BoSoxBiker

Talk about a wide range just with a few of us. We already have some opposites from one another with both brand and scale. Although a newish guitar, I'll be able to add the J45 to one list or the other within a few weeks. Same strings as the HB, and just a few days apart when strings were changed. I'm definitely talking about a box or top no longer being driven as opposed to a simple dulling of the strings. One weird thing for me is that I used to have a hard time knowing when to change strings.

Man,........... crud. Well, thanks for everything, Charlie!!! Class act. We were listening to Let it Bleed just last night along with Beggar's Banquet.

I'm sorry to hear of both your losses, and sorry to hear you got sick, too, kwalker. I hope you speedy recovery. Total bummer on you gig from hell and loss of the D15. While I have no aversion to 'Skynyrd nor Led Zep, I agree that the song "Simple Man" does get pretty annoying to play & sing for some reason. Good luck with that. 🙂

I was having a conversation on a different topic with a guitar repair professional recently. He told me that some guitars sound far worse with stale strings than other guitars do. He used a different description afterwards, saying some guitars really liking new strings than other guitars. He said two of his (nice brands) guitars are like that. That is my 2018 Hummingbird Standard in a nutshell. I'll get 2-3 weeks before they need replacing using John Pearse or Martin. My Martin D41 is not far behind the Hummingbird in this regard. Others can play aged strings with far less sever tonal changes and do so for months. While I'm not particularly worried about it, I do like to manage things when I can. Anyone have any theories on the how and why of this sort of characteristic? I've considered humidity. I've also considered with my small sample size that it might be unbaked vs baked.

What's the second song for the "play their favorite two songs..." Very sorry to hear about the badly damaged guitar at a gig.

I do that one for the Battleaxe at least twice a month. Part of my "wooo" songs list. I try to base mine off of the Chris Cornell version. I dig into it with a heavier pick than I do on other songs. I kind of picked a few little phrases here and there instead of some of the strums, but it's still largely a strummer for me. To answer your question, I think that performance will be a hit at the wedding.

egoidealmusic, was the lacquer sticky or tacky at all? I've had one very sticky guitar and one somewhat tacky guitar in my hands the past 6 weeks. Never had that before. Curious if yours was the same.

I'd love to try that line of guitars out sometime. There's a feeling I get when playing nicer guitars. It's the way the sound centers and bursts outward from within. In a way, it's an immersive experience. I'm curious to know if that aspect is present with the new line. My 2005 MIK LP Custom is the one I regret selling of the 20+ guitar purge this past 15 months. The rest of the ones I had over the years, though. Nah! Nifty for what they were, and some good music could be made. Still, the real thing or that MIK I had felt better, stayed in shape better and played as if more solidly built. Less noisy, perhaps.

I've touched or seen the '57 version. The Pre-War version takes on an old-timey unsealed appearance and feel. One can run their fingers across the PG and feel the actual engravings and the inserts. My 2018 Hummingbird Standard looks like a layer of sealant has been applied over engraving and it's perfectly smooth to the touch. At first I didn't like that aspect of the PG on the Pre-War, but I grew in favor if it in a short amount of time. Might keep a watch on Reverb if Gibson is in short supply or otherwise unable to sell you one. Just thinking now, too, that it might be interesting to see a picture of your worn out guard. On a related note, perhaps Gibson CS might be the ones to procure one for you. We didn't pay this kind of money for 1-year pick guards.

Is it possible one could wear out in year?

Update - and a less emotionally changed review: The sticky mess of a guitar I dropped off on July 10th was ready for pickup on August 12th. 33 days sitting in the case was what this guitar needed. It was MUCH less of a sticky mess. A couple additional days sitting on a stand might have gotten the last 2%, leaving only normal aging and curing to go. Even the smell has gone way down. He did decent setup per my specs, though he left too much in the nut slots on 5 of 6. I took it down yesterday to about .002" - .003" of where I will end up. That makes it very playable as I let it acclimate for a few months. It may not need anymore - TBD. This is my 3rd baked-top Gibson and my 2nd Historic Collection Reissue. This one sounds like it belongs with them. It barks like a seasoned Gibson to the extent that it can. I've not been around many vintage guitars. The haunting memory of that 1968 Hummingbird I tried in 2015 lingers on. This J45 is not in that class on a resonant quality, but it's not an unreasonable impersonation of one, knowing it's a new guitar and all. I can see what it's trying to become when I think back a couple of years to the 1964 J45 I test drove a couple times. I've got a set of John Pearse PB 12's on it. I put the same on my 2018 Hummingbird Standard and my Love Dove for comparing & contrast. Flat-picking the J45 is bright, loud and sparkly with decent depth. However, it does become incomplete on a full, swift strum as if if was not pumping out a lot of bottom end. A lack of percussion to the point one might say it was compression at work. I think I'm attributing it to the newness of it all, especially the back & sides. I think aging and usage breaking in will help. This thing is still just a baby. In guitar terms, so is the Hummingbird, but it seems a bit more even when hopping on the strings, so to speak. I've often thought what a baked-top Hummingbird might be like, but it's probably a good thing for variety's sake that I don't. Then again, the baked SJ-200 and the Love Dove are most certainly not sonic repeats of each other. Construction-wise, I'd have to say that it's right up there with my prized Gibson HC SJ-200 (PreWar), though this one is very much a lightweight. For that matter, take away the an EXTREMELY loose saddle and too deeply cut nut on the Love Dove and all three of these "premium" series Gibsons are primo guitars.

Bruce, I get some serious, but good hearted envy whenever I see that Historic Collection SJ-200 of yours. Sounds weird as I have a pre-war version and it's my easy favorite, But a Maple is a Maple SJ-200 and those are sweet. Yours is one fine looking example.

Curious on your saddle. Did yours come with the uncompensated bone saddle or the tusq compensated saddle. If bone, or if you care to switch, a guy named Bob Colosi is one many of us use for saddles. The ordering is clunky, but well worth it in service, knowledge and most of all, product quality. Basically, it's as easy as letting him know what you have. In return, you'll get a slightly oversized saddle that you sand down to fit. He even puts a little instruction sheet in with it. You will more than likely not have to sand the top. http://www.guitarsaddles.com/

Man, oh man! SJ-200s rule!!! Very, very nice looker. Congratulations! That warm rumble..... ah! Nice.

RJ80, perhaps sharing a bit of my very recent experience will put you a little more at ease with a few of the issues as much as reading your post did for me. I was recently very disgusted with a recent shipment direct from Gibson Montana for most of the same reasons. The dusty thing still baffles me, though newly lacquered guitars straight from the case do get oddly dusty after a small bit of time. I never thought from the case. I think it's a static thing with how it's applied. I thought it was a used guitar. The case candy looked incomplete, though I do not recall what is "missing", if anything. The little checklist card was pure fiction. My seal was not broken, but much of what you say about yous happened with mine. I'd be willing to bet that someone in between and including Gibson and GC, or between GC and you did pilfer, Things do happen. The only ones who are going to be able to help you is Gibson CS. That assumes that your acceptable solution is even possible. If Gibson CS can get something done, great. If not, then you're in that scenario 62Burst described above. If the NG swag does little for you and it's a small part of the bigger picture, then you are in a different position. The keep it or send it back being a question of quality rather than the added bits of NG swag, collectors item. Good luck with whatever way you go.

Just talking about the market in a different thread. That's one crown jewel, holy grail guitar that is hard to find at reasonable prices. I've seen only one in our local CL over the past 45 days. It was actually reasonable per today's market at $3295 or something like that. Stayed up for a few weeks, too. Don''t forget to look at the AGF forums, maybe post a Wanted To By post. Facebook Marketplace, Mandolin cafe, etc. best of luck!!!

I've seen a couple of big changes over the past 18 months. July-2020, I sold 22 items on CL and one through AGF. Most of it less expensive or dated items that lose value with age, but it all sold resaonably well and funded all but $1k of the purchase price of my Historic Collection SJ-200 Pre-War RW. A 2015 Taylor 614CE took the biggest bath at about 55% of retail. The inventories of some items were starting to dwindle down in stores and online. This year, I sold 11 guitars and have 1 more left on the market. A few cheapos, a few USA Standard types and a few MIM/MIK/MIC built variances of the common models. I also sold a bunch of pedals, a few mics and that sort of thing. 26 items on CL and 5 more on Reverb. It was a crazy 5 weeks, but I generated about $8k with about $1k to go out of the $10k it took to get a much smaller number of guitars, but better quality. (I got a 2021 Wildwood Spec 50's Les Paul, 2021 ES-335 Figured Maple, 2020 PRS Vela Semi-Hollow and a 2021 Fender '52 Tele Thin skin - think Keith Richards Micawber - that just arrived in Colorado a few days ago. On this year's sales, the new markets having reduced inventory and increased prices helped me out immensely. My guitars sold for a grand total of about $75 more than I paid for them. The other stuff sold for 70-80% of going retail. Most definitely, without a doubt, the meat and potatoes stuff sold quickly. Some common Rodes mics, MIC/MIK/MIM guitars like LPs, Teles, 335's and pedals. The USA Standards types of things took a little longer to sell just because of smaller market, but they still did sell. I saw the same thing on other folks ads. If there was an exuberant price, it stayed listed. If it was reasonable and recognizable, it was gone. If I had listed more stuff on Reverb, I would have brought in more. I learned that little lesson late. No biggies. If I had done this 3 months ago instead of last month, there would have been even higher amounts involved. To that end, I feel better about not taking that much of an advantage of the situation. There is a ton of stuff up on Reverb that folks have left high priced and seem content to do so. we all have our lines and boundaries. Some of the things I couldn't sell last year at reduced price on CL sold this year on CL in rapid fashion. On the other side of the coin, I think the mood of folks had deteriorated quite a bit from last year, though I certainly did meet some good people again. Everyone was seriously looking, though. If someone said they wanted to see something, it was not 1 out of 3 that saw it through. It was almost everyone. I had to keep a very watchful eye on the new guitars I new I wanted. I missed out on my main prize(the Tele) the first time around and had to order it. I checked back daily, sometimes more than once. When they appeared, I jumped. Watching after purchasing, a couple times stock levels got depleted and then back up. It was all very face paced. I got my warranty replacement back in the middle of all this and was too stressed to deal with it like a grown up, though it still ticks me off to open up a brandy new dull & dusty guitar. but whaddever. I might get it back as early as Saturday. Keeping my fingers crossed. Anyhow, that's the market in guitar and music land as I have seen it unfold over the past 2 months. 🙂

Looks like Kidblast has some intel for you. If your Luthier visit does reveal a defect, Gibson will cover you. Sometimes communicating with them is like pulling hair off a frog, but they will cover you. A nicely setup Gibson acoustic is such a nice experience. You'll be there soon, I bet.

I'm very sorry to hear that. I agree with the others. If your no questions asked period is nearing an end, moving on might be your most painless option. On a more generalized note. In case you've not done this yet, learning to properly measure your guitars does a lot of good things, including making dealer staff members listen to what you have to say. At least for a few more minutes. You don't have to adjust anything. Relaying specs can make all the difference between an ambiguous conversation and informed conversation, especially if something stands out. Tell someone you got a noise, or tell someone you got a noise and the g-string at first fret is .009". That whole dialog is different and productive.

Is the dealer you bought it from that's an hour away a trusted place?

What fortyearspickn said. I love doing DYI, but I wouldn't do this until a professional familiar with vintage work did it once.

First off, my condolences for the loss of your Nanny. Your comment - "Best woman I ever knew." says a lot. I'm sorry you had to get the guitar in this manner, but I'm glad you got the guitar. Such a great connection to her, your family and your past every time you pull it out to play. For more images, this is a site some of us use. https://imgur.com/ Basically, post pictures there, and then there will be a series of links you can use to post the pictures here. Paste the "Direct Link" into the text and the image appears.

Good luck with the D'Adds. Lots of folks like them. I had tried those for the first time recently. It was on my Dove. My notes tell me I thought them to be edgy with a little bit of growl to them(whatever that meant) and "Variable brightness depending on the pick". When I write something like that in my note, it tells me the pick had an even bigger effect than normal. I also wrote they armed up and mellowed out after 3 days. (minimum of an hour a day) String experimenting is a fun little side activity for me, in additional to being a pit of a pick junkie. 🙂

I've got Martins on 2 or 3 of mine right now. I don't much like coated strings either. though a couple have been better than others. The new D'Add XTs were not awful on my Dove. A little chirpy or scratchy, perhaps? I'm horrible at the string sound description game. Some folks say 80/20's are brighter than PBs, but I always thought warmer. All's I know is that at least three different sets of 80/20's gave me a warm tone that I could feel emanate from the guitar as well as I how I could hear. One was actually coated - one of the Elixer variations. The good thing is that there's not going to be a whole lot that sound bad on your guitar. 🙂 Do a search for user name Jinder and a few string experiments he did towards the end of the Pandemic on his SJ-200.

If you stretch out your boundaries to include those with experience on maple SJ-200s, a couple of us here just adore the John Pearse 80/20 Lights. My current SJ-200 (RW) digs 'em too, but it REALLY likes the "New Mediums" size of the same string.