Leonard McCoy

Just make sure it has a solid top. As far as I remember, only the latter ones had one? (EJ-200SCE & Co.)

Photos please...

I think the flattop Epiphones from the sixties have a pretty good standing with collectors around the world; they are high-quality vintage guitars.

The Gibson article you linked to underlines my point nicely. Thanks, mate!

What I said is perfectly true: adjusting the action of the guitar won't have an impact on tone, only playability. Also, raising the height of the saddle to increase string height doesn't automatically increase the volume of the sound of the guitar as well. It's only that through increased string height you are able to pick the strings of the guitar much harder without causing buzzing than you could otherwise on a guitar with low action (where rough playing would cause buzzing much sooner).

Adjusting the action of the guitar won't have an impact on tone, only playability. As the SCE has a solid top, hope is, however, that the soundboard will eventually open up over time -- even more so the more frequently you play the guitar. If you'd like more sound out of your jumbo right now, medium gauge strings might be the way to go, as they provide a generally louder sound and more sustain.

12/64" at the 12th fret is indeed too high, making playing higher up the cane difficult. Gibson's acoustic specifications are as follows: 1st fret treble side - 1/64" (0.396875mm) 1st fret bass side - 2/64" (0.79375mm) 12th fret treble side - 5/64" (1.98438mm) 12th fret bass side - 7/64" (2.77812mm) Given the truss rod is perfectly adjusted, the angles of attack for lowering string action are the following: the saddle: a sanded-down saddle to lower, or one supported by shims to raise, the action is usually a quick DIY fix. the nut: a properly carved nut with the correct slot height for each string has a huge impact on string action. Usually requires a luthier to do so. the bridge: in some cases a luthier can ever so slightly carve down the bridge a tad to correct string action that could otherwise, by fixing the nut or saddle, no longer be corrected much. I don't think that after sanding down the saddle there's much else you can do by yourself. Contacting a luthier is my recommendation. Luthier work of any kind has become very affordable these days.

While the AJ-15 is an inexpensive model (street price around 100 bucks), I still think you made an excellent deal here, considering the guitar seems to be in good condition. The serial number you have provided (QG03022436) reveals the following: QG: Qingdao Gibson, China (factory) 03: 2003 (year of manufacture) 02: February (month of manufacture) 2436: unit no. The guitar is entirely made out of laminated wood. AJ-15 Specs: Sloped shoulder advanced jumbo body style Select Spruce top Mahogany body Set mahogany neck Rosewood Fingerboard with dot inlays Rosewood veneered headstock with no inlay Reverse-belly rosewood bridge White bridge pins with black dots Multi-ply body binding Black single-ply pickguard with "E" emblem Multi-ply 3-ring rosette Die-cast tuners Chrome hardware 25.5" scale 1.68" nut width