just carpool over for the Homecoming next year (with the emphasis being on 'pool', I guess) * did I spell that right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnt Posted July 17, 2008 Share Posted July 17, 2008 Congratulations on the new guitar' date=' Jinder! It sounds heavenly! Thank you for listing first songs, too! You, JohnT, Thermionik*, AlbertJohn, and everyone in the UK can just carpool over for the Homecoming next year (with the emphasis being on 'pool', I guess) * did I spell that right? Well I will be there GG and AJ and I are holding the first inaugural meeting of the UK sub branch this afternoon in London so you never know. Denmark Street in Soho has to be easier to get to than Bozeman, at the moment it seems to be about three flights ending up with a Sopwith Camel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 Jinder, Congrats! Dove's are a perfect balance of all things good in Gibsons. If you're inclined - there is a US movie from 15+ years ago - "Pure Country". It stars George Strait, but his co-star is a Dove! He tends to play Taylor, but either he, or Central Casting chose a Dove, I suppose, knowing they have more... everything! G'luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 It's nice to see so much love for the Dove!! I've just spent a couple of hours playing it, I did some setup work on it yesterday (filed out the nut slots a little, lowered the bridge saddle, tweaked the truss rod a little) and it now plays and intonates beautifully. There's still a little more to come from it, but that will happen when I get a full pro setup done after a few more weeks of playing in. So, after a couple of weeks of owning it, I can honestly say that the Dove is the cat's whiskers-it's by far my favourite of all my Gibsons, which is saying a LOT as my Hummingbird is the best example of one I've ever played, by SJ200 has been halfway around the world with me and is so played in a mojo-fied I could write a book about it, and my B15 has a timeless simplicity, vintage tone and 40 years of playing in time on the clock. I can only describe to Dove as being the best example yet of why I love Maple guitars so much. It sounds gigantic, every note is drenched in silky richness, chords sound incredible but the guitar sounds brilliant for fingerstyle too as there's so much note separation and clarity to the tone. It's the biggest and most dramatic sounding guitar I've ever played-My SJ200 is a cannon, but sounds timid in comparison to the Dove-it's very inspiring to play, and easy to play too. The only thing I can draw a valid close comparison to in order to describe it is an AJ, but with more focus and richness, depth and clarity. My only complaint is that even after two weeks of playing and gigging it, the design on the scratchplate is already starting to wear off a little. I would love it if Gibson would do the same with the Dove 'guard as they've done with the Hummingbird...it would be great to do the same with the SJ200 guards too. I love the way I can play my Hummingbird hard and freely without worrying that I'm knackering the scratchplate. It would be a great idea to manufacture these new 'guards and sell them for retrofitting too-I know several Hummingbird players who play older models and are very covetous of my protected 'Bird scratchplate as the design if entirely gone from theirs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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