EuroAussie

Difficult to argue against Taylor being overrated ...

I have to admit Im not a fan of refinishing, one of the things I like in vintage guitars is the mojo.

It does sound solid and good PM, however just looking it appears you were only strumming rather than than doing the hybrid strumming / fingerpickin thang - is that correct ? And if thats the case, then what the point of using the thumbpick when you can use a normal pick ?

It is interesting. Ive always had the experience that bone helps in every way and normally give all my guitars a thorough boning in all three ways, saddle, nut and pins. BUT when I replaced the plastic pins with bone on my HB TV I was shocked but the tone. Yes, it did become more clear, but not in a good way. It lost the nectar, as you say, muted, property that the Bird is round for. I really did not like the tone. Sounded like a generic Gibson. Back came the plastic pins and the nectar returned. It was a good lesson in not making assumptions. With the AJ Im so pleased with the tone as it is that I wont be going through with a boning makeover. Regarding lessons: Our lead gutarist is actually my guitar teacher, thats how we met. I record the lessons and they have been beneficial for sure. I made a deal with him in that I lent him the money so he could get a the Furch Jumbo he plays with us on stage to be repaid in lessons. It was a win / win deal. I think guitar lessons are best suited for intermediate students, so that you can focus on details rather than the basics which can all be learned online these days.

Now that IS something worth boasting about Jinder, what an experience. I would be happy to pay some reasonable money for a few minutes with that guitar.

Sure, but a solid top and laminate Gibson construction is what basically Epiphone is. So why would you want to pay $1k for a laminate Epiphone branded as Gibson when you can have the same for $300 ... ?

I dont have anything against laminated b/s, they have a place on the market and can sound particularly good. But what is the point of making a laminate b/s Gibson .... isnt it basically then an overpriced Epiphone ..?

Ah, just found out .... laminated back and sides ...nevermind.

Seems to me like a stripped down Hummingbird, and they seem to sell for under 1K. Case in point: http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIBSON-GOSPEL-100TH-ANNIVERSARY-1994-ACOUSTIC-with-ohsc-NO-RESERVE-/261053670449?pt=Guitar&hash=item3cc802e431 Any reason for that ?

I've played many J-200's and own a great sounding J-150 but never played a rosewood J-200. That was until a custom arrived in my local guitar shop. Was really keen to give it a go as was interested to hear how it stacks up in rosewood. I had a fear it might be somewhat muddy and boomy but wasn't at all. Very rich powerful tone, excellent balance, note seperation, no muddiness whatsoever. Outstanding guitar that's significantly more superior to my songwriter. .

Mate, I think that is waaaay overpriced for this model.

Ritchie, thats one set of pipes you got there man, impressive !

Alcatraz ?

Wow, so thats THE famous borroed 'Babe Im Gonna Leave You' J-200, great to know a bit more about it ! For some reason I alwasy imagined it be a natural finish. He does some serious shredding on it, you can definitely hear the heavy gage strings on it, he really does seem to work his way around them like they were lights. Great player or great set up, probably both. Thanks for sharing, enjoyed that a lot.

I read once that Pete chose his J-200 because it actully sounded really flat and dead, he thought it was perfect for his machine gun strumming technique ... but maybe not the quality we all desire..

Yes, i can imagine this leaving a bitter taste in the mouth, especially with something like a J-200, or any Gibson for that matter. Hope it will be sorted and you will be back playin' away and lovign the tone and playability, keep us posted !

Well I love the tone of the Hummingbird, both vintage ones and the current versions and have played many very good ones. But this one just was not what I heard in many other birds, especially TV Birds. The guitar needs to be balanced, you cant have the three top strings sounding bright and sparky while the bottom three sounding dead and lifeless. I also played that guitar pretty hard afterwards, but it just actually sounded even worse as teh contrast bettween the top and bottom was even greater. Played some bluegrass strumming and the top end just rung out like hell, while the bottom end was just totally dead. I mean its impossible to get anything out of those bass strings. When I have time I might get back in there and ask the boys to try out a new set of strings. btw: if you have time please take a listen this recording of BobbyB's rendition of Bron Y Aur Stomp and listen to the bass notes (hope you dont mind Bobby). They still have the classic Gibson 'thump' but the tone is much richer and projected, unlike the spaghetti tone that comes out of the bass notes on this particualar Bird'

Hmm, I dont buy these 'it needs time to open up' arguments. Ive played enough Gibsons to know they should sound stellar right from the beginning, as most do. Listening back it sounds a bit better from the listeners point of view then when i played it. It was really actually difficul to play those bass notes as no life was coming out of them, it sounded worse from the players point of view. I hope this was an issue with the strings, even though they are fresh I know that it could be a dud set. Ill have a chat with the boys at the shop, I know them well and bought my AL SJ there, plus lots of bits and pieces. However if its not the strings a 2.5k Gibson should never sound like this, and I certainly would not buy one hoping it would 'open' and make me happy after some time. It should sound absolutely stellar right from the first strum or pluck. It was a pretty disappointing day I must say.

I just told him to send it back to the distributor frankly .. but I was talkign to the head of bass, so he's probably forgotten about it by now. But I swear the strings are very new, this is the thing. Took a good look at them and they are fresh. This guitar only arrived last week ... I have to say the HB Standard is the model in the current line up that by far was the most inconsistent from the ones Ive tried in last two years,many disappointing examples, the J-200 not far behind. (although there is a killer J-200 Studio in there right now). The Songwriter on the other hand was a winner every one I tried.

Was pretty excited about getting back to my local guitar shop as I read on their site a new Bird' flew in last week. Took her eagerly and then you should see my face when I heard the tone. While the top three strings sounded sweet as pie, the EAD bass strings literally sounded like rubber band strings, just dead as a door nail. Took a good look over, structurally all seems fine, action perfect and the strings only one week old, they sounded like Gibson Masterbuilts. Took this video today to share with you, please focus on the bass strings. Is it just me or is this one dead bird ? Frustrates me when I see such examples, just gives fuel for the basheers, and in this case, rightly so ... !

Ill add to that as my Aaron Lewis SJ was also built during this exact period ...

In terms of gage I like both 12's and 13's and regularly switch them on mine. I like the extra growl I get with 13's but I also like the honey drip from the 12's. Right now Im using 12's and will probablyl stick with them for a while. In terms of strings, Im a big fan of DR Sunbeams on mahogany. But I found them a bit too mellow for the Bird' and also I found the Bird' likes relatively fresh strings, with still a decent abount of zing. So I use EXP PB 12's as they are a bit more brighter than the Sunbeams and retain their zing longer, which is important on the low EA strings, for me at least.

Wow, great vocals, good work. Hard to judge the real tone of the guitar through this recording. Sounds a little tight from being new, I always found maple needs some time to warm up and open up. She will sound awesome in a few years.

Very cool indeed ! That looks like one heluva played in J-45, great tone.

What a pleasent surprise ! I was literally listening to Aaron's EP this morning before going to work, my favourite piece of music right now. Very well played, the SWD sounds great, really good clarity and warmth, lovelly. What strings are you using btw if I make ask, and how old were they ? Ive been trying to have a go at country boy but came to the conclusion i just dont have the vocal depth to give AL justice. Put it in the cupboard for now, maybe a bit later. Thanks for sharing, enjoyed it very much !