Brucebubs

Makes sense, you know you're gonna need to do it anyway so why not save time.

Martin does that knowing the binding is just going to fall off anyway.

In 2016 Gibson released a very limited edition 1957 SJ-200 with thermally aged Adirondack top - I couldn't find one to buy! So in 2020 when they released the new Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200 - this time with thermally aged Sitka Spruce top - I ordered one and love it. Probably richer and warmer tone than I was expecting - to my ears 80/20's seem better balanced than PB's for some reason.

Released February 1971 - this was who I take over the Stones any day, every day.

Building it without a permit? Well they are Carpenter ants.

They've only just begun.

There's a few guitars out there I'd love to compare my maple Historic 1957 SJ-200 with and your rosewood Historic Pre-War would be at the very top of my list! There was one for sale in Melbourne and it was sold the day they put it on display.

No I haven't tried them yet, in fact I haven't tried any of those strings pictured. I made the mistake of trying D'Addario Nickel Bronze lights and they're sounding and playing nicely and I just can't bring myself to pull them off for no real reason ... but I'm getting close.

Ah, that brings the build date much closer to the date of the Final Inspection - thanks Dave F.

I ordered it here in Australia in early Feb 2020 in between surviving the bush fires and the start of the pandemic - picked it up 260 days later on Oct 28th.

Sounds perfect, thanks for that, much appreciated.

Just wondering if the build date on the serial number - which I can't decipher - is the same as the Final Inspection date?

Just wondering, is the 7/22/20 date on the Final Inspection Checklist of my 2020 Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200 the same as the serial number?

So what was Fred Astaire?

Got a killer price on the Timex chronograph watch on the left then decided I liked the chronograph on the right a little more - slightly easier to read. Bought them both ... do I need 2?

One of my favorite guitarists - looks like he's lost a lot of weight in that picture.

Looks great - something about those white tuner buttons that just looks so right on that guitar, like it's 'meant to be'.

2 things. On some guitars Martin 'step-drilled' the tuner holes in their headstocks, meaning the hole from the back might be larger than the hole from the front, you need to measure that and if that's the case then the push fit bushings with open gear tuners may fit without the need for 'conversion' bushings. Secondly, sealed gear tuners like Grover Rotomatics typically require a 13/32" (10.0mm) hole in the headstock where open gear tuners like Grover Sta-Tites use a smaller 11/32" (8.75mm) hole - therefore, usually going from sealed gear tuners to open gear tuners the existing hole is too big (unless the holes were step-drilled as mentioned above) In this case you can use a set of conversion bushings from Stewmac.

He married a 21st century schizoid woman.

So Bob is 80 ... he's harder to get rid of than a fart in a diving suit at 100 fathoms.

There is a new Tom Petty SJ-200 for sale here in Australia - the only one here. The price here is equivalent to US$15,414.59 https://www.acousticcentre.com.au/products/gibson-sj200-tom-petty-antique-natural-wildflower

If you think they are expensive in the US just try buying one outside of USA. My 2020 Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200 cost me waaaaay more than the US list price of $5990.00.

I tried playing the Chris Squire bass line from 'Roundabout' on a kazoo ... it didn't sound good.

Martin D-35's have a reputation for being loud guitars.

And I believe there was a period directly following the move from Westerly to Corona where the guitars were built in kits at Westerly then shipped to Corona for assembly.