62burst

How cool is that- to have the record of your guitar going back- June 23 1944. I felt lucky to find in the case pocket the bill of sale from when my '45 J-45 maple last changed hands- in 1969. Good of JT to give us a peek at those ledgers. EDIT: it too, seemed to have gotten a neck slim-down.

Well ok, then. By the time someone gets to CollingsVille, one would most likely be into keeping the acoustics happy. So what do you think caused the change in the neck angle?

Oh, yeah, the RMA thing. Almost forgot. . . Sorry to hear this happened to you, and to your guitar. The setup specs you'd measured when you first got the guitar were of an acoustic with quite low action, not unlike setup specs for an electric, so the Hummingbird was already walking a thin line of accommodating any movement due to the environment it lived in over the Seattle winter and spring. Seattle, which ranks no. 7 in the list of the 10 most humid cities in the U.S. OCD, or just guitar geek, it's good that you checked the string heights when the Hummingbird first came in. Strange that these measurements changed by Spring- it could be a perfect storm of conspiring things that may've occurred: not only humidity levels, but it may also be something that has been suspect both here, and for any guitar builder whose output has suffered backlogs from current world events (read: "Covid"). In their haste to get guitars out the door, manufacturers might possibly be trying to play catch-up. Also good to keep in mind that the Bozeman plant builds guitars at a relative humidity of ~ 45% RH. Most luthiers will not get into any setup work on a guitar until it has stabilized for a couple of days. Here's an article on Taylor's website: https://www.taylorguitars.com/support/maintenance/symptoms-wet-guitar. The photo of how the back of the over humidified guitar swelled around the tail block was interesting, as was how a straight edge line from the top of the frets was now pointing low on the bridge, resulting in high action at the upper frets. But you'd mentioned trouble/buzzing/choking out at frets 7 -> 9, so unless some changes to truss rod adjustment, this would not be the case with what you were experiencing (?).

Oh- I thought that it was either a slightly amber, but clear pickguard, or that it was just a reflection of the walls of your guitar room, which were tiger stripe maple. Nice birdseye on that neck, too. That's a very maple-y Tele. 😀.

Maybe try to find one of the all-mahogany LG-2 Banner Reissues that Gibson did in 2013 (forum question: is this the guitar that Gibson borrowed to use for measurements from John Thomas (JT, here on the forum), and almost didn't get back to him?). Irregardless, every time I take that one out of the case, the fullness of the neck, even up the neck, is surprising as much as the guitar's light weight on a full gloss finish. It might push the definition of what a 00-sized guitar is, with a waist .1875 " greater than the 8.375" of the average L-00. Tony P did a reviewed it a while back:

Yes. . . 'never seen that color. . . . Could definitely be somebody's jumbo case. Go ask the Guild guys. Get a measurement across the lower bout- 16" or 17" ? Even jumbo cases that have an arched top could show some evidence of . . .

A most tantalizing photo, Sonny. 'Would love to do the round Robin with those players in the room. Poor little J-185 Trans Black- not getting much love from Sonny. . . 'haven't been struck with gas for a while, but when it strikes, one never knows. 😎. Now- do you really think finding an SJ 12 fret with an Adirondack top will be the fix ? That might help punch things out with some of the deep-bodied 12 frets, like the Smecks, where they're bellowing more from their deep lungs, rather than projecting sound out from their soundholes.

With a join date of 2009, you really need to pull back on all of that mad posting that you've been doing. ; ). But if you've been doing some serious lurking, you'd know that if you were looking to find out how many of the 12 fret SJ's Gibson made, you stand a fairly good chance of getting an answer from Gibson customer service. Try emailing them. Word around here is that they will most likely get back to you. Your thought that there were fifty made sounds about right. They did 44 of the J-45 12 frets. . . I've had two of them . . did your SoJo come with a certificate of authenticity (COA) ? Sometimes the COA will say "X of XX" denoting iteration of that particular run. If the action and strings on the 12 fret are similar to the J-45 it's sitting next to, how would you characterize it's sound. The soundhole and bridge look to both be lower on the body. Soundhole same diameter? The J-45 based 12 fret is a cool thing.

I don't know, man. . . for Mr. Jeremy to say that J-185 has "such thickness and warmth". . . could he be confusing it with "needs strings less than a few years-old" ? 'Cause that's what I was hearing. Maybe if he grabbed a pick and actually strummed a few syllables. Jalex posted a nice video a while back with Richard Hawley waxing about his '53 J-185. . . (last third of the video) that was nice:

. . . maybe a good bunch of them had one-piece backs. The '43/'44 (that's around here somewhere) has the one-piece back. And for some reason, it has the center back strip on the inside. ?.

Definitely an interesting guitar, with features placing it among the primordial batch of Southern(er) Jumbos. Cool to see the white or silver (?) script logo. No truss rod. It would be nice to see it in natural light, though. . . the harsh light where the guitar was demo'ed makes it look like an overspray. It did sound very good when he was playing it with a pick.

Cool guit, Dave. All the guards look good, too. Maybe you can switch them out, depending on the occasion. Is backing tape still on them? The wood grain isn't showing through. The ebony is a nice touch.

Ah, yes . . . the "Heritage" bridge (below, from a Reverb posting 6 years ago) : Is there enough evidence of the your old bridge's footprint on the top to at least get you started? Doing intricate work on rosewood is no easy task- I can only imagine trying to make the moustache-style bridge instead. It would probably cost me a fingertip or two. EDIT: Also- would the standard practice of placing a straightedge across the top of the frets, & seeing where it contacts the top of the bridge give an ideal top-of-bridge height, assuming that the neck angle is correct?

That was too good. . . I went down the rabbit hole. And I thought you were just a funny name.

Also- as EgoIdeal had mentioned, relative to the back orders that Gibson, and many others are struggling to get out the door, it has been mentioned on other threads that guitars may've been rushed out the door to meet production demands. One thing that nitro finishes prefer is patience. If the guitar could only sit long enough to let the finish cure a little bit, then . . .

Ok, I just went and looked at a bunch of Gibsons laying around here, and found what looked to be veneers on the headstock (or, as Martin puts it, the "headplate". . . that'll avoid the wings showing through {from the front, anyway} ) on the Hummingbirds, AJ, '200, and even the forgotten stepchild, the WM has a black veneer, albeit in a matte finish. Certainly looks like a veneer in this Bozeman factory tour at the 50 second mark:

I give up. What goes in there? Sitar? Hurdy Gurdy? Hurdy Guitar Gurdy?

Do an internet search for "Gibson headstock wings" - you will most likely find that this is a Gibson thing. Yes, one solid piece of wood could be used, but that would make the guitar more expensive. Yes, polyurethane could be used in place of nitrocellulose lacquer, but your guitar would not sound like a Gibson. The finish is usually pretty heavy on the headstock of contemporary Gibsons. . . the appearance of what you are seeing could be lessened if desired, especially after some time has passed. If you had to. Getting a photo of the nut and string break at the saddle is a good thing to do before moving forward with a purchase. If it still bugs you, the nut can eventually be changed. How does the guitar sound?

Bone is not as uniform as Tusq™- and is not as likely to give a decent EQ across the strings as Tusq, which is why Tusq is normally on Gibsons equipped with pickup systems. But with bone, things can happen. Have you laid a straight edge across the fretboard (top of the frets) yet to see where it contacts the bridge? Most likely, it's at, or even slightly above, the top of the bridge. That's usually a preferred thing, as a slightly overset neck not only bodes well for delaying the time before a neck reset is needed, but also allows for a slightly greater than normal string break, and all of the attributes normally associated with that. Right. The broken saddle could also be sent to Bob, and an exact replica could be made. It would still be a good idea to get an idea of that neck angle, though. Maybe some string height measurements ( and preferred ones), as well.

Excellent. You have done well. And you are in Ukraine? Did you have to travel far to find this guitar? If so, it looks to be worth the trip. Congratulations.

GC- congratulations and thanks for bringing another Banner out to the light of day for the forum to see. What a beautiful patina that first photo shows, especially in the upper bout of the guitar. A respected vintage guitar luthier is the only way to go with putting your grandfather's guitar back into service. Once Sal from this forum sees this, he'll most likely recommend making the trip south to Wind Gap, PA to visit Dave and Rich at Brothers Music, and I would heartily agree. They're trusted to work on old Gibsons, and can advise on what should be done, and what shouldn't be done, as well. For example, if the pickguard isn't damaged, or if it isn't catching your fingers while playing because it's now shaped like a potato chip, best to leave it. Surely this post will have the bat light shining & will have noted Gibson historian/author and general guitar guy John Thomas chime in here. As Mr. 'Woof suggested, your Banner looks to be from around 1943. It also looks to have the one piece mahogany tops that they were doing at the time of war shortages of spruce. ?. There will probably be a lightened shadow if and when the trapeze is removed and the new rectangle bridge is secured in place- Rich at Brothers is skilled in finish touchups and could even lessen that effect. Either way, it'll just be part of the guitar's story going forward. Hopefully you're a guitar player, grandpa gifted it to you for good reason. If not a guitar player, this guitar alone would be a great reason to learn. Again- congratulations, and keep us posted.

The saddle brown case, banner with 1940's script Gibson logo does match with what Gibson was doing in '07, presumably the first year of the True Vintage series. As to what Emin7 was asking, re: presence of a sticker on the back of the headstock- my '07 J-45 TV did not have one. 'Fairly sure it also made no mention of "True Vintage" on the orange soundhole label. Yes, the tuners could've been swapped out. . . any evidence of that on yours? The D tuner looks to be slightly at an angle. Also- on the more standard model acoustic guitars, Gibson just couldn't seem to resist putting some sort of electronics in them. The TV's were spared that fate. Some more info on the TV line here:

I've had, or still do have (?) one that makes that sound, but it was only getting turned maybe a quarter turn at the most, and probably not been adjusted since, in years, so not particularly concerned. And it's rare that I have any interest in playing the musical truss rod adjustment game. You could more than likely find some sort of penetrant that could be carefully applied to the nut above the t.r. threads, or see if it still creaks after de-tensioning the strings. Question: just how much did you turn that adjusting nut to make that recording?

Ask for a photo of the back of the headstock. Like from the first fret up. Gibson has always had heavy finish over the serial number stamped on the back of the headstock, but your Bird in question looks to have some funny business going on up there. Other than that, it looks like a legit Hummingbird with a nice Gibson honey burst.