QuestionMark

May her memory be blessing. The song and the group rocked! QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Yep, it’s a typo. It should read 135 not 125. Good catch! (The forum won’t let me edit my prior posts.) QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

I think the newer instrumentation coupled with your singing it with mindfulness has whipped it into much better shape. It’s a great tune. Keep refining like you’re doing. I stand by my earlier comment. It’s a brilliant complex piece of music. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

The Grover 125 Vintage tuning pegs work great! Much better than the stock ones, yet they look nearly identical except they are missing the controversial screw in the peg. The post with the accompanying casing attachment and washer fit fine. No drilling needed. One attaching screw in back matches to the stock ones, one is just slightly off, but no drilling was needed, just screwing it into the wood and that was easy. The old hole in back where a fraction of it ever so slightly showed no longer cosmetically shows after filling the partial old holes with a dab of hide glue. It’s nice to have tuners on the guitar that don’t loosen or turn only in increments. The new ones turn nice and smooth and with easy accuracy. QM aka “ Jazzman” Jeff

In my opinion the J-45 will be the more versatile instrument. It can be softly fingerpicked or give a growl if you need it. Strumming will be be either nice and easy or over the top if you need it. A LG2 will be overpowered if you need it to put out energy although for quiet singer singer writer sensitivity it will be fine. But, so will the J-45. For chickenpicking, go with the J-45. I incorporate Waylon influence into my country stuff, folk stuff, and even my jazz stuff (go figure, but I do))…my J-45 can do it all. My concert and 00 sized guitars can do it, too…but, if they are plugged in. I suggest the J-45 for starters and then maybe later in your journey adding a LG2. The J-45 will give you a much larger dynamic range to choose from than a LG2. Just my opinion. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Although some years back I was a defender of the stock tuners in my Epiphone tuners on my reissued Century Olympic, I now see the perspective of replacing them. Though they look great, that screw on the end does loosen at times and seems to cause slippage under lengthy playing. However good they mirror the originals. As a result I’m buying the mentioned Grover’s 125 series ones in hopes that they will work better. I appreciate the discussion that occurred on this topic to lead me to see the benefit of changing the stock tuners. I have a number of gigs I am planning to play with my Olympic due to its great sound and the newer tuners are now part of my planning for using this otherwise great guitar. Thanks! QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Yes, it’s possible. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Lars-I am going to go out in a limb here. I do not think you are out of vocal pitch. What I think is actually happening is you composed a very intricate melody but are trying to fit the intricate melody into basic guitar chord shapes rather than an intricate music score of notes and orchestration on your guitar. There are some really cool notes that musically you are singing, but trying to fit them into one size fits all chord shapes. This is a common problem for intuitively melodic composers who are simply not yet able to match the melody in their guitar playing journey yet. Keep at advancing your guitar playing to accompany those intricate/complex melodies you can compose. It’s a life’s work. An alternate is of course to simplify a melody in the meantime. But, still meanwhile keep also working on accompanying the real melody you hear in your head on to your guitar. Do not get discouraged. You compose some great stuff, even if your accompaniment doesn’t yet match the melody. Just my music perspective. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Musicians Friend is owned by Guitar Center. You might ask Musicians Friend if you can take it into a local Guitar Center an assessment if it qualifies under Gibson’s Warranty. Many times Guitar Centers work with their local authorized Gibson Repairperson to facilitate warrantee repairs, whether by their local Gibson warrantee person or by shipping warrantee work to Gibson. Although I would think Musicians Friend has a similar process. Call Musicians Friend about your issue and see what they say about getting it repaired by Gibson or through them or through Guitar Center and either Gibson or through a local authorized Gibson Repairperson they utilize if it works that way for them. Both sell a lot of Gibsons and since you bought it through MF, contact them for what you should do. QM aka “.Jazzman” Jeff

You might want to try and contact the Gibson dealer from whom you purchased the instrument for assistance, if you have not yet done so. Just a suggestion. I have had Custom Shop warranty repair work done on my 2006 CS J-45 when the bridge suddenly lifted. But first they had to inspect that it was not a proper humidification issue on my part, and they determined it was not. They determined it was not properly glued down by the factory. Then there was no problem at all. Keep us posted. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Beautiful instrument! Congratulations! QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

I used to easily recognize the string guage differences in sound between lights and extra lights when playing and listening. And I preferred lights. Now, somehow that doesn’t hold true. The difference seems so minor it’s not noticeable. It’s not my ears. Or, calllouses. . I string suspect that manufacturers have improved extra lights over the years and certainly more recently. I know Martin switch the material of at least their first and second strings of XP’s now known as Authentics. 80/20 Bronze first and second strings used to have a gold tint. Now they are silver colored. It was always the first and second strings that were unacceptable on Extra Lights. Now they seem fine. Improved. Decent sounding and decent to play stuff on. Plus, ExtraL Lights used to not stay in tune. Now they do. I now prefer Extra Lights somehow. Go figure. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Beautiful guitar. Thanks for the feedback so far on the neck! Seems interesting. I’ve wondered about what the neck is like as I’m used to the slim taper shape. Sounds like it’s workable though somewhat different. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

How do you like the neck on it? Am curious. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

That’s a beaut! QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

For a Wednesday, here’s a vintage clip of Tommy & Phil Emmanuel from the mid-80s. No other words needed. QM aka “ Jazzman” Jeff

Keep in mind that even after Gibson began installing pickups in acoustics in their factory, not every acoustic had a factory installed pickup. Some acoustics still came with no pickup. And, keep in mind even when a factory installed pickup was in an acoustic, some players changed the pickup to a different pickup they liked better or had it taken out. And, some with no factory installed pickups had their own luthier install a pickup. Also, keep in mind that Gibson actually started installing pickups on acoustics circa the early-mid 50s with their j-160 model. Like anything else, nothing is clear cut. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Murph-Good stuff! QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

My fretboards show wear, something I’m actually proud of when someone comments on them at gigs. They are, after all, meant to be played. QM aka “”Jazzman” Jeff

I remembering going to some music stores to play the Sheryl Crowe C & W model when it was new circa 2000. I really liked it a lot. Beautiful playing instrument. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Thanks for posting the photo. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

You’re welcome! What brand is the 51-52 guitar? Am curious. Or, is there no designation on or in it? QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

The FT30 Caballero was made in Kalamazoo, Michigan. That was back when the Gibson Company and their sister brand were both made in the same Kalamazoo, Michigan plan side by side of one another. The FT30 Caballero was very very similar to the Gibson LG0 model. Both were ladder braced and had solid mahogany tops and mahogany sides and backs. I’ve heard definitively if the backs and sides were solid mahogany or laminated mahogany, but the tops on both are solid mahogany. (I believe a later imported reissue of the Caballero had a laminated mahogany top. There was also a FT120 Caballero that was imported that bears no resemblance to the Kalamazoo made FT30 Caballero. Gibson also concurrently made a LG-1 in sunburst that was sunburst with a spruce top, and a LG2 in sunburst with a spruce top that was X braced and a LG3 in natural that otherwise mirrored the LG2. Each in the numbering system cost a bit more. Epiphone meanwhile had a model that mirrored the LG2 and the LG3, but no equivalent to the LG1 to my remembrance. Somewhere the LG1 and LG2 were replaced by identical models both called the B25 or B25N (for Natural) maybe with more reddish sides and backs. The headstock on the FT30 Caballero differed from the Gibson LG0 headstock to align with Epiphone’s headstock design. Both were marketed as Student guitars meaning relatively inexpensive Epiphone and Gibson models. For a period both had plastic bridges that often broke and owners replaced them with wooden saddles. Plastic bridges were phased out of production because of the breakage problem. As the models were low end Gibson models neither has a high collectibility price. I estimate the FT30 Caballero or a Gibson LG0 today probably sells in the ballpark range for about $600 to $900 depending on its condition. Some guitarists are known to prefer the FT Caballero model over the LG0 version, claiming the Epiphone version is better for blues playing. I own a 1965 FT30 Caballero in my collection and have to admit I prefer it over the LG0, also…although why I can’t put my finger on. For a little more info, check the 2023 Vintage Guitar Guide or George Gruhn’s Vintage Guitar Guide…but neither provide much more info than I just gave. The 2023 Vibtage Guitar Guide, though will provide a current price range from research rather than the ballpark price range I estimated. Maybe someone else will provide more info or clarify some specifics. You could also call George Gruhn’s Guitars in Nashville and ask for some general things about the guitar. They are the gurus of used and vintage guitars. I hope this helps. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

May his memory be a blessing. QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

Sounds good! QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff