Jinder

I had hoped this was an old commercial from 30/40yrs ago...I've driven old Volvos for years (three 740s, two 940s and a 240) and I love them. Such soulful old cars, which, across the six, I've driven over a million miles and never, ever failed to get me home. Not a bad record considering the youngest of them was 21yrs old at the time of acquisition. Hell, I'd sing about them if anything decent rhymed with Volvo!!

I have kept a 12 around for most of my playing life. I love them and find that they can be a showstopper for certain songs in the live set. I have a 2005 Custom Shop Hummingbird 12 which I bought from our very own JohnT a few years ago. Astonishing guitar which has featured heavily on my last few records and is very inspiring for writing purposes too...this is the only 12 I'll ever need, bar some sort of disaster befalling it. Failing that, I'll be buried with it!

The Cortez is gorgeous. I'd leap on that for sure!

That's identical to mine! The one I have is officially called an "Advanced Jumbo Flame Deluxe", but it's just a fancy name for a maple AJ... the one in the Reverb link is exactly the same as mine right down to the Schaller Grandtune machines. I took the Baggs Element out of mine and fitted a Sunrise, and the whole guitar is just glorious. It records brilliantly, is a superb writing instrument, terrific live guitar, it really ticks all boxes. Quite possibly my favourite of all the guitars I've owned over the years, pipping even my beloved SJ200. The way it came into my possession was fortuitous and downright bizarre. After putting a deposit on it, I was booked to play a wedding in Colorado...the guy in question has been into my music for many years and was willing to fly me out from the UK, put me in a hotel for a week and pay a handsome fee for me to appear. Chances like this don't occur very often, so I of course humbly accepted. As luck would have it, the fee he was offering to pay me for the week (flights and accommodation aside) was just over what the balance I owed on the Maple AJ equated to, so I suggested that he pay my fee direct to Wildwood, and that I'd collect the guitar when I flew in and use it for the wedding show. He thought this was a terrific idea and loved that I would thereafter be using a guitar that was associated with him for touring and recording etc. Sadly, a week before the wedding was due to happen, I had a very long and emotionally charged email from him saying that things hadn't worked out between he and his fiancée, and that the wedding would no longer be happening. I urged him to cancel the sale with Wildwood and use the money from the guitar to put towards the next phase of his life, but he steadfastly refused, and insisted that I still fly out, still take delivery of the guitar and maybe get together with him to hit the town and cheer him up. I was astonished at his generosity. I accepted his offer and, along with my sister who lives just outside Denver, we had a crazy and brilliant week in Colorado, lots of great meals out, live music and laughter, and forged an amazing friendship...it's a guitar that's made all the more special by the remarkable story behind it, and I can't imagine ever being without it.

Bruce Beard is the guy who did the deal for me on my Maple AJ. These were a very limited edition instrument and I chased them all over Europe...played one in Glasgow and fell in love with it, but by the time I had the money it was gone. Found one in Wales secondhand, but that sold before I could get to it...tracked one down in Paris but that sold too. Eventually I found the last one in the world for sale at Wildwood. I couldn't get to the US for five months but Bruce did the deal and they held it for me, sorted out my CITES cert and everything. Amazing service.

I have used Gibson Pump Polish on my guitars for many years. Still the best cleaner and polish for nitro finishes that I've come across, although I'd love to try Virtuoso...sadly not available in the UK though.

Huge congrats!! You did the right thing...enjoy!!

After several listens through, what I heard was: GM: "...and is it George's Gibson?" JL: "Yeah...it IS better" I think what may have been happening was a few on-mic run-throughs with different guitars to nail down the tones of choice, with this potentially being the final of those, and GM asking JL if, having been the prior favourite, George's Gibson is final pick. Whether or not that is the guitar in question on this rehearsal cut I'm not sure...I believe the control room in all rooms at Abbey Road has a good line of sight onto the recording floor (unlike, say, Studio 2 at RAK where 80% of the live room isn't visible from the elevated control room...very odd design), which leads me to believe that GM would probably not need to ask what guitar was in action at the time, and that it was more a speculative Q. I could be wrong on all counts though!

Reporting for duty!! I think, having gone to and fro several times in the name of auditory sleuthery, MNS is the Tex and the Julia rehearsal tape is the 160. Possibly the latter is the Texan with VERY old steel but I'm convinced it's the 160, it has that characteristic wool and warmth...wonderful tone.

I absolutely second the recommendation for Wildwood. I had a superb experience buying my Maple AJ from them a couple of years back. Just wonderful service and the guitar was exquisite from the moment I picked it up.

Thankyou! I am indeed a big guy...6'7" and 260lb. I even make my SJ200 look small!

Nice result and a very nice bird! Love them in natural finish...I had a 1990 which was superb.

That's a stunner, 62!! From the front it looks identical to mine...the back is something else, though!!

As an addendum to my earlier comments, I spent an hour with my Maple AJ yesterday and it could well be my favourite of all my guitars. It's so bold and dynamic, really responsive and easy to coax different tones from. It has a similar response to a very dry vintage instrument, really lively and quick. With the Sunrise pickup in it, it's a superb live guitar, too.

I have a lot of time for K&K gear. The PWM system in my Hummingbird 12 is absolutely superb, to use a cliché, it just sounds like the guitar but louder. That Cargill is a looker isn't it? Absolutely stunning. Would love to know the science behind the treble-biased soundhole plavement, that kind of thing fascinates me.

My absolute favourite age window for buying guitars is '89-2009. I DO have younger guitars (2015 SJ200, 2016 Maple AJ) but generally I prefer slightly older examples. My reasoning is that they have been well played in, the woods have cured nicely, any potential problems will have made themselves evident (and been dealt with), they're significantly less expensive than new guitars AND vintage guitars, and don't generally have any of the structural issues that can raise their heads with vintage instruments. I'd bet that the J50 you're looking at will be warm, woody and beautiful...if you have any way of keeping your J15 too, that would be an enviable pair of instruments with two distinct voices, but I understand how these things go. I've ended up having to sell a great deal of my guitars during lockdown to keep my rent paid and family fed...when I'm eventually in the market to buy another guitar though, the age window that you're looking at will be exactly the same for me!

My approach would be to ask GC to get in a replacement so you can A/B between the two in store. If the replacement isn't a significant improvement, ask for a refund. Walnut should be a broad spectrum tonewood, with deep, throaty bass and a bright, articulate top end, along with some sweet overtones in the mids. I had a J15 which I loved. It could be that yours has neck angle issues as Sal mentioned...could you post some pics of the bridge/saddle, a shot down the neck, top profile etc so we can have a look?

I like the Walnut SJ100s, they're a very nice, sweet and articulate instrument. My partner Amy has never forgiven me for buying a '41 Reissue Mahogany SJ100 instead of the Walnut SJ100 that I tried out the same day. She absolutely loved the Walnut, but I went for the '41 Reissue for sentimental reasons, as I'd owned one before that I had to sell and missed it. If you're not in love with your '73, move it on and grab the Walnut 100. Life's too short to play guitars you don't love.

You're absolutely right about the RW AJ being a difficult guitar to marry up to vocals. I had the same problem when I had my 2002 AJ. Great guitar, super powerful and loud, lots of character, but it's natural tonality really fought with my vocal. For the last few years I've owned a Maple AJ, a 2016 Custom Shop Flame Deluxe, which is a MUCH better fit with the male voice. The tendency for Maple to have slightly less midrange really pulls the EQ of the guitar into a more neutral and balanced shape, and the projection and response of the thing is just glorious. I'm a big AJ fan, and was really disappointed that I couldn't make the traditional RW AJ work for me as a singer/songwriter. The Maple is perfect, though. Oddly enough my friend Mick Terry, a tremendous songwriter and artist, has owned my RW AJ since 2014 and has made two beautiful albums with it-he plays it in open E with a light pick, and has a different vocal tonality to me. It suits him perfectly, I can't imagine a better combination...so it's only SOME voices it doesn't sit with easily!

Gorgeous Hummingbird! I have a '95 Dove which looks identical from behind, I'd wager it came from the same batch of Maple. Mine has the thick, bevelled pickguard like your Bird, too. I love my Dove...it's not the loudest guitar but is SO balanced and records incredibly well. I ended up using it for most of my new album as it just went down to tape so smoothly and fitted into the mixes with barely any EQ or squish. I'm sure your Hummingbird is similarly lovely. I'm sorry you have to part with it...if I had the funds I'd give it a home, but with the whole year's touring canned due to Covid, the times don't allow. I'm sure it will find a loving new home in short order though!!

Lovely sounding guitar...but not an SJ! I do wonder whether he just grabbed the wrong guitar or didn't do his homework.

Thankyou so much for listening, all! I really appreciate the feedback and kind words. The Covid lockdown situation really gave myself and producer Pete time to focus on this record, but not so long that it became overthought. I think it's my favourite of what I've released so far, but I would say that, because it's new!! Anyway, your thoughts are always very much appreciated... thankyou 🙂

Thanks, Dan! Glad you enjoyed it. I appreciate the kind words!

The SJ200 is a true legacy instrument. I've played an SJ200 as my main guitar for many years, have owned several and absolutely love them. If your partner enjoys his EJ200, an SJ200 will absolutely blow his mind. Get a good one and there is nothing that is even similar. Sure, some guitars are louder, some have more of "this" and less of "that", but the SJ200 is an incredible all-round package. Plus they carry a weight of prestige onstage that is unique...I can't imagine life without mine.

Hi all, Just a quick message to let you know that I have a new album out today...it's called 'Almanac for the Failing Days' and was written and recorded whilst I was recovering from Covid-19 in March/April/May this year. It's an entirely Gibson flavoured record, I used my '95 Dove for everything other than 'Canada's Band' which was my SJ200, 'Shawcross' which was my Maple AJ, and 'Trust, Josephine' and 'Agony (Night Comes In) which were both my Hummingbird 12 and Takamine EAN20C. It's available on all the usual streaming/download sites, which are all on the following linktree link: www.jinder.live/AlmanacLinks CDs will follow in a fortnight once they are delivered. I'd love to know your thoughts if you have a chance to listen ☺️ Jinder