Jinder

Congrats on the new baby! Not even 3mths old, that really is fresh out of the door…nitro takes a few months to settle and even a year or two to fully cure. My SJ200 was a 2015 NOS guitar when I bought it in 2016, and the neck finish didn’t fully cure off until mid 2017.

Interesting to revisit this post, and see myself commenting three years ago that I had yet to find “the jewel” of Doves...shortly after this post I found my 1996 Dove, complete with ‘70s style bridge and playwear aplenty, and finally answered my Dove question for good. It just keeps giving me songs and records better than any other acoustic I have ever played. Heaven.

Absolutely loved hearing you again, Buc! I hope you’re doing okay. Your Sunrise has been my main live pickup (in my Maple AJ, my main gigging guitar) ever since you kindly sent it to me...totally changed my world in terms of live tone. Several hundred gigs later and I can’t imagine ever tiring of it! I’m immensely thankful to you for sending it all the way to this Other Shore.

I use 11-52 gauge DR Veritas on my Dove, they’re easy to play and sound SO good. No tonal loss going to them from 12s that I could discern. I put them on as a temporary measure at the start of this year as I had an illness which affected my joints and made guitar playing painful. I had used 12s and 13s for years but was so impressed with the Veritas 11s that they stayed on my Dove and Sigma CF-100 copy. On my other guitars I use Martin Tommy Emmanuel signature Flexible Core 12-54s. I love these strings-they sound and project like 12s but have such a lovely playability factor that they feel almost like 11s. Superlative tone and articulation too.

Hahaha I remember this thread the first time around eleven years ago, starring Mensa member Mark Lee, with his phosphor bronze Allen key (same thing as a socket wrench apparently, his is both!) and his Oxford degree which taught him that archtops sound like oboes and flat tops sound like flutes 🤣🤣

I answered this query already on AGF, but if the OP didn’t see it: I own a ‘67 J45 and have played a couple of J29s.I like my ‘67 a lot but it’s not a “daily driver”. I gig a lot and prefer to take a modern guitar on the road, such as my 2015 SJ200. I would play both and let your heart decide. You would be in no way short changing yourself with a J29 though, they’re very good indeed.

Very much enjoyed this, thanks BSB!

I love Maple instruments-most of my guitars are Maple. A J185 is a fine all-rounder, sophisticated and balanced but still raw and soulful in the way that a good Gibson always is. I had a J180 for some time and loved it. Wish I still had that guitar. I very much doubt that you would be disappointed with a 185. Let us know how you get on!

Absolutely! As a friend of mine once remarked about a D35 “that couldn’t be any more loud’n’bassy if it was the illegitimate lovechild of Count Basie and Loudon Wainwright III!”

No comfort issues with my SJ200 at all, at least not in the last few years since I’ve been playing seated. I used to play standing and developed a painful rotator cuff tendon RSI in my right shoulder from reaching over my SJ200s. Seated, though, if you can play a Dread comfortably you can play an SJ200. Just buy one...they’re one of the most iconic, classic and beautiful guitars in history. Owning one is a wonderful experience.

If you can find a J60, they’re immense things. Really dynamic and powerful. I have a maple AJ which is the loudest guitar I’ve ever played...it’s astonishing loud and aggressive if you hit it hard, but can be a *****cat if played gently. Glorious instrument. I had a D18 Golden Era prototype for a while with Adi top, which was a very loud instrument. Not sweet, almost cold and strident. Easy to admire but hard to handle. It was difficult to record because the dynamic peaks were so hard to tame in the studio. You can hear it on this track with some pretty effective compression from an old Drawmer unit...the guitar part was only put down as a guide and was never intended to be kept-the playing is scrappy at best-but my chum who produced the album insisted we keep it!

So glad to hear you were taken good care of, BSB. I have a feeling your Original Series replacement is going to be absolutely stellar. The tone in the video you posted is supreme!

I can’t remember what we used on I Still Believe! I think it was the SJ200 but I can’t quite recall. Thanks for the kind words by the way!

Usually the guitar that gets the nod is the Dove for more “busy” strumming as it has a natural compression to it (as you know!) but retains clarity. The SJ200 works well for big, ringing chords and slower paced stuff. The Maple AJ is a step more strident and brash (in a good way) than the Dove, so gets used for either fingerstyle stuff that requires detail (‘Shawcross’ from my last album) or a rhythm motif that really punches through (‘Overthinkers Anonymous’ from my last album but one). My Hummingbird 12 is on a lot of my stuff providing a textural wash/sheen, and my ‘67 J45 comes out for more bluesy work. A really interesting addition recently is my Kif Wood maple and cedar 16” Jumbo. It is incredibly light and resonant and should be very useful. My producer Pete and I are in the foothills of a new album and have just cut a track using the Kif. I’m excited to see if we keep it in and how it will sit when we build the track a little more.

Like EA, I also own both (although a ‘95 Dove and a ‘15 SJ200). I love them both for different reasons...they are both superb guitars and, chances are, you would be happy with either. The Dove records better than any other guitar I have ever owned and is an excellent writing guitar. It has such clarity and note separation, a real cleanliness to the tone. Super balanced with a sweetness that’s irresistible. To SJ200 is big and bold, very lush but still with the directness of Maple. A great stage guitar and records very well. I used both on my last album. For reference, here is the Dove recorded with a stereo pair of Sontronics STC-1 pencil condensers: ...and here is the SJ200 recorded with an SE Electronics R1 ribbon mic:

I always used D’Addario strings on my Hummingbirds, and am about to put a set of XS on my Hummingbird 12. £27 a set for the 12ers is a little steep though!!

Beautiful!! Would love to see a video of it in action sometime. I am a big fan of the J29!

I’ve had some real joy today from my Hummingbird 12, a 2005 Custom Shop model sold to me several years ago by John Turner (aka JohnT) of this very forum. Such a lovely guy, and kept the Bird for me for close to a year whilst I got the funds together to buy it. Truth be told, I’ve played it very little in the last couple of months. After I was unwell at the end of last year I was left with ongoing joint pain, which has made anything but lightly strung six string action tough going. The 12 was more pain than the glorious tone could justify, so it sat in its case, waiting for the right time to come back into rotation. I even toyed with the idea of moving it on and letting someone in better physical shape give it the love and playtime it deserves. I had thoughts of archtops or an L-00 that would be easier to wrangle. But in the end I couldn’t do it, it had to stay. Today was a bit of a beat-up of a day. My Dad has been ill for some time with heart and kidney failure and has taken a real turn for the worse in the last 24hrs. He has always loved 12 string guitars and whenever I have owned and played a 12er over the years he has absolutely lit up with pleasure to hear it, so I decided that I needed to get back on terms with my big Bird and see what I could do to make it easier to play, as I’m not sure whether the next time I get to play for my Dad may be the last time. I cracked open the case and noticed that the neck relief was a little excessive, so slackened the strings and gently tightened the rather stiff truss rod by a 1/4 turn. Tuning back up, instantly the action felt much better. I tune my 12 a half-step down which helps, too. Somehow, today the Bird sounded better than ever before, even sporting an old set of Martin Lifespans that have done a year of touring in 2019 and a fallow year last year, bar some recording. She boomed, chimed, sang and sparkled like an orchestra, all whilst I cursed my stupidity for ever considering parting with such a glorious instrument, and felt immense relief that I came to my senses in time. All the while, whilst this internal monologue was playing out, my hands just got on with the job and played up and down the neck for close to an hour, pain free. The truss rod tweak really made the guitar play like butter, so easy but still so warm and articulate. We’re so lucky to get to play these amazing instruments and make music. Safe to say, the Bird 12 is going nowhere. Whether I‘ll get to play it for my Dad remains to be seen...if he can stay out of hospital for just a few more days, I’ll make it happen. Let’s see.

Hey Rick! Glad to hear you’re still enjoying the Early. Such great guitars!! I love Newtones too. I’ve used their Masterclass strings on my SJ200 for quite a while and find them very pleasing to both hands and ears, and long lasting too. The Spectrums are fabulous strings, I absolutely agree. Even though the windings on the G string took a beating over a long gig playing rhythm and frayed somewhat, I took the guitar out this afternoon and even now it sounds superb. I will keep them on my studio guitars for sure, and maybe go to something more affordably replaceable for gig duty.

Oddly enough I’ve been recording recently and the Monels, which sound great in the room, make my J45 sound oddly thin on mic. I’ve tried allsorts, but mainly record using large diaphragm valve condenser mics through a Daking Trident style pre/EQ strip and an LA2A compressor into Logic via a Focusrite Clarett front end, so it’s decent kit...the Monels perhaps just don’t suit the J45 for recording. I still enjoy the response of them though.

To add my two penn’orth to a very old post...I have a ‘95 Dove, but it has no stinger. Great guitar though, one of my all time favourites!

I’ve played a couple and liked them a lot. Less overtones than you might expect for a Rosewood instrument and a big, beefy tone. I tend to avoid rosewood Martins because they often seem cold and fussy sounding, with lots of splashy overtones but little warmth. The J29 isn’t like that at all...it has a breadth to the tone which is very pleasing to my ears. Versatile too. The two I played were like that, anyway. Your experiences may differ!

That doesn’t look like a crack to me-it looks like an indentation in the lacquer. I’ve had them on newer guitars when friends have played them wearing rings/bracelets or having keys in their pocket. It tends to happen when the guitar is very new and the lacquer hasn’t had time enough to fully cure.

Thanks all! it’s a sweet instrument and so responsive. I’ve figured out how the neck angle adjustment system works, and in my investigations found that a previous owner has clearly adjusted it but left a washer out, which meant the treble side of the neck wasn’t tightened down properly, so I put that right and now it’s giving a further 10% of volume and responsiveness. The neck profile is superb and the entire thing plays wonderfully, especially as I’ve been able to set it up to my exact preferences with a quick tweak of an Allen key. Very ingenious. In a weird twist of fate, when I removed the neck to figure out how the adjustment system works, I was surprised to find my name written in pencil in the neck pocket. Clearly it was built for a different Phil but ended up with this one!

Loved this, Tom, thankyou for posting. That Hummingbird is just silky sweet for those strumming pieces. Gorgeous. Two songs that were new to me too.