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groovadelic

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Posts posted by groovadelic

  1. New Gibson J180 Everly

    Looks like these have a darker tortoise  pick guard compared to the Cat Stevens limited run and last production run of Billie Joe J180s. Still very different than the original 60s Everly model which they’ll probably never do.  It has a custom shop decal and it’s being referred in the video as a limited production run and priced accordingly.

     

  2. The history behind this model is the allure for me. There's been several variations Gibson has produced but never back to the original. Interestingly the 60s and 70s Everly models weren't called the J-180. Nothing in brochures and catalogs until 1987 when after being long discontinued, the "J-180" was announced as a model "inspired by" the Everly acoustic.  

  3. Ah interesting. Well, if she likes the pickguard, the print wore off easily from 93-03ish so that could be a turn off.  Also, I am not the biggest fan of 90s Gibson's from a QC perspective. They were producing too many designs and were all over the place. They started to narrow their focus as we got into the 2000s and the quality got better.

    Otherwise, the Hummingbird really only had one production version until 2007. That is when they introduced 2 lines: the Modern Classic and True Vintage. The Modern Classic was just their typical production Hummingbird (grover tuners, printed pickguard, plug in ready). The True Vintage was for those looking to spend more for vintage details (lighter bracing, moulded pickguard, vintage tuners, no pickup, etc). 

    Again there are limited and special runs, but these are the 2 most common. I currently have a 2008 True Vintage and for me - that's one of my forever guitars.

  4. Ok helpful. I have it in one of my guitars and prefer it by a wide margin over saddle pickups. They sound very natural picking and strumming while being fairly feedback resistant. I would recommend a preamp or an active DI especially if you're sending it to a house sound system. If you're using an acoustic amp - no problems just plugging in direct. After using active systems in my guitars for years, it felt great to have something easy to install and without the need for batteries.

  5. 2 hours ago, zombywoof said:

    I once tried to take some lessons with a jazz guitar player I knew.  He seemed determined to teach me proper left hand placement.  Me being pretty much a blues and rag player I was used to using my left thumb to finger bass notes.  But this guy kept pulling my hand away from the guitar and literally placing in the right position.  While he did teach me some theory, how to pull off some Freddy Greene chord comping, and where to throw some jazz junk diminished chords into my blues stew, he also finally figured what were once vices had become habits which were by then just too ingrained to do anything about.  On the other hand, he was aways complimentary about my use of the Blind Blake thumb slip, reverse hammer-ons and that kind of stuff.

    That was my teacher also - a Jazz guy, lol! I never changed my habits because still to this day, I love Jimi chords and it's just been whatever is comfortable for me. With that said, I don't play for more than 30 minutes at a time these days so can't say how I'd feel if I did.  

  6. Great to hear!  Anything you can adjust in your playing technique? I know a lot of players (including myself) really don't pay attention to proper left-hand positioning.  I remember when I was in college - a guitar instructor telling me the "thumb over the top" can lead to strain and that I should learn to keep my thumb on the back of the neck. This was really for chords because obviously not always possible for bends.

  7. Anything that has a small batch limited run is going to be priced for a niche market willing to pay exclusive prices 2x or more above MSRP. My guess is that if they feel they can bring this to the production floor and sell more, they can lower the price and produce in the thousands. I feel the J180 has always struggled to find a place as a production grade instrument because it's odd features that don't really make a ton of sense in today's world. That said - if they were to reissue the original early 60s Everly Brothers (with a thinner body), I'd be really tempted and that's coming from someone that already has an original '63! 

  8. On 6/22/2022 at 8:49 AM, Thomas Edler said:

    Thank you very very much! And did you also have 2007 versions where the label just says "Hummingbird"? Or did it say "Hummingbird TV". When I google pics, I just find versions that say TV...

    It said "Hummingbird TV" I believe.

  9. 16 hours ago, egoidealmusic said:

    Were they black or tortoise?  I feel like I've seen previous reissues of this and it was a dark tortoise over the black which made it even darker looking.

    The J200 in the photo and this one are 3-ply black.  A ton of variations over the years - the original had a brown tortoise over black but they glued the pickguard and then shot the finish over it (masking off the pickguards). This was cool because you could see the tortoise better. When they reissued in the 80s, they just lacquered the guitar and threw the pickguard over it. Most recent, when they reissued under Billie Joe Armstrong they put a template over the top so when they put the pickgaurds on they would stand out like the original.

  10. On 5/26/2022 at 9:16 AM, Kwlsky said:

    What do you guys think about all that pick guard material dampening the tone? 

    Likely some impact, but having owned 3 newer ones and currently a 1963, honestly, it's not a guitar where you pick it up and think "there's some tone dampening happening here."  If it's a dud, it's not b/c of the pickguards.  

  11. If you're not looking to drill in the guitar - I'm pretty impressed by the IK acoustic stage. I don't have one and I'm not a gigging musician anymore, but it really sounds great when listening to demos. It seems to produce the sound of the guitar accurately like a mic would. That said, if you're looking to blend - you might want something more complimentary with a mic like a saddle piezo or magnetic pickup to replace some of the boominess.

    One of the best live sounds I've heard is by a fingerstyle musician that used a Fishman rare earth with mic. The problem there is that you have this bar sitting on your acoustic which takes away from the look and a bit of the sound.  

    That said - the rest of my 2 cents:

    Traditional piezo pickups under the bridge 👎. Quacky and produce  a sound of their own. Again, blended with a mic would be the only thing that would appeal to me here.

    Bridge plate transducers like the K&K, LR Baggs has a couple of versions, maybe the Amulet - to me they sound a bit like putting a stethoscope on the bridge plate... I do have a K&K in one of my guitars = it's good enough, but I'm not in love with it.  👍

    I have gigged in the past with sound hole pickups - LR Baggs M1A and it performed great on stage. Sounds magnetic and a bit brash for strumming, but loud and clear. It's removable too which is cool because otherwise - it will affect the sound acoustically.  👍

    Last but not least - believe it or not a lapel mic sounds amazing! You definitely need an EQ with this, but nothing sounds better than a mic!

  12. Not difficult at all - if you can pluck a note then you can "ebow". I will say the high and low E string (if that's your primary root note) is the most difficult to align.  My go to setting was neck pickup with the tone all the way down and use the G and B strings.  

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