Leonard McCoy

The saddle height is adjustable...

Not a desirable guitar in my eyes. But there is certainly some truth to it that a really good acoustic guitar is especially inspiring to pick up and play.

Richlite is actually not cheap. If I were in the market for a guitar with an ebony fretboard, I might go for it.

By chance I discovered this: https://www.gibson.com/Gear/Acoustic-Strings

I went with a fine comb over this one again: If I Laugh (1971) *revised* A master class in the art of double-tracking (guitar and vocals) and a showpiece for the sublime sounds a Gibson J-200 acoustic guitar in Open E tuning is really capable of.

*rolls eyes*

Or you just use Reaper.

Wax is a very good natural and protective coat for guitars that have either no finish to begin with, or, through old age, end up having almost no finish anymore. For instance, Gibson uses wax on their sustainable series as a sort of finishing coat. But using it as a protective coat on old guitars with worn-out finishes is another application worth consideration. I would never use it as a cleaning compound on nitrocellulose finishes, or any other soft lacquers for that matter, and stick to true and tested care products instead, of which there are plenty.

Well, your Studio definitely looks freaking awesome, backs, sides, and all.

JC, on a different note (since you can't receive PMs for some reason), do you have any solid information what string gauge Cat Stevens used, or still uses, on his guitars (esp. J-180)? In the '60s and '70s, I assume, medium gauge strings were still en vogue. Do you know if he still uses them? Hope you and your family are all well. Best, Leonard

Gibson sells a care package for cleaning old guitars. I'd go with that.

I love me some Grovers but I dislike the kidney button ends. Gibson started out using Grovers with keystone ends, as is the case on my 2009 Gibson Les Paul Standard, and I wish they'd go back. I've never seen Slash using an actual Gibson acoustic on stage, or any acoustic for that matter. My J-180 is in full swing. You should get one yourself or let them make an Everly Historic for you through their M2M if you haven't already. Don't waste your money on an ordinary J-45.

Doesn't strike me as different, sound- or otherwise, from other J-45s except perhaps for the neck profile and it being an artist signature model. I don't like the kidney-style tuners at all. I wish Gibson would do away with them entirely on their modern lineup. At least give us keystone-style button ends.

The nut slots are ever so slightly too narrow (likely at the channel end) for the gauge of your strings. A guitar tech would make quick work of the issue. Nut sauce might also help until the slots have widened themselves over time. You can also take an old string and rub it along the slot to help ever so slightly widen the channel. It's annoying for sure for the end user.

This sounds truly too dumb to be true.

It is not Gibson's business to do maintenance on second-hand guitars, and you are not entitled to such a service for no charge. Apart from that, I would go with a proper bone nut.

The nut looks alright in those photos. If you don't experience any technical difficulties with it either, I'd leave it well alone.

One more: All Kinds of Roses (2009) An ode on life and faith meditating nature with an all-encpasulating riff as leitmotiv that transcends the harmonies of life sublimely, from beginning to end. Fingerpicking is best to be done here with thumb and index alone (as with most Cat Stevens pieces).

There's a followup even:

Frankly, for all the fame the original Everly model received in the studio on hit records, on stage, and in music videos, I still prefer the Bozeman reissue (J-180) over the original Everly design. The thinner body depth (think J-45 v. G-45), while certainly more convenient for the stage, didn't allow the 60s original to realize its full potential given the perfect body shape, the pinnacle of Gibson guitar design to me. I don't mind the oversized adjustable pinless bridge so much, even though, I suspect, most models must have been converted (rerouted) by now with a standard saddle, as I almost never see nonconverts these days anymore. Below is the reissue exactly as I have it in my possession spec-wise (only as a lefty):

There've been a couple of changes on the site recently since Reverb's been bought by Etsy.

Fresh out of the box, Gibson tune-o-matics should be unnotched (for a reason).

It's hard to diagnose from a distance and with so little information what the underlying issue is. Is the neck perfectly straight?