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Beauty contest. Which current model do you like best?


Lars68

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Whenever I buy a new Gibson acoustic, I take visual appeal into account. The guitar has to sound great, feel great AND look great. Out of the guitars currently listed on the Gibson site, which one wins your personal beauty contest? For the sake of this excercise, please disregard tone and playability. You will also have to explain your choice.

 

I'll start by picking the Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo:

 

What I like:

- The slope shoulder body shape is my favorite of them all

- The Sunset burst has a little more red in it than the other bursts.

- Open geared tuners with white buttons

- Teardrop shaped guard

- Split parallelogram pearl fingerboard inlays

- Headstock shape. Great curves!

- Gold script logo and "Banner" decal

- Fingerboard binding

- Slightly yellowed binding all over, body and neck

- Narrow straight bridge with through saddle.

- Bone nut, saddle, and pins

 

What could be improved on:

- 20 fret neck, instead of 21. I like the look of a full circle rosette.

- A Redline case would be cool

- I could do without the custom shop decal on the back of the headstock

- The label. Don't like artists names on my gear or labels in the sound hole, but that is an easy fix...

 

Here is the guitar:

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Acoustic-Instruments/Round-Shoulder/Gibson-Acoustic/Sheryl-Crow-Southern-Jumbo-Special-Edition/Specs.aspx

 

You get the idea. Now you play!

 

Lars

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Whenever I buy a new Gibson acoustic, I take visual appeal into account. The guitar has to sound great, feel great AND look great. Out of the guitars currently listed on the Gibson site, which one wins your personal beauty contest? For the sake of this excercise, please disregard tone and playability. You will also have to explain your choice.

 

I'll start by picking the Sheryl Crow Southern Jumbo:

 

What I like:

- The slope shoulder body shape is my favorite of them all

- The Sunset burst has a little more red in it than the other bursts.

- Open geared tuners with white buttons

- Teardrop shaped guard

- Split parallelogram pearl ineck nlays

- Headstock shape. Great curves!

- Gold script logo and "Banner" decal

- Fingerboard binding

- Slightly yellowed binding all over, body and neck

- Narrow straight bridge with through saddle.

- Bone nut, saddle, and pins

 

What could be improved on:

- 20 fret neck, instead of 21. I like the look of a full circle rosette.

- A Redline case would be cool

- I could do without the custom shop decal on the back of the headstock

- The label. Don't like artists names on my gear or labels in the sound hole, but that is an easy fix...

 

Here is the guitar:

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Acoustic-Instruments/Round-Shoulder/Gibson-Acoustic/Sheryl-Crow-Southern-Jumbo-Special-Edition/Specs.aspx

 

You get the idea. Now you play!

 

Lars

 

Your eye for detail is admirable. I would have never distinguished that SC from a banner SJ. pretty guitar either way. My favorite, visually, of the slopes, for it's binding and neck inlays. I'd add the New Vintage J-185.- just the best visual design, ever, the Hummingbird cause sometimes I wanna be a cowboy, and the original jumbo for its dark burst, fire stripe guard and narrow headstock.

 

Funny thing is, Half of those wouldn't even make the list sonically.

 

P

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Hard choice for me as I have my Gibson bases really well covered - J-50, LG-2, J-200, and B45-12. All that is missing is a square shoulder guitar. So that should be the logical choice.

 

But I am in the guitar zone where time and logic do not apply.

 

So I am gonna stick with a Jackson Browne Signature.

 

Only reason is the thing intrigues me - 12 fret neck attached to a big box. Whether it would be a one night stand or a lasting affair I do not have a clue. But I won't know until I have had the chance to live with one for a bit. Thing is though I would prefer the model without the electronics which I am not sure they still make.

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But the JB is not a current model, and the electronics are still manufactured by Trance Audio. Are they, still making the

western Classic ? Big curves, classy pick guard. Very tasteful jumbo.

 

 

Oops. Takes a score card these days to keep up with what Gibson has out or has dropped.

 

So now I got to find me something else?

 

What I really want Gibson just does not offer - an SJ with a late 1950s neck profile and non-scallop bracing.

 

So I will go with the John Lennon-J-160E. I think the J-160E is one of the coolest looking guitars in history. I gather the Bozeman version has the 1 3/4" nut. I also like it because I consider it pretty much an electric guitar so am not all that concerned with what it sounds like unplugged.

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