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Gibsons without electronics?


Jukie

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Some of them have them don't...

 

For example you can't buy a new J-35 without a pickup but a J-45 TV does not have have a pickup (did that make sense?). If you want a standard production guitar without electronics you would have to go through the custom shop ($$$).

 

or

What I did when I bought my J-35 was remove the electronics myself. I then sold the electronics on my local kijiji and used the money to fund other purchases to upgrade the guitar.

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Some of them have them don't...

 

For example you can't buy a new J-35 without a pickup but a J-45 TV does not have have a pickup (did that make sense?). If you want a standard production guitar without electronics you would have to go through the custom shop ($$$).

 

or

What I did when I bought my J-35 was remove the electronics myself. I then sold the electronics on my local kijiji and used the money to fund other purchases to upgrade the guitar.

 

Thanks for the reply, Chris. Does removing the electronics void the warranty on the rest of the guitar?

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Some of them have them don't...

 

For example you can't buy a new J-35 without a pickup but a J-45 TV does not have have a pickup (did that make sense?). If you want a standard production guitar without electronics you would have to go through the custom shop ($$$).

 

or

What I did when I bought my J-35 was remove the electronics myself. I then sold the electronics on my local kijiji and used the money to fund other purchases to upgrade the guitar.

 

chances are there will be a up charge if you choose to have a Gibson acoustic with electronics , made with out..

 

as for a j35... 1600.00 guitar( with one) ... a J45 TV ( without one) 3500.00 ish guitar... a regular J45 (with one ) 2400.00 ish , or the Legend J45 6000.00 and change.. quite a price range for a J45.. (without one) or find a nice early 90s one with a few Blems for 1400 ish.. lots out there.. without pickups installed.. probably sound better too.. the early 90s had a J35 as well... that was not a bad guitar either..

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chances are there will be a up charge if you choose to have a Gibson acoustic with electronics , made with out..

 

as for a j35... 1600.00 guitar( with one) ... a J45 TV ( without one) 3500.00 ish guitar... a regular J45 (with one ) 2400.00 ish , or the Legend J45 6000.00 and change.. quite a price range for a J45.. (without one) or find a nice early 90s one with a few Blems for 1400 ish.. lots out there.. without pickups installed.. probably sound better too.. the early 90s had a J35 as well... that was not a bad guitar either..

 

Thanks, Slim. That's what I was afraid of. It seems kind of odd that they would charge more for something that cost less to manufacture.

 

If I were to buy a new unit and had the electronics professionally removed, what could I expect the Baggs unit to fetch on the open market. And as I asked earlier, would this removal void the Gibson warranty?

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Is it possible to order a Gibson production model without any electronics? I would like a new Gibson but have no need for pickups. And if it's possible, would it cost more or less or the same?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

 

 

TV HBirds come with no electronics [biggrin]

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Personally, I'd rather see Gibson offer all their standard acoustics sans pickup but with a reasonably priced upcharge if folks want to add it as an option.

 

* Many folks don't need/want a pickup. No reason they should pay for one.

* Other folks may not prefer the one the factory has chosen. No reason they should pay for one they don't like or will just have to replace.

* For those folks who want a pickup and like the factory choice, then they should be able to have it as an option.

 

Some have sugested that there are Gibson models w/o pickup and one should simply buy one of them instead. But why should the customer have to substitute the model they want with something that's a second choice simply because they don't want to pay extra for a PU they either don't want or won't use?

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I would really like it if they came up with another option for pure acoustic folks: no pickup and instead upgraded tuners plus bone nut and saddle. The market for that might actually be far larger than the market wanting a pre-installed pickup.

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Devils advocate here. I don't know where all of you are from but the stores here seem to keep the same j45(or fill in the blank) until it sells. So what is being suggested is that they stock one w/pickup and one w/o pickup? I guess if every guitar you bought was ordered directly from Gibson, easier done. Don't get me wrong I do not disagree with what is being said (first thing I did with my j45 was take out the pickup, plug the hole, put a strap pin in it, and make a bone saddle) but it just isn't going to happen. I would also like to see the roads made out of rubber and tires out of concrete, also not going to happen!

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Devils advocate here. I don't know where all of you are from but the stores here seem to keep the same j45(or fill in the blank) until it sells. So what is being suggested is that they stock one w/pickup and one w/o pickup? I guess if every guitar you bought was ordered directly from Gibson, easier done. Don't get me wrong I do not disagree with what is being said (first thing I did with my j45 was take out the pickup, plug the hole, put a strap pin in it, and make a bone saddle) but it just isn't going to happen. I would also like to see the roads made out of rubber and tires out of concrete, also not going to happen!

You are probably right. What if, for example, they were to have two versions of the J-45 Standard, one with pickup and the other with tuner upgrade and bone nut and saddle. It's a basic model, they sell lots of them. Oops I forgot, we're only allowed to have one version of J-45. No one would stand for all kinds of J-45 variations, would they? [biggrin]

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I'd agree with a few of the arguments posted here, I even agree with Jerry that a pure acoustic model with upgraded parts instead of the PU could be attractive, the only downside to it is that currently Gibsons are selling pretty well, they've even had to ramp up production a bit to meet demands, so it's hard to say they're going about it the wrong way.

 

We shouldn't forget the avg buyer isn't quite the guitar nut people in here are, for most they want a guitar that sounds nice acoustically and is stage -ready should it be required, the current MC lines do that. There's also a fair few models that dont have a PU installed on the roster anyway. It might not suit all, but it never does, does it?

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It seems strange that none of the lower priced Gibson acoustics come without pickup. If you don't want a pickup you just have to pay more? With all these silly variations and permutations out there, shouldn't there be one standard model available without ust and those dicey endpin jacks? [/soapbox]

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Having electronics stock seems to be the way things are these days.

 

I don't think Taylor sells a single standard/production guitar without electronics these days. I remember back in 2011 I went to great lengths to get a Taylor GA body shape without electronics. (Got a GA-4 and traded it in 2013 for a J-35, which funny enough had electronics!).

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Here's another vote for no electronics, if I had the choice I would have taken a standard j45 with no electronics simply because I would be able to add my own if I decided too put a pickup in the guitar.

Easily removed my friend! PM me if you need help.

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Easily removed my friend! PM me if you need help.

 

Sir: I don't think that was his point.

 

Why:

Pay extra for the factory PU.

Then pay extra to have it removed.

Then pay extra to buy the one you want.

Then pay extra to have it installed.

 

I mean, why be rational when you can waste money? After all, it grows on trees.

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The Standard models use to be called the Modern Classics. They were "historic models" with some modern "improvements." I guess the PU was considered one of those modern improvements. The True Vintage series does not have the PU, but are not "true vintage" models. They often have a modern neck designs and other non – accurate builds. If I had the choice and funds when I bought my j45, I would have gone with the TV. I ended up with an MC and am very happy. I don't gig so I took the battery out and ignore the rest.

 

 

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Sir: I don't think that was his point.

 

Why:

Pay extra for the factory PU.

Then pay extra to have it removed.

Then pay extra to buy the one you want.

Then pay extra to have it installed.

 

I mean, why be rational when you can waste money? After all, it grows on trees.

I wasn't going to charge him. The point may be, that you missed the point.

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I wasn't going to charge him. The point may be, that you missed the point.

 

No, I get it. It's just that everyone may not have a friend like you who's willing to absorb a chunk of the extra costs.

I just believe many folks would be better served if the PUs were an option, not standard, on so many Gibson models. Even with your kind assistance, he'd still pay up front for a PU he doesn't want and then pay again to have the one he prefers. Only ones who win that one are the factory and whoever they have a PU deal with -- and the customer takes it in the shorts. But, hey, it's all opinion.

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I am really a bit put off by the inclusion of electronics in the new Gibsons. Awhile ago I wanted to see what my local Guitar Center stocked and was surprised that they didn't list any Gibsons under the acoustic category. Was wondering why they wouldn't have Gibson acoustics. Then an unrelated Google search turned up a long list and I thought "WTF". Going back to the Guitar Center website, I found they were all listed in the "acoustic-electric" category.

 

Now I just picked up a used 2008 J-50 Modern Classic a few weeks ago. I am falling in love with this guitar but the piezo pickup sounds just as bad as I expected. Am travelling with it right now, but when I return home I plan to remove the pickup. Would like to leave the strap button jack in place (yeah, I know) but just run a wire from it to a plug inside the guitar so I can connect a soundhole magnetic pickup when I feel like it. I would be very interested in a step by step description of removing the piezo. I am pretty handy and imagine I could do it myself. OTOH, I also plan to bring the guitar to my tech and have him do a proper setup. It plays very nice now, but based on previous experience, I'm sure he could improve it. So maybe I'll just let him do the job.

 

BTW - new member here but have been playing Gibson acoustics since 1974. Still have my 74 J-50 Deluxe in fact! [smile]

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