duluthdan Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 When you buy a guitar from a wizard, it probably pays to listen to that wizard. When I bought the J-200 from Ren Feguson, it still had the same strings on it that helped me fall in love with his guitar. Subsequent to that time I have tried Martin SPs in 12 and 13, Curt Mangan 12, and Sunbeam 12. Always PBs. Lately I have been questioning owning this guitar - I typically only use it to play John Denvery stuff, and to me it had lost much of its “sizzle”. Well today I took off the Sunbeams, and strung it with the strings Ren had told me were his favorites for that guitar - John Pearse Bluegrass 12-56 PBs. Wow, does this thing sizzle again with those strings! I guess when you are lucky enough to meet a wizard, it probably pays to listen to that wizard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Interesting. Im quite the opposite and actually growing closer and closer to my J-150. The Sunbeams to my ears were made for this guitar. Its actually become my leading gig guitar in the past 6 months taking over from the Hummingbird which is starting to frustrate me a bit with its almost over dominant bass and occasional muddiness (dare i say the HB TV is opening up too much and the nectar is over dripping ?) But hey, glad you found the trick it needed to keep you motivated Dan, the maple Jumbo is a very special guitar. Here's a pic from a wedding couple weeks ago to get you back in the mood ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR GIBS Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 One thing more I know now - John Pearse Bluegrass 12-56 PB on an SJ 200 maple.Thanks for that.My MR GIBS remains now in its coffer with two humidifiers (may be dry in that moment because I am in Greece) and strung up with some Elixirs 12-56 PB.When I get home I'll order 2-3 sets of those John Peerce Bluegrass 12-56 PBs to try the sound.And one thing more - lately, may be last year I don't play my SJ 200... Only open the case, fill up humidifiers with water, strumm a few chords, say: "... Man! This is THE GUITAR!!!" and close it back in the coffer... Well, it is not good and not fair I must admit...When I get back home few days after I will give a good play to my main treasure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigshot Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 I always used the JP Bluegrass on my J200 and it sounded great. But recently I put some humble D'Addario lights on it, and I love the guitar even more. The J200 has so much bass already, you really don't need to accentuate it with bluegrass strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Dan , Hey that's a stunning guitar ! Glad you fell in love with it again JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted August 23, 2014 Share Posted August 23, 2014 Its actually become my leading gig guitar in the past 6 months taking over from the Hummingbird which is starting to frustrate me a bit with its almost over dominant bass and occasional muddiness (dare i say the HB TV is opening up too much and the nectar is over dripping ?) Aha, , , interesting little report there. Is it also like that when heard/played acoustic and could the fact you switched to Elixirs play a role ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 While I don't get the Wizard thing that surely is a nice looking guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 'Woof; I believe Dan is referring to the fact that his '200 was Ren's personal guitar, yes? If so, then we can hope that not only does he possess wizard-like skills in building all-things-wooden, but that the good doctor knows what one of these should sound like, as well. Of course, the luthier who has been helping me put guitars back together has most of his experience in electrics, and while he has a magical ability in the set up dept for perfect playability and action/intonation, I find it hard to believe he returns guitars back to me equipped with StewMac's Plate Mate, and feels that the sound is, if nothing else, improved. (Take away the woody sound, add a brassy sound, imho). Mr Gibs: You have the right idea; best to give your MR GIBS some quality time! Also- are not both Mr Guild and MRS Fancy under part of Ren's watch at the now-shuttered Guild New Hartford facility? EA: "H-bird opening up too much" ... "nectar over-dripping" ? Seriously? I'll trade you problems like that. Also- I believe I saw you recommending Jim's Guitars, York, PA(?) he is a regular at the show circuit, and when I was A/B'ing LG-2's last year, it was a vintage Jim's LG-2 that the final a/b came down to. Maybe that was your guitar. Very good sound on that one. And... who dwarfs a super jumbo Gibson (wedding gig photo)? Ha! That J-150 seems to be a best of both worlds axe. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 Aha, , , interesting little report there. Is it also like that when heard/played acoustic and could the fact you switched to Elixirs play a role ? Not as pronounced when played acoustically Em7. But when I plug in I need to reduce the bass levels on the HB-TV by around 30% compared to the other gigging Gibbies (SJ, J-150). The Elixirs were brought in to actually get a bit more clarity in the Bird due to their brightness and also ability to stay fresh. But the metallic tone of the Elixirs is starting to frustrate me too. The best solution for the Bird would be to actually change the Pyramids after every gig, which are my preferred strings and what I use on the other mahogany Gibbys. That guitar sounds amazing with fresh strings but can get 'nectar' muddy once the strings start to fade, even in relatively small doses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 EA: "H-bird opening up too much" ... "nectar over-dripping" ? Seriously? I'll trade you problems like that. Also- I believe I saw you recommending Jim's Guitars, York, PA(?) he is a regular at the show circuit, and when I was A/B'ing LG-2's last year, it was a vintage Jim's LG-2 that the final a/b came down to. Maybe that was your guitar. Very good sound on that one. And... who dwarfs a super jumbo Gibson (wedding gig photo)? Ha! That J-150 seems to be a best of both worlds axe. Enjoy. It might well be that LG-2, although Ive seen a few more period LG-2's on Jims website, and yes, he mentioned he does the show circuits regularly. However it was quite a distinct non truss rod banner LG-2, so perhaps it was the same one. It does have a superb tone and I often look at it and wonder who played it before and what stories it could tell.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarrr Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 The bluegrass config is good, you may also like the JP NewMeds or D'Addario EJ24s. Either set has the best balance across the registers imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR GIBS Posted August 24, 2014 Share Posted August 24, 2014 1408844274[/url]' post='1556133']Mr Gibs: You have the right idea; best to give your MR GIBS some quality time! Also- are not both Mr Guild and MRS Fancy under part of Ren's watch at the now-shuttered Guild New Hartford facility? Yeah, this is one of the reasons I purchased my Guild D55 and my Guilf F 412 - the name of The Wizard was an important factor!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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