Red 333

Thanks so much, Rob! Merry Christmas! Red 333

Thanks very much, Murph! Hoping you're having a Merry Christmas! Red 333

How fun was that! Great job to all involved. Happy Holidays! Red 333

Thanks so much. That's very gratifying coming from someone as talented as you. Happy Holidays! Red 333

Wonderful. Red 333

Thanks, Em. Previously, I relied on a pair of computer speakers to mix with. This year, I got a good pair of very flat monitor speakers, plus a single mono mix cube. Boy, they made a huge difference, especially in regard to getting the bass to sit in a mix that sounds good on phones and tablets as well as good headphones or a big home audio setup. Happy Holidays! Red 333

Thanks, QM. I've always said you are the nicest person on this and the Epiphone forum. See, you proved it again. Happy Holidays, QM. Red 333

Such a nice, dry tone. What guitar are you playing? Great playing and song selection. Perfect for a winter's morning. Your video reminds me of my home growing up, too Happy Holidays! Red 333

I hope not in the "you're outta your mind" way. Happy Holidays, Dave. Red 333

Outstanding. Great depth of feeling and technical mastery. If they make an animated singing cowboy movie, you'd be great for the voice. Happy Holidays! Red 333

That's just lovely. Happy Holidays. Red 333

I didn't post a Holiday Greeting Video the last two years because the last two didn't feature a Gibson acoustic guitar. I've made one every year for the past 11 years for my Facebook friends and friends on this forum. I did Run, Run Rudolph last year (featuring an Epiphone Blues Deluxe), and the year before I did Handel's Hallelujah Chorus with 3 Voices (ala The Roches) and 2 bass guitars. This year, though, features the J-45 True Vintage. And my red...Gibson ES-333. And an Epiphone Jack Casady bass to keep it all in the family. In case you're not familiar with the song, the title and first verse refers to the cold and bitter weather that had settled on the land when Mary and Joseph had to settle on a stable for the place of Jesus’ birth. Out of respect for our time and patience, I have only sung that verse, but the others tell the full story of the nativity in language that’s crisp and clear and sharp and perfectly evocative of a cold winter’s night. My arrangement was mostly inspired by master fingerstylist Doyle Dykes’ sublime performance, which I urge you to find on YouTube. I can’t remotely play like him, mind you, but I nicked a few of his licks and phrases and incorporated them into my version. I also gave it some martial snares because the lyrics to one of the verses (which I did not sing but put on screen over my electric guitar solo) reminded me of The Little Drummer Boy. Happy Holidays, everyone. Red 333

D'oh! That part about Tman writing it flew over my head! Fantastic, Tman!

I've never heard that song. Love it. And your performance. Happy Holidays! Red 333

Wow. Thanks for sharing your highly detailed and well documented story of an obvious labor of love. Can't wait to see how the natural one comes out. I hope you'll lett us know. Enjoy the process and the results! Red 333

I'm glad you have such a lovely memento. Red 333

Tim, Both guitars have the same body shape, which Gibson sometimes calls the AJ shape. The depth of the body has a taper. It is a little less deep where the body meets the neck than at the bottom, which gives the back a slight arc. You can see it easily in pictures of the side view of both guitars. You have noted the differences in nut width, neck shape, and x bracing. The other main structural difference is in back bracing. The J-35 model in question shares the back braces of the Advanced Jumbo (referred to by many as the AJ): they are low and more stout (more mass) when compared to the back braces found on the J-45 in question, which are lighter and higher. This, along with the difference in x-bracing, contributes to the difference in sound Slim notes. I would describe a J-35 built this way as (usually) having a tone that has more emphasis on the fundamental of notes than a J-45, which (usually) has more overtones. Red 333

Lars, the original poster means "Gibson" was on the truss rod cover of his/her Epiphone Dot Deluxe, which was made in Korea. Epiphone did this from about 1986 through 2004 on some models. Epiphones were made in Korea from the early 1980s through the mid 2000s, when production transitioned to (mostly) China . Epiphone now calls the Epiphone Dot the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson ES-335 (or just the Epiphone ES-335). N. Paperman, Dot Deluxes were cosmetic upgrades of the standard Dot. There were several editions, so the features vary, but differences could include gold hardware or a flamed top or both. I don't think any had pickup upgrades. Red 333

Sheratons, Broadways, Wildkats (not Uptown Kat), and Joe Pass Emperors are current(ish models) with maple necks (though you can find some older Sheratons with mahogany necks). Other fairly recent models would include the Zephyr Blues Deluxe, Emperor Regent, the Masterbilt Zenith and Deluxe, and Elitist Sheraton, Broadway and Byrdland. The Swingster also had a maple neck upon release, but was changed to mahogany around 2020. Some Dots had maple necks for a time, too. Maybe Late 90's, early 2000's. And while maple necks are often paired most frequently with archtops, there were some solid-bodies with them, too. The first iteration of the Les Paul Ultra had a maple neck (mid 2000s, maybe.) I believe the Ultra II and III have mahogany necks, though. There was a limited edition flame top Les Paul with a maple neck in the early 2000's. I've seen old Crestwoods (like from the 70's) with maple necks, too. That's what I can think of off the top of my head. There's certainly a lot more as you back to the 70's: the off-shore Epiphones varied very much in spec from the original Kalamazoo-made guitars. And from time to time, it's certain neck material was swapped from mahogany to maple and vice versa in many models depending on what wood was available at that moment, so there are bound to be variations. There are many acoustic guitars with maple necks, too. Red 333

Terrific! Red 333

I can't seem to edit my post, so just a note that I meant Elite/Elitist. I'm not sure if I mistyped it as Elitist/Elitist TWICE or spellcheck got the better of me or what. And if anyone could let me know where the "edit" function went, I'd appreciate it. Red 333

All Elitist/Elitist guitars based on Gibson models (Les Pauls, SGs, ES-335, J-45, J-200, L-00, Byrdland, Country Gentleman, etc.) have the "tombstone" headstock as shown in the picture, except for select models produced for the Japanese domestic market, which may have the Gibson "open book" headstock. All have the two hole Gibson style "bell" truss rod cover. The Elitist EB-2 bass (SG body style) also had a "tombstone" headstock (though wider in dimension). The Elitist Thunderbird bass had the Fenderish headstock used by Gibson typically on that model and the Firebird. All Elitist/Elitists based on vintage Epiphone models (Casino, Riviera, Sheraton, Texan, etc.) had the "paddle" style headstock that their vintage counterpart would have come with. The Broadway, a 1990's-ish creation which is based more on the Gibson ES-5 than the vintage Epiphone Broadway, had a large "clipped wing" headstock. All would have had the three hole Epiphone "bullet" truss rod cover. The exception to the number of holes on the truss rod cover are on the John Lennon signature Casino and Paul McCartney Texan, which were sometimes also called Eltist. They had two holes in the truss rod cover, as their vintage counterparts would have had. There was a model called the Les Paul Elite that did have the clipped wing headstock, but it is not an Elite/Elitist. Red 333

She's a keeper! Wonderful lady. Red 333

Wow. Like it came out of a time machine. So lovely. Enjoy it lots. Red 333

Beautiful, Mark Phillip's. What was your process for adding the veneer and refinishing the guitar? Again great job. Red 333