TomG76
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Posts posted by TomG76
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If I'm to stop believing that my guitar was made by cherubs who came down from Heaven, I will first need to acquire that belief.
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I think a key question is whether they're expensive because Gibson can charge extra for their logo or if it's other factors. They're partly expensive in the UK because of tariffs.
But they're also expensive because they're superior: hand-made, solid back and sides, fantastic craftsmanship, etc etc.
Not much, if anything, stays priced artificially high for long. We save up for them for a reason.
I think it's nice to have to wait a few years. My J-50 is all the more special to me for that reason. But I'm also still fond of my cheaper guitars.
Thankfully, they are more affordable than a Stradivarius or a Steinway!
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5 hours ago, PrairieDog said:
Nod. While I try to take care of my things, stuff happens, and yeah, I used to lose it. Now I take some comfort in buying pre-dinged things and it’s quite freeing knowing my bonks aren’t going to be the first. I’m sure it’s been mentioned here someplace how the Japanese even celebrate breaks in pottery with a special process, Kintsugi, mixing precious metals into the mends to highlight the patterns from the breaks. It begins to look quite beautiful once your eye gets it.
The Japanese can be very sagacious.
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On 2/3/2024 at 12:36 AM, styler said:
Thanks guys for all the help.
Just to be clear, there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your guitar. And the forearm haze really bugged me at first. For the benefit of the thread, I wasn't criticising you for being bothered by it, let alone virtue-signalling.
But it's also highly likely that your guitar will acquire blemishes over the years and it's not obvious to me that haze can easily be removed.
Full disclosure, I have OCD - actual OCD - and these things can really bother me. I was very upset when I saw that the decal on my Dobro was marked, even though it’s a cheap Epiphone one. So I feel your pain!
Seeing these things as part of the guitar's story helped me accept something that troubled me. I hope it might help you too.
I think it's mad that people pay for ersatz relic-ing, but the fact that they do could give you comfort as well.
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I got this on my Gibson J-50 and it rather bothered me. Nothing got it off, although I didn't try everything suggested here.
Then I came to terms with the fact that my guitar is a tool - albeit a beloved one - and is going to get dings and marks and I feel at peace about it.
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On 10/19/2023 at 3:16 PM, J185cat said:
Of the models I have played or owned my AJ has the deepest bass. There was a model Gibson made in the past, can’t remember the model number, maybe J40, that they built to compete with them D28 that I have never played. I’m sure someone on here can comment on that. I currently have a custom shop D28 that has Adirondack top and scalloped Adi braces set in the “Golden Era” position. It of course is a deep resonate guitar but my AJ is right there with it with just the perfect amount of Gibson sparkle on top.
I'm wondering if you mean the Gibson J-60, which gives every impression of being Gibson's answer to a Martin D28.
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On 7/7/2022 at 2:48 PM, Jinder said:
Session work is the outlier here…generally (in the UK at least), the pickers with the recognisable/desirable kit get the work. I’ve had clients flat-out reject certain guitars because of brand prejudice. I owned a fantastic Duolian style steel bodied resonator made by Michael Messer which sounded like weeping angels…I was asked to play some slide on an Americana project and turned up with the Messer expecting to wow the clients with its beautiful tone, but they rejected it before I played a note because it wasn’t a National or Dobro. I’ve had my SJ200 turned down for not being a D18, and even my old D18 Golden Era (which sounded incredible) turned down for not being a D28.
This is unutterably mental.
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On 7/4/2022 at 8:27 AM, Jinder said:
This is a topic I’d like to debate.
I last bought a new Gibson in 2016, my SJ200. It’s my primary live instrument and has been on a great many sessions for both myself and other artists. It’s a 2015, and, whilst I played, had been superseded by the revamped model with the Anthem etc fitted by the time I bought it, so got a very good deal on it (£2500 new).
Now, in the UK the SJ200 Standard sells for £4399. That’s $5330. The Studio for around a grand less.
A standard style non-cut J185 anywhere from £3200 to £3800.Even a J45, the “Workhorse”, is a good way north of £2000.
Below that there are the G45 and the Sustainable models etc, but to get your hands on a “real” Gibson is almost impossible for the working musician.
To give this some context, I am a musical odd job man-I’m a songwriter for myself and other acts, recording artist, session player/singer, touring artist, function band musician, MD, guitar tech and tour manager. I’ve worked in music full time for 25yrs and am not workshy-I’m always doing something.
I cannot ever see a time, especially in the post-Covid restrictions world, when I would ever be able to afford to buy a new Gibson again. Used, perhaps…but the new prices are absolutely unattainable for us road dogs who are out there working in music full time.
I find this impossibly disappointing for Gibson themselves-their guitars have been in the hands of so many emerging artists over the last century, and they have essentially written themselves out of that reality going forwards.
I KNOW Gibson have always been a premium product, but for owning one to now be beyond the bounds of aspiration for those who could actually use a solid, world class instrument is sad, to me at least.
If I was in the position I was in 20yrs ago now, I’d be playing an Epi IBG model and not my first SJ200, the guitar that changed my life.
For me the sweet spot would be a Gibson being expensive but not impossibly so.
I bought my J-50 in 2020 because I realised the stars had aligned (secure job, no social life thanks to lockdown, limited outgoings) and that I needed to pounce.
It absolutely does sadden me that a working musician would now struggle to buy one. My J-50 would sound a lot better in your hands than it does in mine, @Jinder.
Gibson is a Rolls Royce brand, but whereas there is a sort of delicious torture in not being able to afford a luxury car, you really do want to be able to own a nice guitar.
A Martin from 1836, say, might be an unreasonable fantasy. I'm very sorry that a Gibson J-45 is.
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This is a very helpful thread. I know it's old, but maybe that's appropriate.
I've got coated strings on my J-50 right now and they look great, but I don't care for the feel and my fingers are bouncing all off them. Not keen on the tone either.
Meanwhile I've never changed the strings on the Epiphone Dobro I got several years ago. They look ugly but I dig the tone.
I do have an anti-bright sound bias with acoustics though.
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15 minutes ago, Kwlsky said:
I've read a few interviews of professional guitarists who said they wished they learned to have a lighter touch much earlier in their guitar careers. When I taught my kids how to play guitar, in the beginning I always told them to play the game of "How lightly can you fret the strings and still have them ring out." They all rolled their eyes at me, but I think it helped them.
That's great advice. I'll try that myself. Thanks, Kwlsky.
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2 minutes ago, Jinder said:
Thanks Tom!!
I have hands like shovels and have often inadvertently caused a wince or two with a handshake, so I sympathise!
For me, the sweet spot was going to 13s and downturning to Eb. I’ve not had too many issues with fretting sharp but I used to break strings with a vengeance due to my heavy right hand! No such problems since going to 13s thankfully, I can get four gigs from a set of D’Addario XTs or Martin Lifespans. The Dunlop Tortex Flex picks help too, the .73s still feel like original Yellows that I loved for many years but are a little less inflexible, so tend to extend string life a bit 🙂
Really useful, thanks, mate.
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1 hour ago, Murph said:
What's really a trip, for me, is playing guitar, mandolin, resonator and banjo in a single setting.
Different tunings, different scale lengths and totally different tensions with the banjo having almost none, to the mandolin having TONs.
Absolutely. Even using different tunings on the same guitar impresses me!
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2 hours ago, DanvillRob said:
I've always had relatively short/fat fingers for a guy my size....but they were pretty strong also.
I've played guitar for about 60 years, a little piano for maybe 55 years and spent a lot of time typing on a manual typewriter and the old 'IBM Selectric' typewriter. This gave me pretty good finger dexterity.
But with arthritis that started in my left thumb joint...then the right thumb joint made me change the way I played, (some chords very painful to play), and now it's started in my middle fingers...the right one is VERY painful, the left one, not so bad.....now my 'strong' hands have difficulty holding hammers, coffee cups, and have real difficulty twisting off the lids to jars.
I'm still grateful I can play at all at my age.
I really wish you well with it.
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4 minutes ago, jedzep said:
The players who can move from acoustic to electric and adjust their fretting finesse level proportionately are the ones who really impress me.
Yes. Being subtle is so important. I also hit the balls too hard when I play pool or snooker!
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Thank you.
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I have weird hands...
...for a man my size they're not very big - indeed as a guitarist I sometimes curse my short fingers. But they are very strong. I've unintentionally hurt people when shaking hands and turned off taps so tightly that other people can't turn them back on. If you need a lid off a jar, I'm your guy.
I've been doing some training in anticipation of taking up judo and it's made my hands even stronger.
I've realised that I'm fretting so hard that the string goes out of tune. Whilst learning control must be hugely important, is there any merit in adjusting the action or string gauge? Or is it all about being more nuanced and sensitive?
Forum favourite @Jinder plays beautifully and seems to have much bigger hands than me.
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Your nanny and her guitar have a lot in common. Both are exceptionally classy and deserve to be cherished always.
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I've got a 50s style J-50 and I love it. However, I much prefer a natural top to a burst. I know there are great J-45s out there but I had my heart set on a J-50.
Do you feel that way (in reverse), or are you more flexible than I was?
Here is mine.
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I do think that the slope-shouldered Gibson J-50 / J-45 / Southern Jumbo / Country Western has enormous merit.
I think it would complement the sound of your other guitars. You might enjoy the woody tone and note decay.
Above all, it is reliable - the quintessential acoustic. It is the go-to guitar of many of the kind of artists you like, and is both a strummer and a picker.
A great many musicians would choose it if they could only have one guitar.
I find a lot of guitars quite uncomfortable, especially for my hands (I have short fingers but big palms), but my J-50 fits like a glove and the Gibson Jumbo in its various forms is famously comfortable.
I appreciate that you want a vintage guitar, but will just say that the modern versions built to 1950s and 1960s specifications are very good.
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Although I have been in love with the look, neck size, scale length, history, and general vibe of a Gibson Jumbo for years, I wasn't able to afford one until lockdown (and no travel costs or social life) last year left me more flush than normal.
I had done a LOT of research to find a cheaper alternative in the meantime. (And that took in potential alternatives that were not cheaper.) Other brands can compare on most of the qualities in the paragraph above, but I could never find anything that had the right tone and note decay.
Then when I did finally have the money, I nearly bought a Martin HD28V. They're great. And Yamaha do inexpensive guitars with a lovely tone. Epiphones bear some tonal resemblance to Gibsons, as well as inevitably looking like them.
But only a Gibson is (good enough and) a Gibson.
Honestly I'm surprised I can hear the difference. In the past I wished I couldn't. But it really, really is A Thing.
There is a warmth and fullness to a Gibson that is unique. It may not be everyone's favourite tone, but it's mine.
(I'm also increasingly convinced that only a Stratocaster sounds like a Stratocaster - if you're talking clean, glassy tones - but I may be wrong about that.)
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On 8/19/2015 at 12:51 AM, Jesse_Dylan said:
(Why can't I ever get it to show the video instead of the link?)
Just wanted to share a real guitar hero. Of course, this is the real reason I want a Batwing pickguard. 🙂 (okay, so my dad also had a batwing)
Never have figured out how to play like that...
Gibson J-50. He played in E almost all the time, but he was never tuned up to concert pitch (or even in perfect tune).
Friends of friends of his have told me he said, "Ole Lightnin' don't ever practice." Doesn't seem like he needed to... He used to play clubs, but he'd also just sit on the bus and play. I think that was his "practice".
Course you guys probably all know this stuff already, but maybe some younger folks will pop in and be educated.
Got into him just because he played a Gibson J-50! His name kept coming up when I was researching that guitar...and I'm mighty glad it did. He's wonderful.
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On 15/01/2021 at 3:55 PM, ksdaddy said:
One of my guitars was bought from an ebayer who (1) has a brick and mortar store with lots of memorabilia and (2) is/was some kind of promoter or otherwise involved in booking acts for various venues. As such, he had taken the opportunity to have acts autograph items as the situations presented themselves.
I have no idea how this guitar came to be in his store. It's a 1998 Martin DM that appears to be brand new. Brand new in the sense that there is absolutely no marks on it, no shiny spots on the flat finish, almost no pick marks, and the fretboard and bridge are both dry as a bone. The strings are as black as a crow's armpit. It so seriously looks like it's been sitting in the corner.
It has autographs all over the top. Charlie Pride, John Schneider, Marty Raybon, Mark Chesnutt, Johnny Lee(?), Gene Watson, Ronnie McDowell and some guy named George Jones. I think that's all. I am under the impression that it came to him new and it became a display item in the store once signatures began to amass. I didn't buy it specifically for the autographs. I bought it because it was a USA made Martin for $450.
The fretboard desperately needs oiling, as does the bridge. The nut slots could stand a swipe or two with a file while I'm there. I've owned it a year.
Problem is... I really really like the way this sounds. To the point where I'm afraid to take the strings off. It is entirely possible it has the original strings on it. Over the year I've owned it, I've polished a lot of the rust off the strings just by handling it and playing it. I know if I start loosening them , there's a high probability they will pop.
They measure 11-52, which is not a gauge I would normally buy. Other than that, no knowing what they might be. I actually bought some old Martin catalogs on ebay today in hopes there will be a mention as to what they were shipped with.
I will reach a point where I have to change them but if I lose that thump, I'm going to die.
Bert Jansch liked dead strings.
He could play pretty sporty...
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Great news, Jinder.
It's certainly not my place to speak on behalf of the forum, but you know we are all thinking of you, right?
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I'm a huge James Taylor fan. I once told a musician friend that "As far as I'm concerned, Paul McCartney is the bloke who played bass on Carolina In My Mind."
Fortunately he loves JT too and he grinned broadly.
2024 J180 Everly Brothers Edition
in Gibson Acoustic
Posted
A classic!