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Hi, all. Haven't come around this way in a spell, but Ive got some some news. Last week, I picked up a 1991 SJ-45. It's a beaut. Basicly a 43-era Southern Jumbo reissue with a fw non-period oddities, notably a block logo and keystone pegs. This baby is clear and balanced for fingerstyle but has enough boom to pick. It has some battle scars, but so what. I'm one happy camper. It's the Gibson Ive been hunting for. RIngier than an AJ, more lively than a J45 std, beefier mids than the Fullers J35 1937 that I though would be it. There was an interlude with a 000-18 , nice one, adi top. Really really nice box and compact, but didnt have the sounds I wanted to hear (its on the block if anyone cares to inquire). Im locked and laoded now. Good picking, all. R

Hi everyone. I'm new on this forum, and this is my first post here. I hope someone can clarify things with J-45 and Southern Jumbo. A) Both J-45 and Southern Jumbo have 24-3/4” scale length. B) Both J-45 and Southern Jumbo have the neck jointed at 14th fret. C) On J-45, bridges pins are located as far back on the bridge as possible. D) On Southern Jumbo, bridge pins are in the middle of the bridge. E) However, the saddle on Southern Jumbo is located slightly closer to the sound hole, too. F) The end of the fretboard for Southern Jumbo extends right to the edge of the sound hole G) The end of the fretboard for J-45 leaves a little space to the edge of the sound hole J-45 Gibson 2018 J-45 Standard Acoustic-Electric Guitar Vintage Sunburst | Musician's Friend (musiciansfriend.com) Southern Jumbo Gibson 2018 Southern Jumbo Acoustic-Electric Guitar Vintage Sunburst | Musician's Friend (musiciansfriend.com) Southern Jumbo should have shorter scale length if the saddle is closer to the sound hole, but it doesn’t. Southern Jumbo should have the neck joint at the 15th fret (or 14-1/2 fret at least), like J-160E, to extend the neck, but it doesn’t seem so. What construction differences allow Southern Jumbo to feature A), B), and E) simultaneously? Does Southern Jumbo have a slightly longer neck and appear 1/16th of an inch taller than J-45 if these two guitars are placed standing side by side? Do these two have different neck joint? **I used to own three to four J-45s of different characteristics and was periodically swapping out one or two with different J-45s for 10 years until a major financial setback forced me to sell them all. I currently own Southern Jumbo Original Collection from the 2020 catalogue, but I do not own any J-45s to make any physical comparisons. Thank you all for your help.

I’ve owned only 2 guitars since high school in 1976, a ‘72 SG Standard and a ? (70-73) SJN acoustic. I am interested in finding more about the SJN (I bought the SG new) which I bought used in 1976. I haven’t found a similar one online and curious if something was changed (bridge oops backwards? Neck looks like Hummingbird or J-50?). Please direct me to the best topic area.

I came across this SJ, Cherry Burst, serial 832384, guitar online being sold at a Guitar Center in their vintage department, on the East Coast. I am in Northern California. Occasionally, someone at the large retailer makes a pricing error, and a fine deal can be had. The serial dates the guitar to 1967 or 1969. After viewing photos, speaking with a person at the store, and feeling fairly satisfied, I ordered the instrument for $1200. Initially, upon receiving it, I was disappointed to pick it up and find it heavy. I put fresh Martin mediums on it, and was blown away by the crisp D-18 like highs, and classic Gibson low end response, and the overall playability of the guitar. Stoked right? Errr, wait. After more closely inspecting, I found that the bridge had been replaced, not uncommon as we know many disliked the adj. bridge, and the headstock appears refinished, missing the crown in the middle. The headstock has a volute, and I learned that some 69’s did have this feature as the model/design transitioned into 1970. The back has an unmatched center stripe, lighter in color than the two pieces of wood it divides. Finally, the binding on both the body and neck is black, it has parallelogram inlays that seem to have been repaired, and I detected some water damage staining inside the guitar on the unfinished grains. There is no sticker or detectable stamp inside. There is no “Made in USA” stamp into the wood on the headstock. The serial is hard to make out but detectable, and does not look altered/tampered with/etc. At this point, I realize some of you are thinking that a greedy hillbilly tried to turn a Japanese clunker into an SJ (I have also entertained this notion), but my trusted local luthier, who worked on Jerry Garcia’s guitars for years, doesn’t think so. And going back to the tone and feel, neither do I. For reference, I also own a 1934 L4, 1990 Advanced Jumbo, 1957 ES225, 1970 D-35, and other great instruments. Not that those details alone are definitive, but it matters to know it when you hear/feel it. John’s analysis (the luthier) is that the guitar was badly damaged, like run over on a rainy day kind of damaged, and the aforementioned hillbilly (not greedy this time) repaired it himself or had his cousin do it. This would explain the black binding work, which is a little heavy handed, water stains, and refinished-ish neck. And even if it’s a natural fact, it still doesn’t verify the production year. The only factory black binding on these guitars I know of is found on the SJ Deluxe model from the 70’s, but those had single rectangular inlays, not parallelogram like this one. There you have it. Is Sherlock Holmes still around or did Moriarty actually get him that last time? PLEASE. HELP, Confounded Gibson Enthusiast