Jinder

These are lovely instruments. Along with the Gospel, in my opinion the Heritage was the cream of the crop from the Norlin era. The underset neck is standard for the time, as part of the drive to reduce warranty claims and make the guitars more durable, along with the double X bracing Gibson adopted a shallower neck angle, shorter bridges and a lesser break angle over the saddle, to minimise bridge roll and top distortion. It was overkill somewhat, but didn't really do any harm. If this one needs a hair more action height, I wonder if you could fit a taller saddle and probably negate the need for a neck reset for the time being? It's amazing how much cheaper these guitars are in the US than over here in the UK. $2k shakes out at £1500, it would be nigh on impossible to find a '70s Gibson anything for that sort of money here. In Denmark Street they would be after £3k+ for a Heritage in far worse shape.

Thanks KB! Slowly getting there, still in hospital and likely to be here for another couple of weeks at least. Desperate to get home to my partner, kids and guitars but have some more mending to do first 🙂

Generally, the one I always reach for first is my maple AJ or Dove...I have a feeling it will be the latter with a Dunlop Tortex Yellow pick, and a good hour or so to ease myself back in with some flatpicking. I haven't played guitar in close to a month so am missing it a great deal!!

Thankyou so much, all. Gradually getting better day by day. Hoping to go home before too long and continue my treatment as an outpatient, all being well!

D'Addario EXPs are superb on my SJ200, as are Newtone Masterclass 80/20s or PB. Martin SPs work well too, but are a distant third after the previous two.

Thankyou so much for the kind words all! I'm humbled by all of your kindness and very much moved. Things have, indeed, been better, but I'm still here and fighting hard. Determined to come out of this swinging, singing and playing the heck out of my Gibsons! I'm likely to be stuck in here for at least two weeks if things go according to plan...if they don't, it will be longer-potentially a great deal longer-but at the moment my bloods have improved and the stuff they're pumping into me is super strength, the highest strength antibiotics they have, and I'm on two of them...I am determined to stay positive and kick this thing in the nuts. I'll check in as often as I can...I have my phone but my eyesight is poor at the moment so it can take a long time to write a message, but I'll be here. Thankyou, again, for all the lovely words...so very much appreciated!

I'll most certainly try! 1 - Cleanliness...Maple is an extremely clean and direct tonewood which gives articulate and crisp lead lines and full, balanced chords with great note separation 2 - You get out what you put in...Maple is the most honest and exposing of all the tonewoods I've played, if a passage, progression or entire song is played just so, it will sound fantastic, but one mistake, poorly fretted note or buzzy hammer-on/pull-off and it's as if a gigantic finger comes crashing through the ceiling, pointing directly at the player, accompanied by a booming voice announcing "THIS IS THE ONE THAT GOT IT WRONG!". This aspect of Maple has made me a better player ten times over in the last sixteen years or so since I started playing SJ200s and the like. 3 -Nothing is easier on-mic...I've made twelve albums over the years and have been a sessioneer on another forty or so records, and producers and engineers always shout "THAT ONE!" whenever we're doing a shootout on mic and I pull a Maple guitar out. My Dove in particular records astonishingly well, as did my former J180...there is a balance and lack of sonic clutter about Maple that makes it sit effortlessly in a mix with barely any front end work or ITB tweaking.

I'm a Maple fanatic, and have been a big fan of Maple 45s for a long time. Around 2008 there was a run of particularly stellar Maple 45s from Bozeman which really stole my heart... unfortunately I didn't have enough in the way of funds to snaffle one, but I never forgot them. When they brought out the Big Leaf run in 2015/16 I only got to try one of them, but that particular guitar was even better than the 2008s I tried. Really, really great. Enjoy yours in good health...I agree that it's a really good idea to get a pro setup on it asap!

This is gorgeous...I still very much miss my humble IB '64 Texan. Would love to pick up one of these USA reissues one day 😌

The Frontier details are fascinating! That's a new one on me. As a Dove player I'm intrigued to know when the design of the Frontier morphed into the Dove, which of course sports essentially the same design tenets (maple, long scale, high end).

I always do the same. I like to clean the frets and board every third string change or so (more often in the summer when humid outdoor/festival gigs happen or things get a little sweaty!), so will remove all six for that, but usually change them one by one so as to keep everything nicely seated and under tension. There's no right or wrong way though, really. It's just personal preference. Capstan windings wise, I like to have one loop above the protruding string and the rest below. This was taught to me by a bandmate many, many years ago, he called it the "Carolina Pinch", but that may have been something he made up for humorous ends!!

I don't see the ethics argument at all. If someone was going to buy an original J35 and had the resources with which to do so, it's infinitesimally unlikely that they would be tricked into buying a re-badged 2011, which, whilst a lovely instrument in its own right, is some way short of a "true" reissue. I say go for it...it's your guitar and you plan to keep it, so why not make it your own cosmetically?

Hi Clemént, I'd consider £2000 rather heavy money for a 2011 J45. I'm in the UK and always go by my good friend and trusted dealer Glenn Sinnock's asking prices as a bellwether, which are usually around £1799 for such an instrument.

That makes sense! It's likely that if it's rattling when you tighten the strapjack outer cover, what is happening is that it's snugging the endpin preamp itself nice and tightly against the end block on the inside of the guitar, but leaving the nut on the outside (under the screw-on strapjack cover) pulled away from the endpin area itself, and free to rattle a little against the washer underneath it. I would bet anything that if you unscrewed the strapjack cover, tightened the 13mm nut under it, then replaced the cover, the issue would be gone forever. I worked as a touring tech for a few different artists and was on the road with Billy Bragg for four years. We had exactly the same issue with his J45...the Baggs endpin preamps seem to work a little loose sometimes for some reason. Glad you found the solution!

I hear a faint and high pitched buzz. It's not metallic like fret buzz, and the frequency would indicate that it's a component with little mass or density that is loose. I would check that your control wheels in the soundhole for the Baggs unit aren't loose, and work backwards from there. I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that it's something related to the pickup. Check the strapjack nut at the endpin isn't loose (this is the number one cause of buzzes in all pickup equipped acoustics in my experience!!) and reach inside when you next have the strings off. Check the saddle is snugged down in its slot and that no pickup wiring is vibrating against the top. As has been noted, also check the nuts, washers and bullet screw-over cover on the inside of your endpin preamp...this involves you getting your arm some way into the guitar but you'll manage! Just check it's all tight and nothing is flapping about. Whilst you're in there, give it a flick with your finger and listen out for any buzzing or rattling, which will help with your sleuthing. The other possibility is loose machinehead capstan bolts (the hollow ones that go over the capstan itself from the front, and screw into the back of the machinehead through the face of the headstock). These can work loose if not torqued up properly and cause the washers between the bolt and the headstock to rattle whilst playing. Good luck...you'll get it sorted!

Ah yes of course, the modern Dove bridge is entirely flat...the '70s style one on my guitar has the MOP inlays in very thin wings, with the main body of the bridge sloping up from there to the "mainland" where the saddle and pins sit, which made it easy to shave down! Mine definitely doesn't need a reset-the angle is a little TOO keen if anything, but I think of this as futureproofing-but the replacement bridge was just too much of a chunky monkey for its own good. Much better now! I'll definitely consider a Rosewood replacement if I have any further issues with the Ebony one. As things stand it's performing superbly now, but any cracking or issues and it will come out and a Rosewood substitute fitted methinks. I am nobody to argue with George Lowden...the guy knows a thing or three!!

Only in the videos I've seen online...they sound very similar! I've had my in-store shopping/guitar auditioning wings clipped a little by the Covid situation this year sadly. I'm glad to hear you were swayed by my Dove enthusiasm, I've always loved them. A really iconic but also subtly under-the-radar guitar. Those who know, know...

Ah fantastic!! I really like the Love Dove. That '70s style bridge is what attracted me to my '95 Dove, although mine was a replacement rather than the original. Looks to be a beautifully laid out guitar and is a timeless companion for a Bird!

Thanks all! I did measure it post-surgery but didn't make a note of the figure. I will get the Vernier on it again and let you know...the guitar is massively improved, which I think is down to less vibration being damped by the enormous block of Ebony that was attached to the top. Break angle is an obvious factor too...the guitar feels so much more free and resonant. Volume massively improved, also. I removed just shy of a third of the bridge's height, and levelled the top of it as it previously had a little hill of Ebony behind the saddle where the pins sat. None of it made sense geometrically, so I was keen to correct it, especially as the guitar sounded excellent already but felt like it had more to give, and was being held back a little. Coming from a background in aerospace engineering (which I trained and worked in in my late teens and early twenties prior to going full-time with music) and with Motorsport and race engineering being my hobby for the last 27yrs, I am always relentlessly meticulous with this stuff...forget "measure twice, cut once", I was trained to "measure five times, consider it for a while, seek a second opinion and THEN cut, but only after seeking out the correct tool for the job and ascertaining that there is no other option"!

Ah the sweet Gospel...my favourite '70s Gibson. The arched Maple back makes them so loud and sweet, none of the "full of socks" issues that some of the XX braced Norlins exhibit. I've played two, both of which were gorgeous. Have always wanted to own one...one day.

Oddly enough, with my Dove on the bench for its bridge surgery yesterday, I discovered that mine has a nut width of 1 11/16"! Clearly all is not equal in the aviary...

Hi all, Yesterday I fixed something that has been bugging me for the last couple of years. My Dove, one of my favourite instruments, had a replacement bridge fitted at some point in the last 25yrs of its life...exactly when, or indeed why, is something I will probably never know, but when it came to me it had a '70s style bridge, which is one of the things that attracted me to the guitar. The '70s style replacement bridge, whilst perfectly inlaid and shaped, was an incredibly thick and heavy chunk of Ebony, half an inch thick with a deep saddle rout, so despite the perfect neck angle of the guitar, when set up for a medium/low action the saddle would be barely peeking out of the top of the honking great bridge. Sonically, the guitar was nice and balanced (great for recording) but quiet and felt a little restrained in the top end...not quite as shimmery and chimey as most Doves. Having measured the neck angle and the distance of the strings from the top, it became an inarguable fact that the replacement bridge was just too thick. Why this was, and what the luthier in question had to gain from building it so heavily, I'm unsure...it just seemed unfinished. The bridge also had an upward incline towards the pin holes which reduced break angle further and made it even more of a tonal and geometric compromise in my eyes. So, yesterday I finally performed the surgery that I've been meaning to carry out for the last couple of years. I measured out the correct bridge height using a straight edge off the top of the frets, marked it out and began gently removing Ebony from the top of the bridge. This process took hours, working with a handheld mouse sander, checking, checking and checking again. Ebony is one tenaciously hard wood and this particular chunk was almost unbelievably dense. Eventually, I brought it down to the correct height, bevelled the edges, then whipped out my Dremel tool and re-countersunk the pin holes. I also took the fine diamond-tipped micro-reamer tool and ramped the pin holes for optimum break angle. No saddle material needed to be removed as it was set for perfect action before, and the rout was so deep I didn't need to recut it, which saved a ton of time. I restrung the guitar with a set of Martin SPs and was astonished at the difference. It is so much louder, brighter, more responsive, free in the top end and looser sounding. It really does sound like a classic Dove now and I couldn't be happier. I was expecting a marginal improvement, but the reality is quite remarkable. The bridge is now the same height as that on my SJ200, and looks identical height-wise to the bridges on my previous two Doves. I didn't capture any before pics but will post some afters soon. Just wanted to share the tale!

That's lovely to hear...exactly as it should be!

If at all possible, go through the dealer first and a local luthier second. I can't speak to Gibson Service in the US, but Gibson Europe came up short when I was caught in an odd situation a few years ago. I bought a Dove new in a store locally to me, which after a year or so developed an odd problem with fretboard shrinkage, causing several of the frets to fall out onstage at a gig (awkward to say the least!) I went back to the store, but they told me that they were no longer a Gibson retailer as they had fallen out with the company over their distribution policy, and couldn't honour the warranty, so suggested going to a local luthier. I then took the guitar to Manson's, a Gibson dealer and approved repair centre, who said that it was a material fault due to improperly cured wood, and that I should contact Gibson for a replacement instrument. Ultimately, I contacted Gibson Europe who asked me to send the guitar to their base in the Netherlands for appraisal. I did this, and they kept it for some time, before telling me, when I chased up the job via email, that they had decided that there was nothing wrong with the guitar and that I had caused the frets to fall out by "banging" the guitar on the back of the neck, and insinuated that I was being dishonest about the issues with the guitar. They refused to repair it under warranty and insisted that if I wanted them to fix it, I would have to pay. I was aghast...I'm a former Gibson endorsee artist from my major label days and have played these guitars for my entire professional life. I worked closely with Gibson to develop the "flubber" pickguard design and have never mistreated an instrument in my life. I was insulted by the suggestion that I had broken my Dove through carelessness, and contacted both Don at Bozeman and David at London HQ to elicit their help. Both Don and David (good men and true) came to my aid and agreed that I had been treated poorly. They spoke to Europe and set it right, thankfully. The guitar was repaired and sent back to me after being in the care of Gibson Europe for several weeks, but sadly arrived with a 14th fret hump that you could jump a motorcycle over, which made it unplayable above the 7th fret due to choking. This wasn't present before I shipped it out... whoever's fault it was is irrelevant, but even after a couple of weeks of humidifying and general care, it was still unplayable. I was at the end of my tether by this point, and totally dispirited. I sold the guitar, with full disclosure, as spares/repair, and lost a huge amount of money on it. It was one of the most miserable and upsetting experiences I've ever had as a guitar buyer. If it wasn't for Don and David's keen and kind response, and my abiding love for Gibson instruments, it would have been the end of my relationship with the brand entirely. Seek out a local luthier if you can...spare yourself the heartache.

Stunning!! Natural top birds have always been my favourite. Absolutely gorgeous.