Red 333

Thanks, kidblast! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanks, Jeff. That's awfully nice. And yes, that Janes Bay Century is a really well-made, easy playing, and great sounding guitar. I was astounded by it. Happy Holidays to you and yours! Red 333

Happy Christmas, E-minor 7.

Thanks, Cougar! Best wishes for a Merry Christmas to you, too!

What a treasure! Red 333

That's gorgeous, Sal. Hopefully the optimism of that image will become a reality for you in 2020. Here's to better things and better days ahead. Red 333

Thanks, Joe. Happy Holidays!

You are too kind. Happy Holidays, Murph!

Thanks, man Happy Holidays!

Thanks, billroy! Merry Christmas to you, too.

Thanks, Dave. Merry Christmas!

"We" wish you a Merry Christmas...and a Happy New Year!

Thank you so much from all of us! Merry Christmas!

LOVE that guitar. Merry Christmas, Nick!

For the seventh year in a row I've made a musical greeting to celebrate the holidays. What started as a simple performance video for this forum with me sitting on the living room couch has grown to become an all-purpose message for my Facebook friends, and the production has swelled as a result. Can't have any Facebook friends' interest flag from lack of visuals. And even though this one's a full-fledged multi-track recording with multiple instruments real and MIDI, it's still designed with your interests in mind, and features my J-45 Legend, which is a wonderous beast. And an Epiphone James Bay "1966" Century, which is just a fantastic guitar for the price. The flu got me, so I was a little short on time to polish it up, but I offer it humbly warts and all. This year's song is Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon. Written after two years of peace activism and at the height of the protests against the war in Vietnam, its optimistic message that we can bring peace, love, and understanding to our families, communities, and world was perfect in that time and in ours, as well. You might notice certain shots in the video pay homage to another famous work from the the same year, the immortal "Hilltop" Coke commercial (conceived by Mad Men's Don Draper--that's what I saw on TV), which is another memorable work inspiring all of us to seek and achieve harmony. I know I turned the Goofy up a notch on this one, even over last year's space adventure, so I hope it doesn't overpower the beautiful message that a better world can be ours, if you want it. Happy Holidays, all! I hope there are picks and strings under the tree for all of you. http://youtu.be/YdPwuCd_ki0

It's very flattering that you'd look forward to this! My skills are honestly pretty limited compared to some of the the astonishing performers on this forum! I recorded an audio track (my second-ever multi-track recording with proper Digital Audio Workstation software), but then got the flu so had to suspend work before finishing the vocals and beginning the video part. If I don't get it the video shot and edited I'll post the audio for you all, of course. But I'd like to get the video done because it'll be funnier. Working on it now...

Really good sounding recording, Sal. It has a solid, immediate quality. Performance is top notch as usual, too. I like the addition of the harmony vocal. I hope your new TV inspires more playing and recording, 'cause it's very enjoyable. Red 333

Good thinking. Merry Christmas! Red 333

I have something like twenty Epiphones and not a single one has that seal. It's only something that was in use for a short time. Red 333

Boy, that was great. Merry Christmas. Red 333

When I first took up guitar again as an adult (after a long, long layoff since my teen years), I began taking notice of what kinds of instruments my favorite musicians and bands played. I found most of them played Gibson or Kalamazoo-era Epiphone acoustics or electrics. Red 333

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Rosewood Stage Deluxe is both sensitive and loud. Having only 12 frets clear of the body put the bridge in a sweet spot on the sound board. It has a rich, clear sound. It also has a neck that many finger pickers would find comfy, too. Go for it. As for rosewood, it's historically been used less on Gibsons than mahogany and maple. I'm not even sure Gibson used rosewood at all from the mid forties until the AJ was revived in the nineties. Red 333

I think the adjustable bridge sets a bad wrap not because they contribute to a distinctive sound (which, as you can see, many love) but because the bolts and adjusting mechanism on some of them loosen up with age, which does effect the tone in a bad way. Many of them are also on late 60's guitars, which can be over -built. But a new guitar equipped with one, or an old guitar whose adj bridge's bolts are all tight should sound just fine. I have four guitars with the adjustable bridge mechanism and I don't regret any of them. Red 333

I have an Epihone Masterbilt with a cedar top and rosewood sides from the mid 2000's. It's long scale, has 12-frets, a slotted head stock, fat v-mahogany neck, old-fashioned no-belly bridge, and a round shouldered dread body (though it has a wider waist than a Gibson, like if Gibson and Martin had a baby; this was before Epiphone started using the true Gibson slope shape). It has a lovely sound: very dynamic, rounded tones which compress pleasantly at high volume. And it can really produce some volume! The guitar is very sensitive--ideal for finger pickers beyond my abilities, I'm sure. I'm fortunate to have more than my share of great sounding Gibsons (12-fret Rosewood Stage Deluxe, J-45 Legend, Fullers RI 1939 J-35, etc.) and this one's right up there. Gibson has no real tradition of building with cedar, but I don't see why a cedar topped J-45 or AJ wouldn't sound great. Red 333 EDIT: I see 62Burst has written about the very same model in his post above.