Rambler Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Stopped by a Gibson dealer, the Music Mill in Manchester NH, today. Got a chance to try out a few pieces. MMV but here are some impressions. Little powerhouse. L00 Std. Light, responsive, strong voice for a small body. Projects well but hasn't got the depth (duh) of a J. Strictly a strummer. J185 (quilted b/s). Lacked definition on individual notes. Should have played it before the RWs. Boom box. C Crowe SJ. Deepest bass and low mids ever heard on a hog J (that in common with yours, Tom). Bluegrass, rock rhythm Tinder box. J46Tv. Toppy. Needed fresh strings? Bargain box. J35 std. Balanced, clear, sweet, punchy. Does it all. Great value. Did I mention balanced? Boom boxes II. D18GE and D28HV. Very live boxes. Strong bass and lower mids. Bluegrass. Neil Young. Sluggers. Played 2 AJs. Both had great note definition and clarity. P90s to Martin ‘buckers. Meh low C neck. And the winner. Stage Deluxe Jumbo (JB in RW). The power and punch was expected. The clarity and balance were surprising, especially for a 12 fret in RW. Took most everything I could throw at it. Can see why Jackson collect these things. Ry has one, too. Great neck and set up. Further thoughts. The Stage Deluxe and the std J35 were wonderful guitars, Gibson at its best. The L00 almost had "it". Almost. The Martins were magnificent instruments but way too much ring and overtones for my taste. Which is pretty much what Ive found with every Martin I've every played. I think Im done there. The Crowe had too low end for me, but would be a great alternative for rockers who want some bluegrass cred. That Stage Deluxe, tho? Whew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Thanks for that! The only guitar in that lot which interests me is the Stage Deluxe. And the AJ's..... Never had a rosewood big body. Haven't even played them very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 ++ On the Stage Deluxe RW. I like the burst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Gibson is very strange in naming new guitars. All those features did indeed occur in the 34-37 period -- but not under those names . I shown this before -- the big five. Excuse me if I am over exposing them. The RW 12-fret Jumbo was the Radio Grande -- not the Stage Deluxe. J45nick said: Never had a rosewood big body. Haven't even played them very much. When I first met you (on-line only), you had played the SJ RW that Gary Burnette had and decided you did not like it. I played it and decided it was God's gift to bluegrass flatpicking. That has pretty much been the (surprised?) response of all the BG flatpickers who have played it since. I fact when Tony Watt -- who officially only likes Martin D-18s (doesn't even like Martin RW) -- ranked the AJ and SJRW at the top. In fact, I only got interested in that guitar because a well known BG guy had said his was better than his old bone. Based on all this, I decided you just must not like "midrange-in-your-face" RW guitars. Which is fine of course -- not everyone wants to build the same kind of music and not every tool is appropriate to every task. As they say in bluegrass -- 151515.... All the best, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Tom, Never get tired of seeing your guitars. When I bought my Stage Deluxe RW I told one of the other forum members that they should have called it a a Radio Grande. The more guitars I play the more I think I prefer the rosewood models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salfromchatham Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Rambler... Thanks for the report. Would love to play a stage deluxe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 Tom, Never get tired of seeing your guitars. When I bought my Stage Deluxe RW I told one of the other forum members that they should have called it a a Radio Grande. The more guitars I play the more I think I prefer the rosewood models. I spent a fair amount of time and treasure studying Gibson RW Js -- I guess i have never really told that story. I don't want to hijack rambler's thread, so I start anew one to tell the story. Best, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Rambler... Thanks for the report. Would love to play a stage deluxe. You'd like it. But not so well as the Crowe SJ. The perfect meld of the SJ TV/Humbirid without the fancy feathers. You'd hate it. Got plenty. Heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 Fwiw, my J35 FVG is right up there with the ones I played today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted December 3, 2015 Author Share Posted December 3, 2015 I spent a fair amount of time and treasure studying Gibson RW Js -- I guess i have never really told that story. I don't want to hijack rambler's thread, so I start anew one to tell the story.Best,-Tom Your stories go down well with me, Tom. That's the sign of a good thread, when it gets us talking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 MMV but here are some impressions.... Thanks for your impressions, and no wasted words, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 When I first met you (on-line only), you had played the SJ RW that Gary Burnette had and decided you did not like it. I played it and decided it was God's gift to bluegrass flatpicking. All the best, -Tom Without a bluegrass-playing frame of reference, I didn't know what to make of that rosewood SJ. It seemed like a J-45 on LSD. But the more I thought of it, the more I liked it, although I had no idea what I'd play on it. That's why I looked at it on two occasions, a year apart, but couldn't bring myself to act. I'm generally drawn to specific guitars with specific types of music in mind. For better or worse, this leads me to buy guitars I should pass by, and to ignore others I should jump on. Ironically, I'm now playing some "modern bluegrass", and can better appreciate what the rosewood SJ was trying to say. In any case, I'm glad someone who could really appreciate the guitar now owns it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 Without a bluegrass-playing frame of reference, I didn't know what to make of that rosewood SJ. Ironically, I'm now playing some "modern bluegrass", and can better appreciate what the rosewood SJ was trying to say. Well, Nick, you can always find an AJ. The Stage Deluxe is a wider neck, which might not go down so well for flat picking. In any case, for bluegrass you need a string band to go with it. Cheers, R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickthemiller Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Rambler... Thanks for the report. Would love to play a stage deluxe. Hold on there Sal. You're getting broody again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 A fine comparo. Much appreciate the concise observations. Did you take notes? My head would be swimming after the first sortie, let alone remember how my own fave guitar back home sounded in comparison... it's a big reason I'm one of the crazy ones who will bring a comparable reference guitar on a 200 mi. trip to hear in the same room, seconds apart. Glad to hear your favorable impression of the deep-bodied Stage Deluxe Rosewood; it's walnut-spec'ed brother, the Jackson Browne doesn't favor the 1.805" nut as well due to the shallow profile of the JB neck. Love the beautiful small 30's burst, and the rectangle bridges. Deep, untapered body and reduced 3.75" soundhole diameter really takes the SDR's eq down into favoring some strong low mids on a fairly powerful-sounding guitar. Thx. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 Glad to hear your favorable impression of the deep-bodied Stage Deluxe Rosewood; it's walnut-spec'ed brother, the Jackson Browne doesn't favor the 1.805" nut as well due to the shallow profile of the JB neck. The shallow profile of that Luthier's Choice neck is one of the things that makes the wide nut playable. With a deeper neck profile, that neck might be problematic for some due to its girth. I have one of those necks on my Fuller's 1943 SJ re-issue. It took me more than a year to really get comfortable with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 The shallow profile of that Luthier's Choice neck is one of the things that makes the wide nut playable. With a deeper neck profile, that neck might be problematic for some due to its girth. I have one of those necks on my Fuller's 1943 SJ re-issue. It took me more than a year to really get comfortable with it. Glad I didn't get the Luth Choice neck that I had in my sights... I thought that was a bigger neck in profile, as well as nut width. The guitarist who tries to keep a thumb planted somewhere in the middle of the back of the neck most of the time will feel "unsupported" by the thinner neck. Maybe it's just for fingerstyle (?), ymmv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 The shallow profile of that Luthier's Choice neck is one of the things that makes the wide nut playable. With a deeper neck profile, that neck might be problematic for some due to its girth. I have one of those necks on my Fuller's 1943 SJ re-issue. It took me more than a year to really get comfortable with it. The deeper profiles are a cause of complaint for some payers on the Martin V and GE series: "love the tone but arthritis." Of the ones I tried, the Crowe and the 35 had the deepest profiles, the AJs the shallowest. There SD was right down the middle, but then I find 12 frets easer to play anyhow--short arms, have I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted December 4, 2015 Author Share Posted December 4, 2015 "Much appreciate the concise observations. Did you take notes?" Just mental ones. It helped that I played the 35 early, which was similar to my main squeeze and the SJ, which was a whole different animal. Oth, I had no mental picture for the stage deluxe, so that one hit me right between the eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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