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Rambler

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  1. SG-- good luck in your hunt. My pov is you really cant go wrong with recent builds, even past 08. Quick word about the 90s Gibsons from the MT shop. The first 2 years there (91-92) were primo (my SJ45 from that period is case in point). There is said to be some slippage 93-95 (new manager?) Things improved around 97-97 ("early' serie), steady course since.
  2. What Jinder said about there being a distinct Martin sound. Each picked note is a gem but they all want to let go at once. Takes some control if you are doing intricate fingerpicking. Also, part of the deal with a 000 is that you are going to be moving less air, so you may sense less presence than you would with a jumbo or dread. It may sound good to your audience, but it might not for you! I have a 00018GE which is about as good as it gets for a hog 000. but never took to it and just got back in the Gibson camp with an SJ. The combo of woods and bracing on the 15-series is going to make it less brillaint than the spruce top models. A string change is not going to be a game changer. First question Id ask is whether or not you can get along with the basic Martin sound. If so, an upgrade might be in order, spruce top. rosewoods b&s or a dread.
  3. Dutchie, I think you made the right call and sure hope you enjoy your new box. Fwiw, I gave a friends CEO7 a trial run. It aint nothing like a Gibson. Very much in the Martin bag. Each note is very pure and alive with gorgeous overtones, except that they all want to sing at the same time. That works ok for strum or classical arpegios, but for trad-bleus-folk picking, it's hard to keep the bass or lead note from getting swamped in the melee. My 00018GE, which I will be departing from, does the same thing.
  4. Hey John Wilson. Here's a clip of Earl Scruggs fingerpicking what looks to me like an early 50s SoJo. My 91 gets a fair representation of that sound. Enjoy.
  5. Jinder Nick and Sal-- good to hear from you all and thanks for the kind words. Ive read elsewhere that early Bozeman flattops were to be admired. Ths one does not disappoint! Ive been playing some Lester Flatt sytle thumb rhythm on this thing--it can purr or howl dpending on how much I lean into it. It's been a long hunt butI feel like Ive come home.
  6. Those are fantastic, Tom. Pretty a J45 as I have ever seen--great burst Do my eyes deceive me or does the RW SJ have a 30s style headstock?
  7. "Do your still use your SJ". Sure do --it's a recent get! (see my ngd thread). My SJ is a great fingerpicker: distinct bass, round top, clear & balanced throughout. By point of comparision, I have a CFM 00018 that you'd think would be great for fingerstyle but is so lively across the spectrum that the overtones overhelm the fundamental (that guit can be had if anyone cares to inquire).
  8. Hi, all. Haven't come around this way in a spell, but Ive got some some news. Last week, I picked up a 1991 SJ-45. It's a beaut. Basicly a 43-era Southern Jumbo reissue with a fw non-period oddities, notably a block logo and keystone pegs. This baby is clear and balanced for fingerstyle but has enough boom to pick. It has some battle scars, but so what. I'm one happy camper. It's the Gibson Ive been hunting for. RIngier than an AJ, more lively than a J45 std, beefier mids than the Fullers J35 1937 that I though would be it. There was an interlude with a 000-18 , nice one, adi top. Really really nice box and compact, but didnt have the sounds I wanted to hear (its on the block if anyone cares to inquire). Im locked and laoded now. Good picking, all. R
  9. (In case you haven't made a move). Having owend both, Id say defintiely the J45/Sj. The bass is deep enough for the boom and you get a better chang than a Bird. Fingerpicking, you get more clairty and a better top end. Cheers, R. ps Tom, sorry to hear your wife passed. Be well. R
  10. I'm 2-1 acosutic/electric. A 00018, a National Vinatge Steel and a frankenStrat. In the last decade, I had a J35 and a J45, so maybe make that 4-1. Lust objects (subject to change) are a D28 and a Tele. Just not jonsing for a Gibson right now. Once you get into the Martin spectrum, it's hard to step back (akin to the difference between a Jazzmaster and a Tele or a humbucker vs a P90). Speaking of electrics, I think Teles pair up well with Martin dreads and OMs, in terms of feel and response. Les Pauls and 00028s, dark sound. An acoustic counterpart to a strat is harder for me to peg. I used to think J45, although the scale is different, but recently I was listening to Knopfler's Alechemy thought: strat=classical. Check the lines in Love over Gold then listen to Sultans, both ahve a skittering quality. In his hands, anyway. Cheers.
  11. Hah! Glad to know you are still in there pitching, Guth (guess I should say picking). Believe it, I hunted high and lo find that clip.
  12. Anyone care to comment how the tone of an AJ works for you as a solo performer: vocal accompaniment, singer-songwriter, blues picking, Americana, small group. Ive been playing a lot of Stratocaster of late, gotten used to the long scale and finding that my 000 feels cramped capoed up the neck.
  13. A guy in my high school circle had a J50. It stood out in a good way. Then you'd see them in the hands of the Fabs, Stones, Dylan. But it wanst til some years later that I got a late 60s j45. Carried that one for a long time. A D28 was my first good guitar, tho. I never took to it, even tho I was listening to CSNY and Flatt & Scruggs by then. You'd think a guy would learn. Hey Sal. Talk about J200's. That picture of Dylan with on the cover of Nashville Skyline says to me exactly what you are talking about. Petty with his Dove in the late 70s ...
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