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sbpark

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Everything posted by sbpark

  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.
  14. SG neck dive is a topic that has been blown out of proportion as a result of Internet forums. I've owned several differnt SG's over the years including a few Standards of differnt years, a couple reissues and several SG Classics (P90's) and NEVER had any issue with neck dive. Didn't matter if I used a cheap, $5 no-name nylon strap or a nice Levy's strap or a hootenanny style strap, etc. Neck dive simply has never been an issue and seems like more of a topic for discussion. by those who have nothing better to do and should be playing their guitars more and spending less time on the interwebs..
  15. Nothing on that bridge looks off to me. Every Gibson acoustic I've owned has that little bit of ramping on the bridge. Just picked up a 2018 J-35 that's been virtually unplayed and has the same mild ramping on the bridge as has every J-45 Standard I've come across.
  16. Mods just delete. This forum sucks.
  17. Here’s a great cover from her:
  18. Here she is playing an old J-45. I’m a fan. She came though a few weeks ago but show was sold out. I think her live performances on YouTube are much better then her record. Whoever produced her record did not do her justice. Overproduced in my opinion.
  19. I like the simplicity of this and have used it in the past. A sponge inside travel case to hold a bar of soap with holes drilled into it is also a very similar method. But not convinced it[s effective, especially if you live in an area that gets pretty dry, especially int he winter. Here's why...where do you place this in your case? Usually up by the headstock, which really does nothing but humidify the headstock part of the case. If you have a dry guitar you really need to have something in the sound hole. That's why I prefer the Music Nomad or DampIt. They're not fancy, relatively inexpensive and very effective. I'll use the sound hole humidifiers during the driest winter months and then switch to Humidipacks for the rest of the year. I haven't had any leak inside a guitar, but having 4+ of them already leaking in a box of 12 is a bit concerning.
  20. At least I own Gibsons and have a reason to be here. You seem to hate Gibsons, love Martins yet you post in every thread oaths forum. What happened? Did you get kicked off UMGF, AGF and TheGearPage and people stopped paying attention to you? We get it. All you listen to is The Beatles and Gibsons suck.
  21. I used to have a Custom )M-125 from LA Guitar Sales...gloss finish, 1 3/4" nut. I never bonded with that guitar. Neck profile felt super thin combines with that nut width. I much prefer my off the rack 000-15M with the narrower nut width. Sure, finger picking is a bit easier with the sider strong spacing but still prefer the regular 000-15M. My other guitars are 1 3/4" (D-18) and an Epiphone USA Frontier (1 11/16") and it's nice to have the option to reach for something diffenrt now and then, and the 000-15M can hold it's own against those other two giants. Still one of the best values for a USA-made, all-solid wood guitar, bone nut and saddle with ebony bridge pins.
  22. I'll throw a wild card into the mix... I love Gibsons so don't take my recommendation as being anti-Gibson, but OP may want to check out a Martin 00-15M or 000-15M. I say thins because I think these are amazing blues boxes and they have a pretty slim/lower profile neck that's 1 11/16" wide. They play fast and although not identical to an electric guitar neck, they are smaller than your usual 1 3/4" and even the standard Gibson nut width. I think it's a combo of that particular nut width and that neck profile that gives it this feel. These are fantastic guitars that although not identical to the 17 Series from way back, they are definitely nods to that sound and era, but with the narrow nut width, lower profile neck but longer/standard scale length. I recently feel back on love with these little Martins and they really are a really nice compliment to a Gibson, or a departure from one that might tick the OP's wants/needs, and they're still an amazing bargain at $1349, but can easily be had all day for 15% off that, sometimes more., and under or around $1,000 used.
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