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sbpark

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sbpark last won the day on March 9 2021

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  1. 2-Year Update: Still loving this guitar. I've never been one to necessarily believe that guitars "open up" over time and whatnot, but the guitar definitely has. For a while I swear the guitar sort of "closed up" and it kind of sounded dull and choked for a while a few months after I got it, and didn't matter what strings I put on it. Tried a few different sets and now back to EJ16's. For whatever reason this guitar all of a sudden opened back up and now is very lively and dynamic, even with old, dull strings (which I prefer on my acoustics). It's definitely settled in a bit and had to lower the action once as it crept up a little (I have the truss rod adjusted with just a hair of relief and that's never moved), but since then has been rock solid. Also had the pick guard start to lift quite a bit, but had a shop that was an authorized Gibson warranty repair shop replace the pick guard. Had to wait a bit for Gibson to send out a new pickguard because they originally tried to reglue the original and it lifted again soon after. I've been buying new Gibson acoustics since 2016 and have no idea why they simply can't get their pickguards to stick. The thick "flubber" pick guards were the worst. This isn't a "flubber" and is pretty thin, what you'd expect and has nice engraving. Once this guitar opened up it sounds huge, but unlike other dreads the low end is controllable, no mud whatsoever, and anything but boomy. Kind of a nice balance between the massive sound of a dread and the articulation and detail of a J200 I guess, and more balls and power than a Hummingbird, but still sounds great when played softly and fingerpicked, but can also hold it's own when heavily strummed (I'm not a heavy strummer by any means). Only guitar I've ever owned that may stack up and was louder was a 2012 AJ I used to own. I've learned my lesson regretfully selling that one (and a couple J200's) in the past and can see myself being very happy with this one for years to come.
  2. If it's a new J45 standard, Iv'e and similar experiences with replacing the Tusq saddle with a bone saddle, and I've owned several J45 Standards. The bone made the guitars brighter and more clear, but also lose some low end. After many tries I just concluded that I don't care for newer J45 Standards and eventually settled on a 2018 J35. Haven't changed a thing on it, has the original Tusq saddle, etc. As far as the "grooves" in the Tusq saddle, this in my experience is completely normal, and again I've seen it on pretty much every acoustic with a Tusq saddle, with the caveat that I wouldn't call them "grooves" per se, more like mild indentations. These days I really don't tinker with my guitars. I used to back in the day and always thought it would make the guitar better, but if I'm being honest all the bridge pin swapping, etc., really never did much other than lighten my wallet. Now I'd rather spend more time playing and getting better than wasting time with the "upgrades". My best upgrade to date that has improved my playing and my tone has been actually practicing.
  3. RIP Mr. Ford. I had the pleasure of talking to Mr. Ford several years ago when I took in an a mid-70's D28 that I had them work on...neck reset, scooted the bridge to the correct position, new frets, glued some loose braces and fixed a top crack and installed a new pick guard (old one had shrunk, lifted and cracked the top. Was a super nice man and seemed very eager to share his knowledge.
  4. That wasn't the question that OP asked. But by going by your logic you shouldn't be using any type of modern Turing device (especially anything that uses batteries) and use the only types of strings that were available back in the day. And why are you even on a modern guitar forum on the internet since places like this surely didn't exist back then? One could also argue if there were more modern ways of maintaining proper humidification many more vintage guitars may have survived and/or been salvaged over the years.
  5. Obvious zombie thread response! I was one of the few who replied a few years ago about not liking this guitar, but that changed earlier this year. Came across a 2018 model in MINT condition. Picked it up for $1,200 and it's become one of my favorites. It's a great compliment to some other full size dreads I own including a D18 and a USA-made Epiphone Frontier (think Gibson Dove in Western appointments). I much prefer the J35 over the J45 these days. The J35 has a somewhat full, substantial neck, was able to set it up wonderfully and it's a great fingerpicker and strummer.
  6. I've been using the Boveda and D'Addario brand humidipacks for years with no issues.
  7. As the seller if you have the COA and all the case candy it obviously makes the guitar more desirable to most or many buyers (especially in current times where people seem to care more about resale of a guitar they haven't even bought yet and the fact that so many constantly flip guitars and never seem to be satisfied) and could arguably command a slightly higher price, depending on the buyer. As far as faking a COA if you have a printer and it's as easy as that, I dont think it's that easy. Obviously it's much easier to fake a COA though compared to faking an entire guitar. The last two Gibsons came with all the original case candy and documentation. I highly doubt someone would go to all the trouble to fake EVERYTHING that came with the guitar when it was new. Also people, know what you're buying and educate yourself on how to spot fakes. Once you're able to know what you're looking at and looking for it becomes pretty easy.
  8. If you're going to replace the pickups I'd ditch the PCB and go for 50's wiring and never look back.
  9. I've always been more of a Fender guy over the years. Most of that had to off with not being able to afford a Gibson when I was a kid on the 90's, and Fenders were more accessible and available for better prices, especially int he used market. With hat said, I've owned a few Gibsons over the years her and there, mostly SG's in various flavors (Standards, 61 RI's, and even owned an SG All-American back in the day) along with a couple Les Paul Specials and Juniors. Looks like things have changed a bit. I still love my Fenders (but the two I have now are actually Partscasters because I got tired of running the racks and not being able to find anything that ticked all the boxes that didn't have AC issues, wasn't a boat anchor, etc., from Fender). In the last couple years I've acquired four Gibsons, ranging from 2019-2021; three electrics and one acoustic. I have to say that the overall fit, finish, feel and sound of all of these has been nothing short of surprising and I'm impressed. What else is interesting are the necks on both SG's. The '61 Standard with the Vibrola is a 2019 and the SG Special is a 2020. Both have slim taper necks, but they're way chunkier and substantial than most other slim taper necks I've played on other Gibsons. The 2021 Les Paul Junior I recently picked up used has a MASSIVE baseball bat neck. and that's also an awesome guitar. Seems liek Gibson is putting out some really nice guitars over the last few years.
  10. I guess the answer is some do, some don't. Obviously not Gibson acoustics, but I've seen some cherry finished SG's fade considerably and pretty quick in some cases. My 2019 SG Standard '61 w/ Vibrola appears to be getting more orange and less cherry over time, despite living most of it's life in the case.
  11. Ended up installing the Music City Bridge "Savvy" wraparound bridge and locking studs. Intonates perfect and just looks much nicer than the GraphTeck bridge.
  12. Got an incredible deal on this 2020 SG Special a few days ago. Color is Burgundy Metallic. Came with all the case candy and previous owner installed an aftermarket GraphTech bridge. At first I was sure I was going to reinstall the original bridge (also included), but the guitar sounds so good in its current state I decided to just leave it. I do have a Music City bridge and locking studs just sitting int he parts drawer I may install at some point, but for now I'll give the GraphTech a fair shake. Another plus was I was able to dial in the intonation perfectly (done after I took these pictures). Neck feels great and loving the super dark fretboard.
  13. Picked this one up locally for a great price. Happened on a whim, and wasn't even in the market. Was browsing local listings late one night and came across this 2021 LP Special. I shot off an offer and was surprised when I woke up the next morning and the seller had accepted, so I drove out later that day and checked it out. Guitar is nearly flawless, with some very minor wear on the bridge. It's hard to show in pictures, but the color is more subdued and less bright yellow, and a little more subdued in person. Neck is perfect, has a really dark rosewood board, relief was perfect and action right where I like it, frets have no wear and are in fantastic shape (props to the factory PLEK because this one is REALLY nice and needs ZERO fret work). It's a super chunky baseball bat neck measuring 0.92" at the first fret and 1.03" at the 12th fret. Despite it being such a big neck, it's really smooth and fast playing. P-90's sound great after raising them up a bit. Only thing I had to do was break out the nut files because it seemed like nobody every addressed the nut from the factory. Had super high nut slots, and after some quick work with the files the guitar plays effortlessly and feels great. Only other issue I had after restringing it and fine-tuning/adjusting the bridge was the intonation was still off on a couple strings; D and G strings are off (D is flat and G is sharp). Thinking about ordering a Music City Bridge and locking studs, but overall for what I paid this is a FANTASTIC guitar. I'm not sure I'd pay the $1,799 that these retail for, but for $900 this was a steal.
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