PrairieDog

I used to work in the advertising world, so I have some experience here. This is an age old move. Adopt a good sounding buzz word, in this case “Masterbuilt,” to support the claim your product is different from the others. In the time leading up to 2000 remember Gibson had gone through some really rough patches and changes in ownership, and they were pulling themselves out, so they needed a new hook to convince people ‘Only a Gibson is Good Enough’ (again). After describing in rather vague hype how special Gibsons are, using words like “luthier,” “climate” and “Master Craftsman,” the last paragraph of the main copy says …*Each* Gibson acoustic is still ‘Masterbuilt’. This is just assuring the customer that any Gibson acoustic you buy will be made with the same care by their special elves in the magical land of Bozeman, just as their guitars of the olden days. This is not distinguishing one line of guitars from another. It is only saying, “we are the greatest.” The inset is just taking it one step further, and flogging the idea of a custom shop saying you could *even* special order a dream guitar and it would be created with the same the Masterbuilt elf commitment to quality *just for you* (because you are unique and special.) However, HERE is the real crux of the confusion: Spelling matters! All Gibson acoustics are “MasterBUILT.” A claim of pride. Epiphones are “MasterBILT.” That is a bit of slick branding sleight of hand, to play on, yet distinguish the mass produced Epiphone line from the Gibson line.

Great rendition, nothing wrong with those sounds at all.

Thanks, and hey, it did come through! Some stars aligned that pointed the way. First, every time I went in and didn’t see it hanging right way, my heart sank that it got away, so that told me something. I had seen the one you shared and mine is in about the same shape, far less scratches, but the gold on the Grover tuners is more patina’ed, but this one was a chunk less than the Cali one, which was already pretty fair compared to past listings and Songwriters. Then, we got a good refund credit on a used 2011 Taylor GS mini we picked up on a whim yesterday when we went to visit the Songbird. My better half wanted a bluesy parlor style, and this little thing had both voice and some growl. Only thing, we thought it was a good deal because it was tagged and priced at the up-charged all mahogany model, but when we got it home and could really look at it, it turned out to be the low end sitka top. I was thinking it didn’t look quite right for hog, but it was really ribbony spruce, and they use the sapele in these, so I figured that was why it looked weird. Further researching what we bought, we found the original flyer tucked in a pocket that said it was sitka. Confirmed in that in 2011 they only made spruce tops. We had paid 10 bucks less than a brand new version of the same make 🙄 (that’s what we get for buying on impulse, and not knowing anything about that model!) Anyway, headed back down there today to have them make it right. So when I couldn’t find the SB right away again and felt my heart drop once more, that kinda cinched it. Then came the gravy: fooling around with it while the Taylor was getting squared away, out of my fingers flew the final bit of an old King Crimson lick I’d been tearing my hair out trying to remember. I said, “okay, you just earned your keep.” Spouse went along with “one more guitar” if it meant they didn’t have to listen to me endlessly try to conjure it up anymore 😆 😄 Anyway, it’s still on the suspect hold so pics next week sometime!

That’s part of the draw. it’s actually very well positioned against used or new SWs. Probably because there aren’t many comps out there since they were such a short run in this configuration. And at my age there is the uncomfortable situation I likely don’t have another 20 years to let a new one open as this one has. After playing a zillion guitars the past few months (on the advice here), and bringing too many home, the one thing I’ve learned is I usually do prefer the sound of other folks’ cast-offs over the shiny new young things, rueful chuckle.

I went back to revisit the Songbird yesterday. It’s still pulling me. I noticed, like the first time I played it, it was tuned down a whole step, again. So someone else is circling it too. It still has a couple days on its release hold, so I’m thinking if I want it, I probably need to act, even though our New Years resolution was No More Guitars for a while. Ready to just do it, I was looking it over with a fine tooth comb, and noticed the lacquer right at the body/heel join is rough, right at the seam. There doesn’t seem to be any actual wood separation. However, is this a sign something more serious in the works? The guys at the store said just keep it humidified and weren’t too worried, but I wanted to see if anyone else has experience here. Sorry, didn’t think to take a picture. But just imagine kind of a white, sandy line right along the seam, where the lacquer appears to have cracked. Otherwise the finish is pristine.

I agree. It’s a great guitar. Sure, it’s always best to play, but really, look how many folks end up perfectly happy with what gets delivered. It’s not like every other j45 gets returned. So the odds say either one will be great, but the rarer one will hold more value for you, even if you never intend to sell, your heirs might appreciate it. And be sure to let it settle in for a week or two, even if you think there might be a problem. I was ready to return a guitar I did get to play because when I got it home it sounded completely off. Packed it back up for a couple weeks until I went into town again, then pulled it out to double check and now I can’t believe how close I came to giving back the richest sounding guitar in the group (don’t tell my DIF). It just needed to get re-adjusted to the new digs. On a related note, yesterday in the case at our GC there was a sparkly, new 5K guitar. Not the usual fare for our shop. Our guy told us the story: A fellow ordered it to upgrade from his entry level 100.00 type starter. Got it delivered and was horrified. The next day he was back in the shop to return it, bringing along his old one to prove it sounded better, and have everyone else confirm it. I don’t think the guy had it for 24 hours. The poor thing was probably still suffering from jet lag and whiplash from being yanked all over the place. No wonder it sounded like crap.

-14, thank God no wind. Warming up to nearly 40 above next week. The pendulum swings ever wider.

Well, that’s a decent view. Pretty sweet spot you have there. Sorry about the freeze up, though.

No kidding? Eff that, if it’s a current part. What the heck? So if you shipped it to them, would they install a truss rod cover for you? This is just all kinds of wrong, customer service-wise, especially if you can prove ownership.

The factory doesn’t compete directly with their retailers. It undercuts the relationship and it’s usually bad form, unless the factory is offering something the stores don’t. In this case you can probably order any parts you need through your local authorized shop, with their mark up to cover the expenses.

But if it says Masterbilt, that is an early release from what they would rebrand as their epiphone line in 2004. Yours was built by that side of the factory before the move to China, that’s all. It distinguishes it from the main Gibson brand. Gibson made a custom shop Lennon J165e and a Masterbilt 165e. They are similar but not the same exact builds. The Masterbilt was made efficiently with more economical woods to serve the folks who wanted the j165e but not at the Custom shop price. Not saying you don’t have a great guitar, you obviously do, but it is still not the fully appointed Gibson Custom shop version. If it were it would *be* a custom shop, right? There would be no point in having both names. The strength and resistance to cracking is not just about which wood, but entirely dependent on the clarity of the planks and even what part of the trunk they came from. Planks from the base of the tree that bore the entire weight of the tree are going to be stronger/denser than the planks cut from the top of the trunk, Those may have more flex from effects of wind. Picking Instrument woods is a fine science and very “goldilocks”, and contributes to the high costs on the upper end builds. Only a few planks from a tree will meet the exact standards a builder wants for a high end guitar. The expensive builds make their reputation on knowing exactly where in the tree they want their planks from, the size of the grain, and the clarity of the pieces, to make sure their instruments will have the most resistance to deforming and will perform properly for decades. That’s your Martin. But plenty of other wood from the same tree will make perfectly good, standard instruments, they may just have characteristics that could have more effect on tone, crack, deflection, and checking resistance over time. Yeah, Gibson could probably fix it. But with their normal warranty only against manufacturing defects, it will be hard to prove there was no user error in over 20 years that may have contributed, despite you knowing better. Anyone can say “I baby my guitars.” The issue will be proving you did. It’s a fact of life guitars can crack, all kinds of wood cracks. It’s a mystery why yours did, but it’s going to be hard to lay it on a manufacturer defect after 20 years. With standard mill-run wood, a maker can’t how a guitar will handle decades of minute movements and breathing, players and playing conditions, even the state of being fully opened up. Any manufacturing wood defect (like a tiny knot or preexisting crack that simply widened) would have manifested in the first few years as it stabilized. Seriously, like the others have said, it will probably cost more in time, money, hassle, and even danger, to ship it back to Montana than to have your local luthier zip it up. And you’ll have it back home safe and sound sooner. If it were me, I’d be bummed, but I wouldn’t stress about it. It’s kinda like sometimes a 20 year old Chevy will need a new radiator no matter how many Sundays it was driven to church by grandma.

Yowza!! Lovely instrument.

Of course you know “Masterbilt” is the still the high end of the cost-efficient Epiphone brand. So all bets are off on the quality of woods used. Not every piece of wood even among the same tree is equal. The tiny flaws and such that made a piece not meet regular Gibson standards, but still good enough to build with, makes them more prone to cracks and such as they age. It’s not really a fair comparison with your high end Martin. Yes, a few were built in Bozeman, and epiphones can be lovely instruments, but to meet the price point, even if they were made in the same factory, they were not using the same quality materials as the flagship brand/custom shop models. But like everybody says, cracks are really not a big deal, and easily repaired.

Right on! First time I ever came across McMurtry was an Austin City Limits that came on with the TV. He was doing Choctaw Bingo. I was agape. Nearly monotone, but just the right inflection here and there, and pretty basic chucking along. The thing was way too long, but I still didn’t want that effing song to end 😂 20 years later we still throw random quotes from it into conversations, “Tried to miss him, but didn’t quite,” lol. That “mmhHHmmm” he throws in at the right moment is a stroke of lyric genius, talk about saying everything by saying nothing at all. An American musical legend.

So far we’ve been lucky and it’s a pretty standard -20 or so with the windchill. that is really not bad with a good jacket. Sorry about the garden. We had terrible drought for a few summers and lost the gardens and even some trees. We had a super wet spring this past year so we went ahead and planted 3 new trees. By July the rain had dried up. Dang. We put on soaker hoses to minimize waste, because we had to keep them watered. But We’re on a well, but it’s not as deep as it should be, so it’s a choice between watering or making sure the house doesn’t run dry. Nerve wracking. The weather has just gone nuts. I was in shirt sleeves at the end of December, in Minnesota. Our lilac buds had even started to swell.

Hey spaq, that was terrific. Maybe you saw the same thing I did, that the temps and windchill is in the northern tier are hitting unknown territory and they are speculating that even critters and birds adapted to subzero temps could suffer huge kill-offs. Not to mention the cattle and such that are just exposed out on the prairie with nothing to stop the wind. The -60s windchills they are projecting for NDAK, etc, is the new scale. Under the old measure this would be -90. That’s Antarctica. Btw, we’re -10 and feels like -23.

Sure, that would serve the same purpose to sort of ease your listeners into what they are about to hear…. Just mentioning “they talk” is a bit passive, it removes your audience from the story a step, (implies they are listening to second hand news)… you want them in there with you. How ‘bout just, “a crime so grim, it still chills me to this day.” I’m a writer and a long time editor (I know, you wouldn’t know from my posts, chuckle, busman’s holiday). And I realize I’m just blathering uninvited here, I have no ego invested, so take what helps, brush off the rest… Knock ‘em dead at the show!

So, I like this revision. Just wondering, what about bookending the song with your last verse? it’s a great evocative image. I’d maybe add that as an intro to suck the audience in, “hey, what’s that now?” then give it a poignant reprise at the end.

Or, the paperwork isn’t for this guitar? Until the doc matches the serial number in the instrument, good luck with the “glue”, somebody could have swapped docs, or something got put back in the wrong case at a shop, or otherwise mixed up at some point. I’d say, any id info that is not found somewhere on the guitar itself, means all bets are off as to whether any paper with it is for the guitar.

Yeah, so recent, it’s a kindness to let her past be. But I like the names at the start. I was wondering really why the kids took those two out in particular? I mean, couldn’t they have killed anyone in the “perfect” crime. Did they not like the dudes, somebody move on somebody’s girl, gave the kids a bad look one day, did they have money? Seems like there might be a bit more to the story than just their claim to commit perfect murder. Of course, they were dumbasses to start with, so maybe I’m over thinking it.

Good time!

Score! And I really liked the sound from the port when I played something that had it. With my poor hearing I felt like it helped round out what I was picking up on.

Nice!! Congratulations. Looking forward to hearing it.

Walnut is pretty dense. I feel like my J 45 Studio feels awfully sturdy compared to my rosewood Taylor 714 ltd. My DIF is maple, but somehow it seems more delicate, but that could just be I feel like it should be. I’ve never bashed it against anything to test it out 😎

We’re dodging bullets left and right this winter. All around folks are deep in snow and we still had grass showing until this afternooon. Now we on the northern, backside of this one, so we’re gonna miss the worst, fingers crossed. We went through a bomb a couple years ago, early spring. The red wing blackbirds were already back. I made a video of the crazy wind, with the bird calls in the background. A couple got caught up in the gale and blown right past my camera. That was a bummer.