sbpark
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Posts posted by sbpark
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2 minutes ago, E-minor7 said:
Well done - the ambition appears to be fulfilled. Nothing will send this guitar further soon. This 45 is home. I have been thinking back'n'forth about switching from the Grover steel-mill to white ovals on the 2010 Std., but then there is the MOP logo. Didn't seem to bother you, did it. .
Doesn't bug me at all. Wasn't trying to make it period correct, pr please the cork sniffers, just wanted to make it my own.
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Finally finished with the changes I made to a 2016 J45 Standard that was generously gifted to me in March. I had a 2016 J45 Standard that I foolishly sold, so this was a vey nice surprise.
First thing I did was ditch the stock Rotomatics (I've done this before and have threads here on the process and how I did it) and replaced them with some Kluson 3 on a plate Supremes. These are a bit different than the Deluxes, as these have an 18:1 gear ratio, compared to the 15:1 ratio of the Deluxe. These are noticeably smoother than the Deluxes, look identical and were the same price as the Deluxe. First time using them and like them so far.
Next I replaced all the tusk parts with bone (nut, saddle and bridge pins). Also replaced the truss rod cover with an all black cover (no white binding).
I also removed the pickup system and there's no pickup in the guitar at the moment. I may put a K&K in at some point, but honestly, I currently have no need for a pickup these days.
There was a hump in the upper frets, while I was having a local shop make the new nut, I also had them level and crown the frets. This was the only work I had the shop do, and everything else I did myself.
Finally, I replaced the stock, thick rubber/flubber teardrop guard with a batwing pickguard.
I think it came out great. Guitar plays great and sounds great, and wont be getting rid of this one.
Something worth mentioning...getting rid of the Rotomatics and LR Bags UST took off over a 1/2 pound.
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In my experience removing the pickup MIGHT elect a SLIGHT improvement in tone, but I highly doubt it will elect a world-changing difference that will all of a sudden made this guitar sound magical. If it sounds dead, flat and like a cheap laminate guitar there's probably nothing you're going to do that will change it so much that you'll turn it into something completely different than what it already is. Better to part ways with it and put that money toward a guitar you can't put down and just want to play all the time.
I've been through this exact dilemma. I've owned two SJ200's. One was magical, the other one sounded like a cheap, plywood guitar. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw and some sound amazing, some sound like turds while most sounds decent. With all that said I've taken every stock pickup system out of every Gibson acoustic I've owned that came with a stock UST pickup.
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Awesome cover!
I'm also curious to hear your thoughts on that particular model.
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2 minutes ago, Dave F said:
Not to easy to find. I got bit by the bug after I bought the Reissue from JT. They only built 110+ of them and not many have survived. Tom Barnwell and John Thomas each have one.
Why haven't many of the 110+ reissues survived?
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9 minutes ago, BurstOrBust said:
That particular model was mentioned to me in another forum. I guess what I'm looking for is "that vintage Gibson sound" ala these Banner LG-2s . . even the 30's L-00's, but in a newer guitar. I figured that perhaps Gibson could emulate this some, but who the heck knows.
Man, if I had the funds and the access to all the guitars mentioned in this thread (LG-2, Waterloos, etc.) I'd just get out and play them all and see what I preferred. Honestly, at this level and price point as long as you know what you're getting into and the basic characteristics of these guitars and how they sound, it's probably going to be pretty tough to go wrong!
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4 minutes ago, BurstOrBust said:
Ha!
In terms of Gibson's LG-2 remake, rightfully or not, I'm enamored with the adi top. The Waterloo WL-12 would be my style, but I'm just not sure about the maple back and sides and the stika top. Of course, like you said, it's thousands less.
Check out the WL-K. Mahogany back and sides, spruce top, 12-fretter.
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3 minutes ago, Dave F said:
I think this forum has many members with multiple brands of guitars (me included) but the majority of members try to keep the topic on the house brand and this forum topic which is Gibson Acoustic. There is the Gibson Lounge which is wide open by design and everything is game over there and I like it over there too. But with any forum you always have a few who feel it is their born destiny to be the agitator and always bring up other brands. I guess they can’t get their ya yas in the Lounge so they come here to stir things up. Luckily they have an ignore member setting where you can block their comments and you only see them when someone quotes them.
How is someone being an "agitator" when you're comparing one brand to another? Just because it's a Gibson forum doesn't mean it's blasphemy to talk about other brands, especially when it's offering comparisons for reference. I respectfully disagree that others will mention other brands just to cause trouble. Not true.
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21 minutes ago, BurstOrBust said:
Are we allowed to mention "Waterloo" in this forum? 😆
Actually, I am familiar with Waterloo and it's top-shelf cousin, Collings. I have owned Collings in the past, and currently have a Parlor 1 AT that I need to sell because the neck is too slim for my tastes. Will look at the Waterloo's slope shoulder small-body option (WL-12, WL-14), but if the neck is too slim (like the Collings were), then it's a no-go.
Crap, you're right. I guess we should have asked Sgt. Pepper first! My bad.
I've never owned a Collings, but have had a few Waterloos. Nuts are 1 3/4" and depending in the model have pretty substantial necks. Of course they aren't going to sound exactly like an old LG-2, and they do have a different neck joint as well in comparison. Just food for thought to add to the list to check out.
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For the price of admission I'd be looking at a Waterloo (and used for an even better deal) and save over a grand. But if that's what you really want and money isn't an issue, go for it!
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11 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:
I wouldn't need to ask a bunch of guys on a forum should I keep it or not.
Exactly. You'd tell us what we should do because you know more than we do (in your mind).
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14 hours ago, bobouz said:
That was just a generalization, but you did seem pretty darn upset in your initial post. As for keeping a slightly damaged new guitar - again, I’d be after some form of compensation for sure. But I absolutely can & have seen scenarios where I want THAT guitar, so then you set about trying to finalize a deal that works for everyone.
Hopefully for the OP, his replacement guitar will be as good or better than the first one. If nothing else, he’ll have gained an additional reference point regarding J-45s.
Don't waste your time arguing with this guy. He's just here to complain and agitate people and he's always gotta have the last word. Yo can't win. He's apparently always right and knows way better than you or me on anything. I'm still waiting for him to start complaining again about why there isn't more Martin content on a Gibson forum.
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6 hours ago, Al Pike said:
The shorter distance between the saddle and the string holes of the Southern Jumbo makes for the steeper break angle as opposed to the longer distance of the J45.
That what the whole point of my post. I guess I wasn't making that clear enough with the pictures and explanation and all about ramping the bridge slots for the B and high E strings.
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1 hour ago, BluesKing777 said:
I can tell you SBP, after a number of years of seeking my preferences, that you are in a minority... most people prefer slimline. Which is why Gibson, Martin, Taylor, Maton et al make...slimline.
But every now and then someone does something else for their main guitars to trick ya.......Waterloo and a big surprise to me was the Taylor Builders Edition 717E necks - a chunky 'compound carve'. And my Waterloo necks are almost identical to my old 35 Gibson archtop....
Yep, the rest are special order editions etc.
BluesKing777.
I guess my bias is from the old days when I used to frequent the AGF. The cork sniffers there seemed to also prefer bigger necks. Also, part of my preference comes from the electric guitar world, and also prefer chunkier necks with electrics. I have a Tele I put together with a pretty substantial neck and a 2008 SG Classic that has a really nice chunky neck. Also have a Classic 50's Fiesta Red Strat that doesn't really have a big neck, but it is a nice "V" shape and that guitar is probably the easiest guitar to play. My Precision bass has a 1.75" nut which is pretty wide for a P-bass, but it is pretty shallow front to back.
I think what really sold me on bigger necks though was a '76 D-28 I picked up for cheap. It needed a bit of work (neck reset and a regret). It still sounded like poop after the work, but the neck on that guitar was pretty substantial and pronely one of my favorites of all the guitars I've owned. The least favorite neck (but was an amazing sounding guitar), was a 2012 Advanced Jumbo. That AJ had a ridiculously slim neck.
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I prefer a big, chunky neck. The big V on the Waterloo WL-14's is fantastic, and so is the neck on my Waterloo WL-K. Seems like a lot of companies put some sort of slim/slim-taper neck on their standard models, and reserve the bigger, chunkier necks for their higher end models. I suspect this is because a lot fo people like a chunky neck. If you want a chunky neck you have to pay up.
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3 hours ago, Al Pike said:
Yes. Which allows lower action without sacrificing tone.
Slottiting the bridge does not affect the action. Keeping the saddle where it is and slotting the bridge simply crates a steeper break angle over the saddle, providing more downward force on the saddle, which can in this case improve tone. Has nothing to do with lowering the action.
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As far as slotting/ramping the bridge, did you notice a difference? I ask because pretty much every J4-45 Standard I've encountered in the last 7-8 years have all been very consistent, but this means the B and high E strings all have had shallow break angles over the saddle. This seems to be problematic with the B especially because that shallow break angle couple with the B having the lowest string tension compared to all the other strings causes a bit of a "B-string buzz". I've had this happen on pretty much every J-45 Standard I've owned (this is the third one) I've owned.
The current J-45 Standard I have was actually given to me, believe it or not. Great guitar, but it also has this "B-string buzz". I'm taking the guitar in to have a bone nut made and conceding having them also ramp the bridge slots to get a steeper break angle/more tension on the saddle.
Everyone always says that the Southern Jumbos are just a dressed up J-45, but if you look at the bridges the bridge pins are closer to the saddle, resulting in a steeper break angle and more tension using down on the saddle.
J-45 Standard:
J-45 Original (same as J-45 Standard but w/ a bone saddle):
Southern Jumbo:
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22 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:
If you read one of my post I think I mention Martin has issues to. Look these things are made by humans and not angels. Nothing is ever perfect. If you think this is the first thread I have read about this your out of your mind. It comes up here and I am sure on every forum when a new guitar has issues.
But do any of you guys believe a 2700 dollar guitar should have left like that. Yes or No? And if you would keep it then you would keep it. If I received a NEW Martin in that condition, you are d-amn right it goes back.
And 40 years what relevance does marks from a capo you put on a guitar have to do with any of this? My Shubb capo does not mar any of my necks. You did that not Gibson. I guess with 40 years of picking behind you, you chose the wrong capo.
We can agree to disagree, especially regarding your statement of if it was another brand of guitar we'd send it right back since many in this thread said they'd just live with it if it was their guitar, but Seems like you know better than there rest of us. You always appear to have a problem with a lot of members here, always expressing your disapproval of statements made on this form. Makes me wonder why you're even here and very active on this forum. Why even bother to continue to get fed up and upset and constantly fight with people and accuse them of being liars, biased, etc.
And dare I say, NOBODY is paying $2,700 for a J45 Standard. That's the retail price, but as we all know you can get them for much less.
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ANd for the record, this isn't about brand loyalty, even if you are on a Gibson board. I've had some pretty crappy experiences with Martin, one of them involving a D18 I bought brand new and it needed a neck reset after 6 months. Martin fought really hard to not authorize a neck reset, and after taking it to a couple official Martin Repair shops, I finally took it to one that has a VERY long relationship with Martin and essentially called them out on this guitar. They finally agreed to cover it, but didn't want to initially.
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I have a few TC Polytune clip-ons that I've never had problems with and really like. I also have a clip-on that is awesome, especially for tempered tunings and it's super accurate, but takes a little longer to tune because it's so precise. Also, the tempered tunings are great for when you're playing solo, but not so great when playing with other people.
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12 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:
Here is the thing. If that was a post of a NDG and it was a Martin or Taylor or any other brand but Gibson you fan boys would be dumping all over it like you just ate a sheet pan of brownie's laced with laxatives, but since its Gibson its okay and you would keep it and just rub some snake oil on it and its fine. Call a t-urd a t-urd and own up that no one makes perfect guitars no matter what name is on the head stock. It s a $2700 guitar that make it through QC that probably shouldn't. Remember Only A Gibson Is Good Enough. Dump on me or ban me I could care less. I'm tired of the BS double standard . Does Martin have issues of course they do humans make guitars not gods.
Troll's gonna troll...
"I'm tired of the BS double standard." You're so brave! Such a rebel to speak up! 🤦♂️
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Just get a tiny bottle of mineral oil from the pharmacy. Use a lint free cotton cloth (old t-shirt) and use a couple drops for the entire fretboard. You'll think it won't be enough but it will be more than enough. After 20-30 mins go back and use the cloth to wipe off the excess.
Don't know what yo tell you about the blew. If the guitar sounds good I wouldn't even worry about it. Maybe talk with the dealer and see what they offer. They might just offer you some money back so they don't have to deal with it.
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I have a J45 Standard and doing some things to it to give it a bit of a 50's vibe. I replaced the Rotmatics with Kluson Supremes (these look identical to the Deluxes, but have an 18:1 ratio compared to the 15:1 ratio of the Deluxes, and they are SMOOTH!), added a black truss rod cover, having a bone nut made for it in a week or so, installed a Colosi bone saddle, removed the pickup system, added some Colosi bone bridge pins, and got rid of that ugly, thick "flubber" pick guard. Hope to take delivery of a nice 50's style pick guard.
After I removed the stock pick guard I noticed some ripples and dimpling around the edges of there the stock teardrop pick guard was, and there were some of this areas that the new 50's style pick guard wouldn't cover. I wet sanded those areas then polished them back up and now it's nearly impossible to see any of those areas. Also installed a 'No-Jack" endpin from StewMac.
(the pick guard is just a paper template. New pick guard will still be tort. I wanted to see what parts of the original pick guard the new pick guard will cover and where I needed to sand to get rid of the dimples and waves where the adhesive reacted with the finish from the stock pick guard. )
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Same guitars, same bracing, different aesthetics as far as the tuners and pickguard and logo style on headstock. Bone nut and saddle on the OG vs Tusq on the Standard. Also have different neck profiles.
I personally prefer the aesthetics of the 50's, but prefer the neck profile of the Standard.
J45 Standard Transformation...
in Gibson Acoustic
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Yes, sorry forgot to mention that. Nearly every modern J45/J45 Standard I've owned the break angle over the B & high E strings has been very shallow, and just asked them to ramp those two to make them a little steeper. Could be just me, but the shorter scales of J45's and that shallow break angle along with the lower tension that b strings usually has been something that's always bugged me.