Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Leonard McCoy

All Access
  • Posts

    1,147
  • Joined

  • Days Won

    3

Everything posted by Leonard McCoy

  1. Yes, there's the custom shop decal on the back of the headstock, and the label says, "Style J-180 Number 12418018 CUSTOM SHOP GIBSON Bozeman, Montana U.S.A."
  2. Nope, it's got no strap button at the heel. I'll go via the headstock with a leather extension just like Cat Stevens did (even though structurally it's not in the guitar's best interest but I'll watch out).
  3. They'll probably do it. That's what the M2M program is for.
  4. Storytime Long time coming... Pictures at the bottom of the post. Inspired by Cat Stevens's recordings and live performances, I had been actively looking for a preowned Gibson J-180 (Lefty) for over three years, but neither the secondary market nor inquiring with major retailers for a brand-new guitar yielded any results. Until that fateful day I heard of a retailer specializing in custom orders including Gibson with their Made 2 Measurement program—success! Around the time Gibson filed for chapter 11 insolvency protection, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and order a Gibson J-180 (Left Handed) from the Custom Shop at Bozeman, Montana. The order was placed through Gibson's own Made 2 Measurement program with my German dealer Musikhaus Hermann OHG (whom I can wholeheartedly recommend) on June 14, 2018. And, CITES notwithstanding, I got my hands on the guitar in Berlin, Germany, on this 12th day of January, 2019. Model History The Gibson Everly Brothers guitar (in 1986 and once again in 1996 reissued by Gibson as the J-180 with different specs) is a stage and recording guitar mainly for singer/songwriters. During the 1950s the Everly Brothers played J-200 models with two large white pickguards on either side of the soundhole because of their heavy upstroke when strumming quickly which would eat through any soundboard. The Everly Brothers model was introduced in 1962 with tortoise colored pickguards. It was conceived as a striking stage guitar that geled well with the Everly brothers who required a classic-looking, comfortable, compact rhythm guitar that would not interfere with their tuxedo look, their singing, and with how closely they stood together on stage playing and singing into a single mic. Under the bottom line, the J-180 is but a funkier J-185, which in itself, generally speaking, is a more compact, more affordable SJ-200 (sans the maple neck). Specs (concerning this particular custom order) Model name: J-180 (Custom Shop) jumbo shape spruce top maple back & sides huge dual tortoise grain pickguards extending below bridge wbw-ply binding top & single-ply binding back bound rosewood fretboard star fretboard inlays 24.75"-scale mahogany neck pearl logo nickel Gotoh keystone tuners ebony finish pearl star peghead inlay L.R.Baggs VTC preamp w/ volume & tone controls black Gibson Acoustic case w/ gold-plated hinges (incl. certificate of authenticity, dark-brown leather guitar strap, yellow Gibson polishing cloth, keychain plectrum holder, truss rod adjustment tool with Phillips screw head) Gibson Gold Warranty Sound and Feel Warm and mellow, yet clear and articulate. Lots of low end, yet bell-like highs. Tactile and responsive but with quick decay. Strong string separation. Great dynamic range in terms of volume and responsiveness. Great for fingerstyle and rhythm. Due to its compact size she's very comfortable to play in whatever position you're in, whether you're standing or sitting at your desk with your feet up on the table. The neck is very comfy; it fills my hand pocket nicely. In the higher registers she plays nice as well and allows full-note bending. The (narrow) frets are well plekked. And the mesmerizing smell of new nitro-finished Gibson—there's nothing quite like it! Build Quality Impeccable finish, no buildup. The interior is super clean—no glue lines or spills. The neck is straight and not twisted and correctly centered. The pickguards are firmly attached. The LR Baggs pickup elements are neatly tucked away and out of sight. The frets are nicely plekked. However, I don't like how the nut is plekked not because of the depth of the nut slot (they are perfect) but how steep and not rounded off they were cut. This causes the string to catch on the nut slot and causes difficulties for the tuning keys. I will have to further lubricate and round off those slots (with some old strings of the same gauge). In hindsight I wish I had ordered in time locking tuners or those vintage Kluson Wafflebacks. Factory Setup Spot on. The string action at the 12th fret is 5/64th (bass) and a little under 3/64 (treble). The nut action is fine. The saddle could sit a little tighter within the bridge slot. I only had to tighten the truss rod a little to straighten out the neck leaving the slightest bit of relief. I strung her up with brand-new light Gibson J-200 phosphor bronze strings. Photos
  5. That's right. You can raise or lower the saddle, and hence the string action, by turning the screws on the adjustable bridge. It doesn't get more convenient than that. In that sense it mimics the adjustable bridge of an electric guitar.
  6. No nitro finish is a real dealbreaker for me. There's barely a company left on this planet who does nitro, which is so difficult to work with, as well as Gibson.
  7. The Everly is scheduled for delivery in September/October. So far, everything is on track. Since the original Kluson vintage waffleback tuners are back (they are pricey), I might just try to get Gibson to install those instead of the scheduled Gotoh keystone tuners. If it is not possible anymore since we are fairly close to delivery, I might just get the Klusons installed after the fact or leave it be altogether. Cedar is plenty loud, that is not the issue. It is just that cedar as a top wood, while it generally gives the steel-string a broken-in sound right off the bat and its grain looks quite, quite neat, old, and even, I also found that the wood gives the guitar a muddy, rumbly, and overall unbalanced, little defined sound. That's not what I want from my steel-string acoustic.
  8. For a steel-string acoustic, cedar is just meh as a top wood.
  9. Well, I gotta give you guys that: You got a lot more faith in their products than the manufacturer himself when it comes down to whether or not those guitars stands are safe for nitrocellulose lacquer finishes (hint: they say they ain't so sure).
  10. Also, the Hercules stands are not safe for our nitro-finish guitars since the plasticized grip parts are bound to rub off on the guitar over time.
  11. Here's what we learned: a **** thread remains a **** thread no matter how many **** posts you throw into it.
  12. New guitar tab: Rubylove (1971) Had I known before how complicated the song structure would turn out to be, I would probably have let this one go. This marks Cat's second song in Open E (besides the sublime "If I Laugh"), and it's a tour de force no doubt. Be sure to get the time signature down first (see notes at bottom). With this one tabbed out, I have the complete Teaser & the Firecat album as guitar tabs on the site now. Yay! Cat wanted to introduce his Greek influences into his music, and so some friends of his father, who ran a Greek restaurant, came down to the studio to play on the record with their bozoukis. Alun's daughter, then four years old, asked Cat to sing "the Rubylove song" and so the name stayed, but he song was originally called "Who'll Be My Love?" and did not contain the Greek verse until later. Together with "If I Laugh", this song is a tour de force through all kinds of Open E voicings. Even the advanced player will have to overcome the unusual time signature of the song first so be sure to read the bottom notes on rhythm first.
  13. Though I'm not a fan of the AG Modern bridge design from an aesthetic standpoint, it looks quite alright here. The guitar also looks mighty comfortable to play. Mini-jumbo-ish?
  14. The chord fingering indicated is an exact match for Cat's. If you barré here, you may have trouble playing the hammer-on from Fsus2 onto F hidden in the intro.
  15. Since the forums got wiped and with it my old thread, I guess I'll have to start a new one. New guitar tab: I Wish, I Wish (1970) With the advent of his second career and with it his new album MONA BONE JAKON (1970), Steve charted onto a new spiritual journey, and his growing sense of enlightenment is perfectly reflected in the lyrics of this song. Musically, this is a very catchy gigging song that keeps on rolling, one that guitarists can perhaps appreciate the most.
  16. Clearly, there shouldn't be a gap between fret and binding. Clearly, if there is one, the fretboard has clearly extended and the guitar should be brought in to a competent luthier for check up and damage control. Clearly, the guitar can't be played at all if any of the strings keeps getting stuck in said gap. Clearly, this is how it should look like (clearly, I never tire of posting prestige pics of my baby, which is, clearly the whole point of this post and I, clearly, didn't read any of the previous posts and/or followed the conversation):
  17. If it weren't for the automatic tuners, the HP lineup would be a no-brainer.
  18. The Gibson website has the guitar listed with a rosewood fretboard, and on there in the comments the Gibson customer service has confirmed it to be so (link). A macro snapshot of the fretboard would perhaps give more of a visual clue.
  19. So why would you swap your original with that aftermarket one? I don't get it.
  20. To clarify that paragraph of mine, I was attempting to explore string tension, or rather string pressure exerted on the bridge in regards to the difficulty of string bending, especially overbending. Even though the pitch of the note is defined by the tension and bridge to nut length, bending and, lesser so, even fretting itself, which is basically a micro-bend, use up the entire string length including the parts beyond the nut and bridge, that is from tailpiece to headstock. Now, if the string breaks at a sharp angle over either the nut or the bridge (low tailpiece), it becomes more difficult for the string to move over the saddles or nut (greater string friction on bridge) because the string exerts a lot more pressure on the bridge or nut due to the break angle of the string, which in turn makes bending seem more difficult because you're effectively using less string to absorb the bend. The result: stiffer bending, but less distance to bend note to desired pitch. If there is a less sharp angle or none at all over the nut or bridge (high tailpiece), the string passes through most easily (less string friction on bridge), thereby allowing you to use the entire length of the string for the bend. The result: easier bending, but greater distance to bend note to desired pitch.
  21. As to my knowledge, Gibson have never provided any guidelines as to the ideal height of the tailpiece or whether the string ends leading to the tailpiece should or shouldn't be touching the bridge. It'll also be difficult to convincingly prove whether there really be any sonical advantages if the strings not be touching the bridge. Some players swear it'll give them more sustain, while others mute the dead string ends entirely on either end, that is behind the bridge as well as the nut, with additional equipment so as to avoid any (unwanted) overtones. The short Sweetwater bit posted above (link) discusses another aspect, namely string tension, and how a higher tailpiece reduces overall string tension, while lowering it adds to it, which can play for or against the player. A little experimentation as to what suits one best as player goes a long way. For instance, if you're a lot into overbending (one and a half steps and two steps) you might want to avoid to have the tailpiece set to the lowest position possible so as to not to make overbends excruciatingly difficult to execute due to the additional strength needed if string tension is noticably higher than if the tailpiece were set to normal heights. Luthiers are less, or rather not at all, concerned with this problem by the way. My luthier even asked me whether Gibson had any recommendations as to this when setting up my Les Paul. Luthier Dan Erlewine's take, of Stew-Mac fame, for instance goes into the details from a technician's point-of-view in his article Tune-O-Matic setup: is the trouble with the bridge or the neck angle? (StewMac.com, 2009) without providing conclusive evidence for or against one way or another however.
  22. You're right; I wasn't thinking it through. It's inherent in the design of a loudspeaker and in the design of guitar pickups that they should emit or be affected by electro magnetic fields. For example, sitting too close with your guitar to the loudspeaker of your amp or a desktop computer will cause noise issues (it's particularly bad with the latter). A distance of 2 meters from the electro magnetic source is considered safe for your sound.
  23. What kind of Les Paul is it? Got pics? If the hum goes away only if you touch any of the metal parts (and thereby grounding it yourself with your body), then please check the grounding of the guitar again. There must be something amiss there.
×
×
  • Create New...