Buc McMaster

It's just terrible that that 1% is so distracting to you.......maybe wear blinders? or resist the temptation to look inside? And "Mr. Gibson" has been building guitars with little glue drops and rough sanded braces for a very long freakin' time. Reckon if it was gonna bite him on the arse it would have happened by now. Jumping on the forums' namesake with your first post is not a good way to make friends and influence people. You like the guitar, like no other one you've ever played......great!.......not everyone can say that..........play it and don't sweat the small stuff.

:blink: You joined the forum just to tell us this?

If you perceive my comments as rude, the answer is yes. And, much like the imperfections in your new guitar, you'll have to get used to it.

Wow dude. You didn't think to look in the sound hole before you laid down your money? I say that's your bad, not Gibsons'. You have high standards and you let this get by your QC. That's on you and after-the-fact it's too late to whine about your error. Get over it and play the damn guitar! <_<

Welcome to the forum! There are those that see such cosmetic things as deal breakers........they seem to have no tolerance for imperfection of any kind in an acoustic guitar. Honestly, this is an untenable position. Nothing, including acoustic guitars, can be held to such an impossible standard. Then there are those as myself for whom such cosmetic issues are part and parcel of the products of human hands. Aside from the annoying little glue residue and the insignificant mark on the heel (neither of which is "very much noticeable" to anyone but you), does the guitar play as you expect and have a pleasing tone? Yes? Play it......and don't sweat the small stuff. If it does not meet your standards for sound and playability consider returning it, but be advised that the next one may have cosmetic issues that annoy you even more. In a perfect world..........

Ever tried the Hummingbird? Considered by many to be the singer/songwriter guitar. Short scaled, squared shouldered sound machine!

Rock on, brother! Houston here as well...........need another vocal/guitar on occasion?

Your thread title says it all: flavor of the month. Lots of players of acoustic instruments change guitars like they change socks. What strikes one's fancy can be a fleeting, fickle thing. I suppose for some it's a "been-there, done-that" thing, for others it's eternal experimentation, seeking the holy grail that's just up ahead......somewhere. Once the new wears off of stuff it's much like the stuff you had before.....and the next stuff you'll get. I admire those that can be happy forever with a few pieces of gear and never get the wandering eye that leads such fools as myself to always be looking for the next one. I'm as guilty as anyone on that front, likely the worst of the lot of you! Pursue your flavor of the month and don't let the rest of 'em have much say in it.............. Now go spend some time with that Hummingbird you've been raving about!

Well done,sir! Your voice is sounding strong these days........very nicely done.

In defiance of the video police, here's a great old tune I'd guess everyone on the planet has heard at least once. Played on my new Kamaka HP-1D Pineapple Deluxe, just in from Hawaii a couple weeks back. Very sweet toned instrument............ http://youtu.be/NnsLnypqaXg (hmmmm.......videos used to embed on the forum........sabotage?)

Very well done, BK! You get a pretty authentic feel and sound for these old blues numbers. obviously a huge fan of the genre. Well done.

Boy that was short & sweet............ ??

Playing on-stage with an amplified bass? Electric bass drives an acoustic body to madness. A soundhole feedback buster can certainly help, but a sure solution is a parametric EQ. You can select the offending frequency in a very narrow band and attenuate it. Guitars with side mounted preamp systems have parametrics as part of the circuit for this reason, but you can buy a floor pedal parametric that will do the same job and solve your howling issues. Good luck!

=D> Well well done, sir! You have a mastery of the fingerboard I envy. Well done, sir, well done.

It's the difference in the expansion of the wood vs. the lacquer finish. When a cold instrument is brought into a warm room and the case opened, the wood expands in response to the temperature change faster than the lacquer does - crack. Generally cosmetic only, checking won't compromise the instrument structurally.

A slippery slope, indeed. The effort it takes to remove fine scratches can often leave that spot looking different from the area that surrounds. Be thee careful.

Learning to play guitar involves learning about guitar as well. There's a learning curve for what to look at and what to look for when purchasing a new guitar, be it factory new or a used instrument. We all have had similar experiences over the years.....I know I have! I hope this doesn't put a bad taste in your mouth for Gibson. They are largely hand built and as such there will be a few that are sub-standard now and then. Do you have any guitar playing friends with some experience that could help you understand guitar construction and what it takes to be a good one? Talk to the luthiers you've involved in the process......pick their brains. Hope it all works out in the end!

Welcome to the Forum. Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Does your 200 have a two or four ribbon bridge? Four ribbon bridges require a better than average neck set to be right. Any photos? I hope this is resolved to your satisfaction.........

Just discovered this one. Very well done, AJ and friends! Very well done, sir! Nothing like live performance to get the juices flowing! Excellent work!!

Rats. I mistakenly voted for 80/20. My bad. Actually I've never liked anything but PB on any acoustic guitar I've owned. I've tried DR Sunbeams, Pearse PB and Pearse 80/20 on my H'Bird so far. The Sunbeams were terrible on this instrument though they have been my usual choice on guitars in the past. The 80/20s were too bright for my ear. Pearse PB 12s are the ticket so far.....warm, not too bright. I've thought about a set of the same in 13 but haven't done that yet. Sacrificing playability for a little volume and power doesn't sound that appealing to me right now. I do intend to put on a set of D'Addario 12s perhaps this weekend and give them an honest go......they are cheaper and they are everywhere.

Short scale AJ?!? What's the world coming to?! Congrats on the new guitar!!

How is this possible? Those rigid foam cases are made of what amounts to thick styrofoam, yes? If they absorbed moisture at all how could we use them as coffee cups? I've never seen a styrofoam cup all mushy from floating in a lake or laying in a trash heap in the rain. This stuff, in my mind, is impervious to moisture. Consult another repairman......

When I first started to sing I found that standing up to a wall (bathroom or otherwise) was a great way to hear myself and actually learn how to control the voice. It's much like having a vocal monitor. Singing from the gut has been mentioned and is very necessary for generating smooth power - tightening your abdominals gives your chest cavity a solid base to push from. Start a line with your abdominals relaxed and tighten them mid-phrase to hear the difference. Another trick I learned is to form the words in the front of your mouth for clarity. Exaggerate the movement of your lips when you practise singing, forming the the words at the front of your mouth. In time, you will learn when to use this to full effect in performance...........it makes a big difference. And perhaps the most important thing is breathing. Learn to inhale through your mouth and nose at the same time. This fills your lungs more efficiently and quickly, allowing you to sing those long phrases and hang on to that last syllable if you need to. And learning when to take that breath is important to.......phrasing. Listen to Merle Haggard's phrasing.......he can be tough to imitate due to his unique vocal phrasing. And don't be afraid to experiment with your voice........remember Buddy Holly's famous "hiccup style"? Debbie Harry's squeaks in "Words"? This kind of innovation comes from exploring your voice and having fun with singing. Some of what comes out will sound silly and won't make it into your performance voice, but it will help you learn the possibilities and find unique things about your voice that make it yours.

T-rod adjustments are, as mentioned, not the primarly method for making action adjustments. Neck relief is what the t-rod does after the saddle height, nut slots and fret work has been done to get the action to the desired height. Neck relief is what eliminates or minimizes fret rattle in low action setups......with high action the neck can be setup flat, with no relief at all. And yes, your 07 J200 could well need a neck reset to be right. As we all know, Gibson acoustic guitars are finicky animals and the Boseman plant is not known for it's consistancy. I own an '06 SJ200 and if I was anal about low action, it's certainly ready for a neck reset. But I like zero neck relief and medium high action on my guitar, probably higher than most would tolerate in a high end guitar. I play a heavy pick with a heavy hand and it works out just fine. Consultation with your local repairman should help you determine if you're style and setup tastes require a reset, but trust us - twisting the t-rod nut is not the way to lower your guitar's action.