BoSoxBiker

Those grumpier of the conversations have been elsewhere, but the basic argument is that some companies use thicker bridges than others, which changes the look at one end of that test. I've seen some numbers thrown around, but I don't dare repeat them as they seemed logically derived at the time rather than shared by makers or professionals. That doesn't even get into the variability entered into the whole thing in the form of sufficient top bow.

Has there ever been a spec or rough suggestion on that for Gibson acoustics? I've seen some grumpy conversations to that end. My HB is like the first picture. Just a teensy bit of top showing between. A 45 I'm having examined & set has just a bit more. Not much different.

Update Folks, I'm not doing myself any favors here by not detailing my CS interactions. All's you're seeing is the drama-queen frustration that's built up over this. I've seen many stories of great CS dealings, and many stories of unfathomably bad CS dealings. I never liked seeing the latter, but I now have a MUCH better understand their frustration and desperation. I decided to take a little different trail from here. I brought my J45 in to the only local and respected small independent guitar shop in the area. It's the kind of place that Gibson should want as a dealer. Maybe they even did at one point. It will get a professional new/used guitar inspection and examination to make sure all is well. I think it's OK, but just want to make sure that the neck is not over-set or the top and bridge is not off and out of "specs". I think the math and angles will workout correctly after the new saddle. Oh, and a few spots to verify are only cosmetic. Assuming all is well, the will make me a new saddle, nut slots filed down, new strings and complete whatever is left of an acoustic setup. Basically get this guitar to where it should have been out of the case. Then I will have version 2 of my NGD, This time, assuming all goes well, it will at least not be dusty and dull, perhaps it actually look a new guitar. I'm even dreaming of having that little VOS sheen that my other Historic Collection guitar had on it, but I'll take clean, nice playing and nice sounding. Kind of what I imagined an aunt of mine felt like who was known for opening her Christmas prizes weeks early, and then re-wrapping so that she could enjoy Christmas morning. Two weeks till NGDv2!!!

Did you mean to elaborate, or is this an "I agree thing?" Still trying to learn the ways of this new world. 🙂

I've been thinking about this one all week. A couple of these I only do when nobody's home to witness. I made a mini rule for myself and this post - no Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Petty, Springsteen, Isbell, Seger, Cash, Dylan or Skynyrd. White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane Out in the Country - Three Dog night Just to Know What you've Been Dreaming - Will Johnson Thank You - Led Zeppelin as performed by Chris Cornell Red Hill Mining Town - U2 Long as I Can See The Light - CCR as performed by Ted Hawkins if he had been playing guitar as I think he might have

Thanks, DanvillRob. She's been a joy.

Folks, all apologies for the missives. Leonard McCoy's comment reminded me that my head injury thing does the same thing. One of the side effects - you guessed it. Long winded written explanations that take hours to write and re-write. Add a tropical weather system to the mix.... still, this catches me surprise every year. Anyhow, please pardon the even longer than normal explanations.

Agreed!

I wondered about tacky NGD strings, too. Then it occurred to me that is one thing I did not like about guitar store wall jobs. I used to think it was folks with certain body chemical type. My Son has a friend like that. It cost me $5 every time he came over. Anyhow, now I think that might just be something like the D'Addario coating feeling I never liked.

Fair enough. Call me heartbroken over my SJ-200 Std. That's the one that I got replaced. That was the one I was head over heals about, but fought it every step of the way as it was a moving target. They came to their conclusion while I was one the phone to replace it. I open up my Hummingbird, SJ-200 Std(sigh), D41, SJ-200(RW), Dove, Vela HB, ES-335, LP WW-Spec Std and soon "Micawbre" will come in. They've all wowed me. I fell for each of them. Been a helluva 3-4 year stretch, guitar-wise. I've carefully and tediously got every one to play like a dream and they let me play for hours despite arthritis. The more recent ones needed almost nothing. I change the saddles out on my acoustics when the big seasons change. People say "wow, you did this yourself?". Even the ones I sold to pay for the newer electrics (10 gone, 2 to go) all said the same thing. Things like "Wow, this plays great!" and I've even had some 'best ever' types of comments. I had to send the Dove back for a nut. I was not overly bothered by that, though I thought it should have been caught. I heard it on the video and I asked them specifically to check it and it still got to me in the manner that the g-string was .009" at the first fret. It was taken care of and all is well. I was even was glad then they left it a little high so that I could go into my get it just right mode. Point is, I've been happy as a clam on every one of them, including the one that had an issue enough to be replaced. So two days ago, I open this one and my reaction was, "Oh, this is it?" I was excited to get it, too. The end of several months coming to an end. That was even before the action issues were realized. I guess not being able to play it right away got to me after that, what with waiting a few months to get is resolved. It might have been a better start if it was as good as the worst of the others. (gotta go back to the Hummingbird, maybe, and that was still good for out of the box, off the rack or whatever.) I think not even being close to the inspection sheet could have been that final straw? I dunno. I really don't. So there it all is. Couch time over. Wake me up, charge me $50 and on to the next. Ridicule at will. 🙂

I feel a little bit better this morning. Thanks for all the info again, guys. I really do appreciate it. So I loosened the strings and thank goodness, it is indeed unglued. If I keep it, I'll send the saddle to Mr Colosi to have him make me a couple of close ones, and go into my normal nut slot filing protocol. BTW, some might recall my displeasure over the period correct case that came with the HC SJ-200 Pre War purchase last year. This one is MUCH better. This one is the same overall model, but the guitar fits, all of the latches line up well and that locking button thing actually functions. A buckle on the very bottom seems silly, but whatever.

For the record, I agree with above, too. I hope I didn't make that out to be a standard how to build or adjust a standard issue saddle question. I've made enough. I guess it was phrased that way, though. I won't touch the stock saddle. I am not looking forward to shaping a new saddle to match that shoulder thing they have going on with this design. It sounds nice right out of the box after tuning it. I can't play it for long. I've got 10 minutes on it. Arthritis and old school guitar store wall set up heights. The neck relief is surprisingly low at .005" or .006" depending on straight edge or notched. 1st fret height at .032" to .022" and 7/64 - 5/64 at the 12th. CS didn't bother to return my email. It's a warranty replacement for a different guitar, which was a large thing for them to do in my book. That earned them two more brand spanking new Gibson electric sales already. Sweet ones, too. $6,400 combined kind of sweet, and that's just 2 months after I got my Love Dove. But I swear, the transparency..... and time it takes to .....- bah! Makes me feel like I'm a troublesome of a nuisance as there is. 100, 99, 98, 97...... Glued in? Oh, man, That is a whole other layer of nope. Since when did they start hammering in the bottom strap pin at the factory? Anyhow, sure, it sounds nice enough and has a nifty old school vibe to it. I dunno. Put it this way. I could not take my eyes off the finish on last year's CS HC SJ-200 Prewar. This one? Total opposite. It's in the case, tucked away in my acoustic cabinet. I'll take it out tomorrow to loosen the strings to check the Saddle. If it's glued in, it might very well be the last time I take it out of it's case. I think I wanted this whole strand of the journey to be resolved. I know they're busy and I certainly love Gibson guitars. Some sleep, perhaps.

The J45 Historic Collection 1942 Banner J45 has these wide saddle seats that go out into the sloped area on the saddle. The saddle is angled downwards to the point and it's designed to be somewhat flush with that edge. What do you guys, or your trained professionals, do when the saddle needs to be lowered. Take it off the top? Sand it on the bottom and let some of the saddle seat show? Get a new saddle, get the height & thickness right and then shape the edges accordingly? While we're all here and chatting all friendly like, a hypothetical query. Say you should get one of these things on July 6th, just after dinner, and it has a first 5 serial number of 21571xxx . Is there something one should or should not be going given the freshness of the finish? I mean, it all sounds so specific, but I assure you, it's a hypothe..... Oh, I can't pull it off. I always bust out laughing when I try to fib. The question does remain, though. My Dove, D41(guessing) and HB were over a year old. My SJ-200 was 5 months, but it didn't seem this new. I'm afraid to use one of those headstock straps, and she's too young to screw the strap button into. (not a great sentence to mistype and put a period in the middle of) One other thing. Is 3lb, 13oz considered light? I had been playing D41 and my 10lb LP all day long. I about yanked this thing out of the case and into the ceiling. Battleaxe remarked in kind when she held it (briefly under guarded supervision and compliments to her lovely smile and all). I found a pic online. Would have been easier just to take one... It's over an inch longer, too. Gonna be a bear to shape the shoulders. See how sanding the bottom down will reduce width, too.

Are you having action issues? If so, What are your measurements at the 12th fret, 1st fret and the neck relief? RE Strips - Rock and Roll!!!! I think they're kind of nifty, but is personal opinion only.

and it gets even worse when it's my eyes doing the eye-balling.

That's 40% more than some of us. I wonder that the chances are that I'd have only one typo verses multiple typos? You guessed it. 1/16th.

There are some whose heads explode at the thought of 2/64 and 1/32 being the same.

There are folks in this world who have issues with factions. This keeps them un-flustered.

Some things are too good to be true. While 2/64 and 3/64 without fret noise can happen. it doesn't mean the strings natural vibration path can't be affected. That what I was misinterpreting an easy to overpower pickups. Raised each side up a total of about about .75/64 each side and it all opened up. Followed that by Raising the pickups by about the same amount and Bob's yer Uncle. The tone and creaminess is much better all the way up and down the whole range. With the better mid-range response came a decrease in the airiness or space. Some of the harmonics in the sustain have simmered down as one might expect. It's just a much better defined sound. I need to spend more quality time with it and will do a better comparison to the 57/57+ pairing soon. I'm definitely much more pleased that I was the past 2 days. OK, so, question related to the video below. Never been a 10-10 guy. I can dig what JB is doing below. My question is this. Do the POTS get more usable as we climb up the Les Paul quality totem pole? The Tone POTS are as complete as I've ever had. Volume - meh? In all fairness, I didn't fully check those again late this afternoon after settling what I detailed above.

You are, of course, absolutely correct. Pickup height, for me, has mostly been about eliminating defects in tone. It's like Goldilocks rifling through porredge. I'm also never afraid to let half a turn or even many ha;f-a-turns more to lend me an assist when dialing on a sound for a recording, Sometimes to even exaggerate an attribute, like a cha-thunk thing on the bottom or a nasaslly thing. Early in the chain can be a good thing at times, but I'm getting off topic. That, I did not know. I always figured 100% user error. More like 100% user adjustment. Makes sense and it has indeed started to train me.

I'm trying to understand what I'm hearing and feeling with a small sample size of Les Pauls that I've owned and test driven. For a greatly reduced back-story, I decided to reduce my immodest collection of modestly priced electric guitars and replace them fewer, but nicer guitars. I sold my MIK 2005 Epi LP Custom and selling my 2013 Traditional Pro II. The guitar I'm replacing it with was going to be a 1950's Original Series Standard, but decided to get the Wildwood Exclusive Original Series Standard Select Top with the 1959 tributes. OK, so here are the guitars in question and the pickups involved, best to my knowledge. I've played 99% of the time on my acoustics for the past few years, so forgive my knowledge on this front. Epiphone version of 490T/490R(?) - Not the brightest. Really nice clean. Lacked an aggressive presence on higher gain, but had a nice untamed growl-creamy thing to them that rocked in an old-school sort of way. Ironically, these were louder than the others. 57/57+ pairing(?) (2013 Trad Pro II) - These have a modern compressed, up front aggressiveness to them. In your face. There is plenty of vintage cream in there, but the modern, up front sound makes it sound more powerful. It was great compared to the LP Standards in the local GC 8 years ago, and the 10db boost is quite useful. I've since seen marketing talk as suggesting this was a vintage sound with an 80's inspiration. I can see that. BurstBucker 1/2 - I brought my 2013 Trad Pro II into the store a few weeks ago to see if I liked the 2021 Original Standard better. I did like the tone, but it was quieter than my Trad Pro II. What I liked the most was that the low-end seemed to have more character. I think that's a good description for what I heard. It's been a few weeks, and one can only get so far with very rusty electric guitar in a store. 1959 Tributes (Wildwood Select) - I took a gamble. I actually got this guitar yesterday. It, too, has a little bit lower volume and less upfront sonic presense than the 2013 Trad Pro II. What this does excel at is overall old-school tone. It's depth and open spaces is a nice treat. It was easy to get lost in the moment when playing this guitar. Creamy tone was not just in the tone, it was the tone. It's got a bit of sparkle in the highs that I will need to watch. Useful tone and volume knobs are an awesome thing. The two things I do not about the sound: The low end seems underwhelming, and the ease in which it is to overpower the pickups via attack. It loses definition quickly. One interesting note. I didn't fully decide to pursue the Les Paul until I tried an AB between my new ES335 Figured Top and the 2013 LP Trad Pro II. The ES-335's pickups had that older school sound and that's what I wanted. To that end, this Wildwood Select did not dissapoint. I didn't play the regular Original Standard enough for a great comparison to the Wildwood Select. I was hoping someone here might have. Overall, I would like to have a better understanding of what I'm hearing and the goal of these tones. It's easy to accept that the tone is nicer on one than another despite being lower in volume, but it's a little unnerving to actually do so. Perhaps it is telling that for what I like to play, the 2005 Epi LP MIK "out rocked" the trad pro II. Any thoughts or insights on any of this?

Congratulations on your NGD. Play it often! The break in periods are a good thing, IMHO. It's another level of enjoyment. I've got one Artist Series Gibson, a Love Dove. It has quite a nice pick guard as well. If having a nice, but not too wild pick guard on these Artist Series guitars is a policy thing, I hope they continue. I know, I know - seen one, seen them all. Still, photos are a almost obligatory. 🙂 (Edit: I don't mean the photos thing in a snarky, demanding way. Only in a friendly, encouraging fun if you have the time sort of thing. )

I've been thinking about this off and on all day long. I've been inspired to learn songs that I have had no prior interest in only after hearing a cover, but never sought out covers to get various approaches to songs I was interested in learning. Makes perfect, obvious sense to me. I'm going to give that approach a go. Thanks!

To your point, to a point.... I started my better-quality acoustic guitar journey on one with a baked-Sitka top with Maple B&S. It sounded nice. I met a few other people who had one as well and we all raved about it. Swore I would never get rid of it. I sold it within 5 years. Simply put, it lost that special character that was in the tone in rapid fashion over the final 18 months. It got to the point where I could tell my wife didn't like it when it was that guitar's week on the stand. It became just as you said. Harsh. It was a cannon, but not in a good way for me at the end. I sold it with total fair warning. The person that bought it turned and put it up for sale within a week just to recoup his $$. Being of guilty conscience and a moron, I asked him if I had been wrong in my description. Luckily, he said I described it perfectly and he now understood. It sold within a couple of hours and that's the last I heard of it. Interstingly, it had a sibling of the same brand and shape, but with an unbaked top, and Mahogany B&S. This one lasted me a year. I was told it would simmer down. Yeah, nope. I traded it in towards my Hummingbird. The rest is history, as they say. So, circle back to the Maple I described above. The Maple guitar ended up sounding like the 'Hog one did to the point where it was just loud and over-bright, but it was more harsh than the Hog. I wrote the whole thing off as that brand's sound gone wrong. A year later, that all changed when they changed something in their construction. Much of that sonic brightness had been replaced with mellowed out sound. For a while, though, that Maple version with the baked top was glorious. Fast forward now to the baked Dove. I'd never heard a Dove in person. I'd never heard of the baked tops and Maple B&S being too much of the same thing factor. Time will tell. There is not a whole lot of similarity between the dove and that Maple from now 6 years ago. One huge difference from a functional standpoint worth mentioning, though. The Dove recorded wonderfully mic'd up on the first try within weeks after getting it. The other brand never did in either material. Plugged in and played slowly through the electronics, yes, but neither had ever mic'd well for me. Every Gibson and my Martin have sounded pretty when mic'd up.

It's not a matter or trusting the person doing it. I'm sure they did. After bouncing around trucks, twice, in this weather and then landing in your home, it's bound to be a bit different.