Gibson Stage Deluxe LTD Acoustic-Electric Guitar 1930's Sunburst

[Pegleg]

Except for the color of the tuners and redwood versus walnut, appears to be the same guitar as the JB model A. What am I missing?

[Isaac Hunt]

Bound neck on the JB , no pearl dots on the bridge, no Iveroid inlay by the endpin.

[Pegleg]

Actually, it's mahogany versus walnut as I now see upon closer examination. And, as pointed out, cosmetic differences too. But wonder what the tonal difference between the mahogany and walnut would be?

[62burst]

A search for mahogany vs walnut comparisons would probably turn up generalizations along the lines of "walnut- halfway between hog and rosewood". Fair enough, but if you're able to have one while you audition the other, you'll be able to better answer that question for yourself. What's it worth to get the sound/playability that checks all the boxes for you. Hopefully, you'll have that guitar for a long time.

 

The Jackson Browne Model 1 that stayed here for a while was a perplexing thing; yes, it had the ample nut width, (1.805", same as the Montana Stage DeLuxe). No mention of the Montana Stage DeLuxe having a deeper body, but the JB had one which, when combined with the walnut back/sides, gave it a "pretty" sound. Too pretty for the likes of me. 'Guess I'm a fool for mahogany, like a 12-fret J-45 might be. Ended up following ex-Gibson head luthier Ren Ferguson over to the Guild camp where he helped bring a deep-bodied hog 12-fret to the market in the Orpheum line of guitars. The Jackson Browne might work for you if you already have the J-45 type sound covered, and you want a fingerstyle guitar for material along the lines of James Taylor, etc.

 

The perplexing part of the Jackson Browne was in how it had the spacious nut width, but it just wasn't working with the shallow neck profile. Almost made it harder to play. A beefy baseball bat neck, on the other hand, seems to fill the hand better and offers more support for the thumb when it is in the middle of the neck. Then there is the whole topic of whether or not the beefier neck profile contributes to tone and sound transmission. Ultimately, had to move Jackson on down the road.

[jannusguy2]

Here's my Radio Grande version from a few years ago. This turned out to be a JB prototype. Adi/Madagascar. It sounds unreal. I swapped out the gold tuners for a more traditional look. I'd like to play one of these in walnut but haven't gotten near one yet.

 

[Pegleg]

So, here are my "two"... and yep one is a J45 custom with a Fishman NatII pickup.... got a good bit more "twang" than the JB. The JB was difficult for me to play when I first received it, but once I turned the neck and lowered the action to my liking, it too, plays well. I've never considered the possibility that it would play better with a fatter neck, but I can see how that would change the "geometry", especially "up the neck"... which ain't very far, given it's jointed at the 12th fret. The JB has a matrix infinity pickup installed... given the cost of the Amulet and the fact that my EQ/DI is Fishman and it's usually going thru a SoloAmp it's what I opted for. The two compliment each other well and, I do use the J45 for certain songs and the JB for others.... albeit, I'm not sure "pretty" is how I would describe the difference.... at the least the way I play!

 

[Slinky1]

Here's my Radio Grande version from a few years ago. This turned out to be a JB prototype. Adi/Madagascar. It sounds unreal. I swapped out the gold tuners for a more traditional look. I'd like to play one of these in walnut but haven't gotten near one yet.

 

Man! I never get tired of seeing this guitar. Very nice Jannusguy2.