Jinder

What a terrible thing to live through, Tman. I hope that rebuilding your lives is going to be less of a mountain to climb that it sounds. Your new SJ200 looks incredible...and I'm sure in time it will grow to be "your" guitar and you won't look back. As a fellow dog owner I am so happy that Brynn was rescued...looks like cats don't have the monopoly on the whole "nine lives" thing! 😊

What is up with the tiny nut width there? It sounds like the chap demoing is getting mutes and buzzing from the lack of width. Sounds unpleasantly bright to me too, which is a surprise. I've owned three Doves (with my '95 the keeper) and they have all sounded rich and deep and full. This one sounds like a low end Epiphone. Maybe it's setup/strings but that doesn't strike me as a $7k guitar sound. Looks wise, I LOVE it. It's gaudy and weird (in a good way!) and I like that a lot.

That is gorgeous. Would love to own a Maple Bird. Basically a short scale Dove 😍

Walnut is significantly softer than traditional fretboard materials such as Rosewood and (particularly) Ebony. It depends how much you're likely to be playing it. I regularly play 200+ shows a year and would expect a Walnut board to show some significant wear after two years or so.

Walnut is significantly softer than traditional fretboard materials such as Rosewood and (particularly) Ebony. It depends how much you're likely to be playing it. I regularly play 200+ shows a year and would expect a Walnut board to show some significant wear after two years or so.

Jesus wept, there is some immense talent between the two of them. I just love the feel that they both bring to anything and everything they play. Very interesting Billroy that you mention the smoothness in Molly's playing, I was just thinking that they are two interesting musical gender archetypes...Billy strutting through his breaks with swagger and that aggressive top E run that he utilises here several times, Molly almost casually walking into her breaks with a buttery, feminine smoothness that is the proverbial fist in a velvet glove...arguably more effective and devastating in its subtlety than Billy's effervescent brilliance. I mean all that with the utmost respect and love to them both...they are operating at the absolute stratospheric top of their game. I was watching some live MT footage online the other day and my partner Amy sat in for a while and said "bet you'd have loved to date her when you were single". I countered that I would be terrified to ever pick up a guitar again if I was seeing someone who could pick like that...

I have a couple of guitars that were clearly defiantly played by the previous owners!! Although, I'd defiantly rather that than guitars that were defiantly kept in their cases other than for a defiant yearly polish. Defiantly 🤣

Guth, what year is your CS AJ? I have a 2016 CS AJ Flame Deluxe which is great, superb fit and finish. My 2014 CS J180 was the same...definitely a bit more consistent in fit and finish than the production line instruments.

I've had a few SJ100s. My favourite is the '41 Reissue, but they're all terrific. I struggle to play a 17" Jumbo now due to shoulder issues but I do love that tone. Feels and sounds like home. Enjoy yours!

Alas not, I'd love an ice tea burst! Mine is natural. Flame out the wazoo but no Birdseye on mine. Very cool that Jeff Ament ended up with yours!

Oddly enough my Custom Shop Maple AJ is exactly the same. Major neck angle, tall saddle, bridge screws, huge volume. I use 13s on it and it's fabulous, huge dynamic range. Not as sweet and mellow as my Dove or as boomy and wide-angle as my SJ200, but very cool.

Is that so? I always thought they were a parlour, albeit a rather large parlour. I had no idea they were specifically classed as a Concert, very interesting!

Gibson have been putting out some guitars with excellent neck angles in the last few years. Far rather a tall saddle than the bordering-on-needing-a-reset neck angles guitars were often shipping with prior to 2015.

Yep it's a '58, an LG0 as you say but, despite being a small instrument, these guitars are classed as parlour guitars rather than 3/4 size. The LG0 when new was a bottom of the line instrument, but is a collectible and cool guitar which generally have generally aged well, and have a great punchy, midrangey tone which is fantastic for blues and rootsy stuff. One of my favourite small bodied guitars I've played was a '59 LG0, which just had "it". I didn't have the coin to buy it at the time, but I often think of how great it was. In the UK, I would expect to see a '58 LG0 selling for around the £1500-£1700 mark, depending on condition, originality/repairs, fretwear, cracks/no cracks, neck angle, case etc. Generally '50s Gibsons fetch strong money over here compared to the US.

The F25 I had for a bit (1968, great tone but neck far too wide for my Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) had lam sides. The Gospels (both original '70s Maple ones and the reissues) had a laminate arched back but solid sides. Fantastic guitars which prove that lam doesn't necessarily equate to poor tone. The late '50s to late '60s J200s had instances of laminate back and sides as has been noted, not sure if they were all build the same way though due to the vagaries of Gibson history...

I love my SJ200. It's a 2015 Standard. The onboard Ellipse Aura it came with was rattly rubbish, so that went and it now has a Sunrise fitted. A great all-rounder which plays and sounds terrific. Look out for neck angle on the 200s. Underset necks can be a major issue which requires a reset to fix. My 2015 is fine, but my previous SJ200, a 2003, was born with an underset neck and required quite a bit of work to correct it. I'd seek out a '90s example if you can. Just the right combo of aging and consistency. My '95 Dove is sensational. On that note, if you like Maple and long scale, please do audition a Dove...basically an SJ200 in the shape of a Dread.

My '95 Dove has the most lacquer crazing of all of my guitars. It looks like something from the '50s. My '94 L-00, on the other hand, has barely any. It's all to do with environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, etc. I personally like a bit of lacquer crazing, it's a very cool look!

Such a beautiful instrument! In my experience, bellying is entirely to be expected at that age. The old Bluegrass adage with Martins is "no belly, no tone" of course. It looks like a dream, enjoy!

That is stunning...so sorry you missed out on it. Absolutely gorgeous guitar and looks barely played!

Terrific! The Anthem has a surprisingly great direct tone doesn't it? Add in a room mic and that would be just about perfect. Exemplary playing as always, of course. So glad you're enjoying the Dove!

BK, it's beautiful...all the playwear, scratches and writing just add to the history. It's clearly been played, loved and used. Much like my '95 with a replaced bridge and heavy playwear...these Doves are full of songs and stories. Mine thrills and delights me every time I pick it up. I've played nothing else live since I got it, I should really give my other guitars an airing at some point but the Dove is just SO GOOD that I can barely bring myself to leave it at home!

YES!!! So pleased for you, BK. And what a beauty she is...love that '60s cherry burst. Welcome to Doveville!

Anyone would think you've done this before!! 🤣 Everything crossed for you...a good Dove is a wonderful thing!

I reckon you'd get some really good mileage out of a Dove, BK. Mine is warm and juicy and wonderful. A strong all rounder but in particular probably the best strummer I've ever owned. Different from the brighter, more percussive SJ200 tone, it's big and full with trebles that sound like warm brass bells. Great songwriting guitar, and quite different from your other steeds...fingers crossed that the taxman cashes out in the way you're hoping for!

Jeez, Rambler...I'd be mortified if this happened to my D18GE. I agree with Lars about seeking a solution, but this entire situation flat-out sucks.