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J-30 questions


TC52

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Hello,

I purchased when new and still own a Gibson J-30 acoustic guitar.

Can you forward any info about this guitar? the serial #81935525

I would appreciate any and all info that you may have about this guitar. eg; year, place of manufacture, finish, etc.

Could you also tell me about the bridge / saddle on this guitar?

It has a nylon / plastic material where the bridge pins (holding the strings) are. The strings actually carve down into this material.

 

Was this used on any other Gibson guitars? Was this issue addressed at any time? (see Photo attached) Can this material be replaced?

Along with my other questions, can you tell me if you have a case available for this guitar? If so, which one?

 

 

Thanks for your time and your help, TC52

 

1 Attached Images

DSCN1163_1961.jpg

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2 Attached Images

DSCN1160_1958.jpg

 

 

a>http://DSCN1163_1961.jpg[/img]

post-30378-063839900 1296659089_thumb.jpg

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Hello TC52, welcome to the forum.

 

Nice looking J30. You don't see many around these parts! [thumbup]

 

Your guitar is a 1985, stamped on the 193rd day of that year and according to this link was manufactured in the Nashville plant.

 

As far as the material sourounding the pins, I will have a look at mine later today. I don't seem to remember mine looking like that though. I'll take some pictures later and post them for comparison.

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Hello TC52, welcome to the forum.

 

Nice looking J30. You don't see many around these parts! [thumbup]

 

Your guitar is a 1985, stamped on the 193rd day of that year and according to this link was manufactured in the Nashville plant.

 

As far as the material sourounding the pins, I will have a look at mine later today. I don't seem to remember mine looking like that though. I'll take some pictures later and post them for comparison.

 

Thanks Squire, I appreciate your help.

TC

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I had a look at my J-30 and my bridge is indeed different to yours. I don't have that plastic that seems to be cutting away on yours. Hopefully you'll be able to make this out on the photo. Presumably as you've had the guitar from new, it is the original bridge? :-k

 

34ycy02.jpg

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Looks as if the saddle slot was infilled (poorly) with some filler, probably wood dust and epoxy, I would guess. That may have been to correct an improperly-located saddle, which might have led to poor intonation.

 

Just speculation on my part, but that was what came to mind.

 

Fred

I agree.....bridge may have been improperly placed, or guitar dropped causing the pins to damage the bridge, wher the guy repairing just routed out the damage and filled the routed out wood with some unknown filler. I'm all for Mojo...but it is not a difficult or expensive repair to replace the bridge, set the intonation correctly and having it look good again. Probably $100. If I were you, I would take a mirror in the sound hole, and see if there is any damage to the bridgeplate under the bridge inside the guitar......like two sets of pin holes. Also check to see if there is a bridge plate glued OVER the original bridge plate...

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TC52,

 

The bridge structure on your J-30 is the factory setup. I have a Gibson brochure from the 80's that specifically mentions this. (Now I understand that many of you might think that I'm making this up when you read it, but try to keep in mind that Gibson's marketing efforts can border on the extreme side of reasonable.) Here is what the brochure had to say:

 

The S.O.R.S. Sound

The Gibson Symbiotic Oriented Receptor System (S.O.R.S.) ensures absolute acoustic purity — and is now available as an option on every Gibson acoustic guitar.

 

The brochure included a photo of the bridge, with the inlay just like yours (although the saddle actually looks like it might be a bit different).

 

I did a quick Google search for this and turned up a page from a George Gruhn book. It indicates that this is a piezo pickup system.

 

All the best,

Guth

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Thanks for the input guys.

I checked inside the sound hole with a mirror as suggested and every thing looks fine, no signs of botched and a fix and no extra set of pin holes.

Guth,

I did send off an email w/ photos to one of the guys that worked in Gibson's custom shop back when they installed the Gibson S.O.R.S pickup system (stands for Symbiotic Oriented Receptor System) as you mention.

Maybe he'll have some answers.

 

TC

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  • 5 months later...

I had a look at my J-30 and my bridge is indeed different to yours. I don't have that plastic that seems to be cutting away on yours. Hopefully you'll be able to make this out on the photo. Presumably as you've had the guitar from new, it is the original bridge? :-k

 

34ycy02.jpg

 

Hello Squire,

Your J-30 looks awesome, how old is it?

TC

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  • 1 year later...

One more with the same bridge material;

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1985-Gibson-J-30-Acoustic-Guitar-in-Gibson-Case-/330797142505?pt=Guitar&hash=item4d050bd1e9

 

This makes aprox. (6) that I've seen, and so far I haven't been able to find out any more from Gibson. Oh Well.

 

It is a great sounding guitar though.

 

Does anyone know how these were ranked in comparison with the other Gibson acoustics?

I would appreciate any info.

Thanks, TC

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It is a factory bridge according to Gibson's Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars: An Illustrated History and Guide.

 

What you are seeing there around the bridge pins is a fibre insert utilized in an attempt to prevent splitting between the bridge pins. They used this to compenstate for the thin bridges that easily split. The bridges during that era are thin because the necks were usually underset.

 

You can replace the bridge but it too will be thin if the neck is underset. The real way to fix this is a neck reset and a whole new full thickness bridge, which probably isn't worth it if the guitar plays fine.

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  • 3 weeks later...

It is a factory bridge according to Gibson's Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars: An Illustrated History and Guide.

 

What you are seeing there around the bridge pins is a fibre insert utilized in an attempt to prevent splitting between the bridge pins. They used this to compenstate for the thin bridges that easily split. The bridges during that era are thin because the necks were usually underset.

 

You can replace the bridge but it too will be thin if the neck is underset. The real way to fix this is a neck reset and a whole new full thickness bridge, which probably isn't worth it if the guitar plays fine.

 

Thanks J-Doug, The guitar sounds awesome, definately a keeper.

TC

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I have a 1984 J30 with this same material on the bridge and I can say that this is a very special guitar... I has a very distinct dry and woody thump that makes it one of the most "Gibson" sounding Gibson's I have ever played... and check out the white finish... so pretty!

HgWoPl.jpg

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iMKPal.jpg

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