Boyd

I like the 60's J-50 Original myself. I've got a real 1965 J-50 and also a 2008 J-50 but always thought a combination of the two would be just about perfect. Modern Gibson sound with the skinny neck that I like on the vintage guitar. It sells for $2500 and is in stock, but I just can't justify that expense. There's a great old Skip James song, "Hard Times Killin' Floor" with a lyric that sticks in my mind.... "If you think you've got money, you'd better be sure". But we might see better guitar prices in a couple months. Both companies and individuals may decide that whatever cash they can get in a hurry is better than an inventory of guitars. This just seems like a bad time to buy an expensive guitar.

Put me in whatever "category" you choose. That range of dates is really due to the amazing availability of all the bootleg recordings on the internet today. I made a tape of my (ex) Mother in Law's "Great White Wonder" album back in the early 70's (she was an old hippie who knew Ramblin' Jack Elliot and met a young Dylan at a party in the Village). Ihad some other tapes, but never heard things like the Finjan Club or Folksinger's Choice recordings (two of my favorites) until very recently. Later in the 70's and 80's, I had a number of his newer albums and enjoyed them at the time. They are still OK, but just don't do much for me today. But the more recent stuff is painful to my ears. Seriously.... if that was some guy you'd never heard of instead of Dylan, would you still listen to it?

No argument there, and I wish him well. But, thanks to the magic of recording, I can still enjoy what he was at age 20. For those of you who still enjoy his work.... that's great! But I'm just not interested anymore, and thought this thread needed at least one dissenting opinion. 🙂

Well, I'll be the party pooper here. Listened to less than a minute of that and couldn't stand anymore. Sure, the lyrics are interesting. But whoever that guy is, it's not the Dylan from the 1960's that I admire. Just depresses me to see - and hear - him now. What I admired about him was his youth, enthusiasm and the incredible desire to make it. I still listen to those early recordings every day, but just have no interest at all after 1964. For me, 1962 is the Dylan I love. You can have that old guy.... sorry.

When I was looking at audio software, I tried Reaper but really didn't care for it. Will it import iTunes projects like Logic does? BTW, I see that the free trial is now available at the link I posted above. If you give it a try and have an iPad, be sure to download the free Logic Remote app. It gives you a very nice control surface/mixing board.https://apps.apple.com/us/app/logic-remote/id638394624

If you've wanted to check out Logic but didn't want to spend the money, this is a great opportunity. Have been using Logic since 2012 myself, and it's great. If you have been using GarageBand, it will import your projects. They have never offered any free trial of Logic before. They also have a 90-day free trial of Final Cut Pro now (previously it was a 30-day trial) https://www.apple.com/logic-pro/ [edit]I don't see a link for the free trial yet, but it's supposed to be available soon, according to several Apple sites. The FInal Cut Pro trial is available however: https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/trial/

....But you are a "gear basher". 😂

Indeed. Like I said, my 1974 J-50 was repaired in the late 1980's and has been fine ever since.

Sorry... but that looks a lot like the beginning of what happened to my 1974 J-50 Deluxe (which I bought new). After about 10 years, it became un-playable. The bridge also split. Got it fixed in the late 1980's and it's been fine ever since. Now, I didn't take care of that guitar at all, it sat leaning against the wall most of the time and was abused by kids and pets. I never heard anything about "humidification" back then, and the case was a total POS made out of chip-board that offered no protection. Nevertheless, it is still going strong today (after a re-fret and neck planing back around 2014). I gather that this kind of crack is common on Gibson guitars of all ages. Have read a lot about it on their electrics.

I'm wondering what caused the "tacky" spots... to me that sounds like "sticky"... did you mean something else? Did the guitar come in contact with any bug spray - or did you ever use bug spray (like "Off") and then play the guitar? I had a big problem from that myself a few years ago. I had sprayed my t-shirt an hour or two before playing, but it made the whole back of the guitar sticky where it was in contact with my shirt. I let it harden for a day, then used the Virtuoso cleaner (NOT the polish) which helped a lot, but didn't completely cure it. I think you will find that any other product that contains alcohol can also soften up these old lacquer finishes. Not going to test myself, but be careful with those alcohol-wipes! This also raises a question of how to disinfect a guitar if you purchase one today. I suspect that Lysol spray would also be bad.

Geez, I just use my real name. That's the person who always looks back at me in the mirror.

My guitars are sitting on stands in my little studio room, out in the open. I use a regular "drug store" type humidifier (aka vaporizer) to add humidity as needed, and strive to keep it around 50%. That isn't very difficult all year around. In the summer, even with the window air conditioner running all day, it never drops below that level. I have a 1965 J-50, 2008 J-50 and a Martin D-15M sitting out in this room. Absolutely no problems with this approach, which I adopted about 8 years ago. It makes me happy to see my guitars, and I don't get much pleasure from just looking at a case. 🙂 If you're really concerned, then I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice from others here about case humidifiers. But I'd say, just monitor the humidity in the room and use a cheap humidifer to control it as needed in the winter.

Yep, that is definitely not a J-45. Were they using paper labels in 1962? I have a 1965 J-50 and there is no label, the center splice (cleat?) is just stamped "J50 ADJ BRIDGE" . I had the idea that this was what they did in the 60's.

That is just crazy, but according to this article you only have your own local ordinances to blame. 🙂 https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/coronavirus-in-australia-the-nationwide-law-that-makes-toilet-paper-still-so-hard-to-get/news-story/88d319c4b3e0cf4cf62a68bf190950d8 "The problem isn’t that Australia is running out of products, authorities say. It’s that supermarkets can’t keep up with the unprecedented demand. Ordinarily, the hours that a supermarket can receive stock are limited to reduce noise pollution in residential areas, where many shops tend to be located. It’s a curfew that virtually every council around the country imposes."

I'm thinking we might see some big sales on guitars (and everything else) in a few months.... if any of us still have the money to buy one. Hate to say it, but there could be a lot of used ones coming on the market. Then there's the ever-popular rumor that Guitar Center is broke, which really might come true this time. I know it's fun to joke about how it's better to have guitars than money, but at some point, many of us will need to get serious. Sorry to sound grim, but there could be some rough times ahead. I sure hope I'm wrong. Right now, money in the bank will make me happier than a new guitar. I already have 3 acoustics and can only play one at a time. 🙂

Not here in the US. At Sweetwater, the J-45 original is $2699 and the J-45 Standard is $2749. Really a pretty trivial difference however - $50 on a $2700 guitar, which is less than 2%. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/OCRS4550VS--gibson-acoustic-50s-j-45-original-vintage-sunburst https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RS45VSN19--gibson-acoustic-j-45-standard-vintage-sunburst

BTW, if you really want the 50's J-45, Sweetwater has a demo version for $2429. 🙂 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/OCRS4550VS--gibson-acoustic-50s-j-45-original-vintage-sunburst?cond=OCRS4550VSd2

Look at the Guitar Center link I posted above. According to them, there are actually three different colors of the 60's J-45. One of them is natural, which is what Sweetwater calls a 60's J-50. Go figure, Guitar Center may just have the name wrong?

That's weird about the prices. Haven't looked at the 50's J-45, but the 60's version looks very interesting to me. I have a 2008 J-50 and a real 1965 J-50, but always thought that a marriage of the two would be great. I'm sure there are internal differences, but the 60's re-issue does have the narrow neck and adjustable bridge like the old one. So, in this case, it really isn't just the same guitar with different tuners. The odd thing there is that Guitar Center calls it a J-45 and Sweetwater calls it a J-50, which is correct, IMO. A J-45 with a batwing pickguard and natural finish just seems wrong to me. 🙂 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/OCRS5060ANN--gibson-acoustic-60s-j-50-original-antique-natural https://www.guitarcenter.com/Gibson/60s-J-45-Original-Acoustic-Guitar-Antique-Natural-1500000317140.gc

There's the Gibson Maestro line. I would not recommend this as a serious instrument however, it's basically a POS from a musical point of view. But it only cost $60 and looks exactly like my J-50. 🙂 See this thread

IMO, another big shoe is about to fall here in the US. We really have no idea of the scope of this thing yet, and as recently as this morning the Vice President could not provide any figures on the number of tests that have been given. But last week he said that there would be 4 million tests available by the end of this week. When you think about that.... if only 1% of the people taking those tests were positive, then that would be 40,000 cases and NOT the 1,000 number I've seen mentioned so far. Sure seems like we will see the numbers go way up soon, although the administration is trying hard to avoid providing any real statistics. Not really worried about myself, I'm retired, healthy, live in an isolated place and am as anti-social as anyone you will find. 😉 But I do worry about what it will do to others, like my friends who work as stagehands, technicians and managers in the entertainment industry.

The quote I remember from back in the 1960's was "It's better to have drugs and no money than money and no drugs" 😎

Why mess around inside a cramped RV when the whole world is your studio? You can put together a very nice rig that can be setup anywhere and fit into a storage bin. That's what I do at my little theatre in the woods. 8-track Zoom F8 field recorder, a little effects processor for reverb, an iPad as a mixing board, pair of powered stage monitors and assorted cables and microphones. It's powered with a Goal Zero Yeti400 battery powerpack that will run eveything for 4 hours or more. Park the RV in some remote place, set it up and enjoy the perfect acoustics of the great outdoors. 🙂

I agree - and Gibson's website has always been horrible. I hadn't paid any attention to these new models, but just had a look. What a poor presentation on their site, with only tiny little pictures that can't be zoomed (unless I missed something). Also, what are "Grover Strap with Cream Buttons"? I assume that's a typo and should be "Grover Strip" tuners. The Sweetwater website is a better presentation at least. But - wow - I really like that 60's J-50 with the adjustable bridge, narrow neck and no electronics. I always thought a Gibson that was a cross between my 1965 and 2008 J-50 would be a terrific guitar, but gave up on ever seeing such a thing. Damn, and I thought my GAS had been cured! 😁

Yeah, it must be a big stretch for him to get his Dickin Cider. And also... If someone needs healthcare: it's free in Windsor, Canada. But just 3 miles or 4 of your kilometers in Detroit, MI, private insurance costs as much as a few new Gibsons every year. So, don't feel too bad about that warranty. 🙂