Peter Z

Aside from the lower tension and the resulting (better?) playability, the guitar will sound a little different because lower frequencies will activate the air and material resonance frequencies of the guitar. Also some want to play in E but want to sing in D. This might not be an issue when we just play cowboy chords or bar chords but if you want to play the original riff of "Listen to the Music" from Doobie Brothers that's not possible in D. Tom Johnston plays the song tuned down to E flat now (at least in ther "Playing for Change" version). I think it was E originally. I tune down maybe twice a year just to go back to standard tuning a few hours later.

I use XT on my maples (SJ-200 and Dove), XS on the rest. We all seem to have very different ears as to mine the XS strings sound bighter than XTs. But I have old, wornout ears with a tinnitus plugin. 🙂

I just bought 12 sets of strings yesterday, before I saw your post. I put them on my wish list for the next purchase. Thanks a lot!

And I want to add that I can’t stand the sound of flatwounds on guitars. They are for my upright bass! 🙂

Wow Jinder, great summary! You made me curious, I never tried 85/15 strings. Now I wanna know!

Very nice family! Please share some pics of her back. I read it’s rosewood and I missed the pics linked to your first post. Congrats! Peter

I have 5 Martins, had another one before. One of them, the CEO-7, had the binding issue. Maybe the others are too new. It got repaired quickly and really cheaply. No big deal. When I compare the Austrian prices to to US prices, Gibsons are very close and Martins are much higher here. I love both Martin and Gibson as I love a wide variety of food. Martin might be on the menu a little bit more often.

The Gibson coated (PB and especially 80/20) and D’Addario XS are my favorite strings. Only my Dove seems to like Elixirs a little better.

Hard to imagine that Bruce ever got banned as he is a really nice guy. Only thing could be a misunderstood joke. I hope to read from him asap!

YT is or became a mostly platform for people who like to hear themselves talking. I saw the first part and while it had some good (critical) points it was exhausting. This second part I stopped watching after about 10 minutes. This guy was only justifying what he is doing and I‘m not interested in that at all. What he forgot to mention in the first video and the first half of this one is that Gibson seems to have a lot of handwork also in that G line. It’s quite cheap and therefore a bit more sloppy but still an american handmade guitar that shouldn’t be compared to another product produced mostly by machines. I’m not saying what is better, just what a buyer wants. Maybe the invisible sloppiness inside the guitar is acceptable for many. Maybe Gibson saved costs on the right place in the few of many customers. I mean, look how old, expensive and well played Gibsons look like. Who would care about some glue inside the guitar? Maybe all of that is covered in the second half of this boring video. I will not know. I’m not interested in buying a G-series Gibson but I appreciate that Gibson makes those guitars. Just more offers to select from. If customers don’t like them, they will disappear from the marked quickly.

That’s wonderful, Jinder! I think, I told you that you influenced me to get my Dove. Nice to see one of the Doves that inspired you.

BTW, I prefer the XS over the XT. On my Southern Jumbo I usually use Gibson 80/20 coated. Will try D’Addario XS soon.

Those are the XT strings, they sound a bit darker than the XS. The XS come in a white package, otherwise in the same design.

Four Martins and four Gibsons here - I want to be fair! 😀

Wolfi, that top looks beautiful to me!

That one is much cheaper, Sgt.. I wonder if there were good and bad years with that model or if that mystic wood is not that good.

Thanks a lot, slimt!

There is a J-2000 Mystic Rosewood available. I never touched this model before. Can you tell me something about it?

Wonderful! While I love my Hummingbird, the guitars shown here sound better. 👍

I like them on my Southern Jumbo and the Hummingbird. And the Gibson 80/20 coated are nice strings too.

I have a few Snarks (or knock offs) and a Daddario mini but don't use them anymore since I bought a TC Polytune. Meanwhile I also have the Unitune because I don't use the poly function much. Both top tuners!

Very nice playing and a great sound, BluesKing! And yes, the CEO-7 is a blues, folk and fingerpicking monster. Incredible guitar!

My guitars are mostly non-cutaways, BUT: That's a cooooooool looking guitar!

If Gibson loses so many plaers they seem to be successful with collectors as they just announced a major factory expansion at their Bozeman facility.

Beautiful! Good guy, he is giving here a language to communicate and feel good! I‘d love to have a few scratches from her fingers on my shiny new Gibson Dove that always remind me to be nice. Nobody else would be allowed to scratch that guitar. 🙂