jheath Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Bah! This thing is an absolute stunner. That top is just too much. Makes me miss my old Bird and long for a new (and of course outrageously more expensive) Vintage model. Congrats Birdman, what an awesome instrument you have there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 here is the small gap: It's really hard to get a feel for the order of magnitude of the problem without having the guitar in hand. On my modern Gibsons with bound fretboards, the frets are rounded down pretty sharply at the ends, and there's no "shoulder" edge on the frets, and no gap anywhere large enough for a string to hang up. There's a smooth transition between the end of the frets and the "nib" on the binding. Some other guitar makers do this detail differently, and run the fret ends over the binding. This is actually a bit more work, as it requires undercutting the fret tang. The advantage of doing it that way is that there can be no gap between the end of the fret and the binding. The fretboard will come and go with changes in humidity, but the frets don't. It's pretty common on vintage Gibsons to see cracks in the binding at the ends of every fret, if the guitar has ever dried out and the board has shrunk transversely at some point. The end of the fret presses against the binding with enough force to break it. If there is a shoulder on the end of the fret that could catch a string, that could be dressed off with a fret file. If there is a gap big enough to hold the string, that's a more significant issue that needs to be addressed, If the guitar sounds as good as it looks, I wouldn't give up on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 so i should be calling gibson on monday huh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Id go with modocs advice Just take it to a local guy you trust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Called Gibson...asked for Don Ruffatto....he picked up on the first ring! Talked with him a bit ....sent him the pics and video.....he said he would take care of me and is working on what the next step will be....fingers crossed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Called Gibson... Way to go with a mint guitar of this class'n'caliber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Encouraging. Looking forward to seeing the "after" pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 All set to have an approved repair shop fix this under warranty. Don suggested the luthier and said they would be able to fix it no problem. I called and talked to the guy who will be doing the repairs and he seems to think it's because the guitar has been too dry. Said that humid education alone won't fix it and that he will fill the gaps with a super glue and re file the frets and binding etc ect... Said its any easy fix. I'm thinking about having him just doing a complete string change and setup since I'm there anyway...maybe talk to him about trying to preserve the pick guard art while I'm at it! Stay tuned as I have an appointment with him this Friday. Said I'd be able to go home with my guitar in just a few hours time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Also: this just happened! So I'm starting to think I'm a little crazy....the thought of playing my new Gibson every day has made me neurotic about wear and tare....So i decided to get a beater bird to mess around on. I wanted something that i could just get a cheap sound hole humidifier for and leave out on a stand in my apartment, so i would have easy access to grab a guitar quickly if the mood strikes me, rather then take the Gibson out of the case and wait for it to open up to the room. I think i have problems! on a weird level the Ephiphone makes a nice piece of apartment decor/conversation piece at the same time.....I figured at the cost of what i spent for the Gibson what was another $250.... wife said she was freezing our assets in fear of me coming home with an SJ200 and J45! STOP THE INSANITY! SERENITY NOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mafy31 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 ^_^ It is nice to have a twink to carry around, without the fear of scratching it. You will enjoy the campfires with it. However when at home it will be hard to refrain from playing the gibson :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pittgibson45 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 BirdMan, She is right that you will not stop, and you are not crazy. Most of us have the same issue. Once you get going GAS takes over, and there is nothing you can do because you NEED these guitars. Those were very good suggestions she made with the J 45 and J 200. They would round out your collection very nicely. I did the same thing you did when I got my J 45. I needed a similar guitar I could leave out and not have to worry about my kids knocking it over and breaking it, so I got an Epiphone Masterbilt Aj. I'm glad they never broke that one because it is an awesome guitar itself. Start saving for the J 45! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriv58 Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 dinging it is half the fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 the more you play them, the more you learn them...... If I'm gonna pay $3000 plus for an acoustic..... I'm gonna play the living daylights out of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 ^ the voice of reason! THANK YOU! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 congrats on the Epi as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 thanks man! Just listened to your Dear Prudence cover! Spot on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Also: this just happened! With all the fantastic people I've known and fx made music with through life, I should be the last to call anyone crazy, but buying one of the planets most spectacular and sublime acoustic guitars for then to replace it with a cheap-copy-stand-in, and look at and play that instead of breaking #1 sweetheart in, is close to weird. Or maybe it's one of those rare cases where the rationale behind a move is so strong it simply turns out, , , crrraizzed. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 The Epi is fine for a beater, I guess, but play the hell out of "the bird." Sure, don't take it to a roadhouse where they're famous for brawls and chicken wire, but beyond that play it....And in all sincerity---the Epi bird is pretty and all that, but it IS NOT the Gibson bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avery Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Congrats, Birdman, on your new guitars. Nothing wrong with getting a beater, we all have them. But you know you're gonna have to be playing your real bird a lot. I'm a big James Taylor fan, and when I look at video of some of his Olson Guitars, which probably go for 15k, they're really, really dinged up. Treat your new guitar well, but enjoy it, man. You know what they say, Birdman, "Serenity now, insanity later". These vintage birds are obviously spectacular guitars. Our old friend Jesse was even more excited about his than even you are! And he then proceeded to buy a J-15 which he tricked out with a batwing pickguard and new tuners. And we haven't heard from him since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 While I respect greatly the opinions and suggestions of others here who are more knowledgeable on things related to the Care and Feeding of Gibsons, who state you should leave your guitar in it's case whenever it isn't being played, I leave mine out so I can admire them and pick them up whenever I want. I know if I put them in their cases - I would not play them half as often as I'd like. I'm at a point in my life where I don't want to waste precious playing time on anything less than what I could finally afford. The Epi H'Bird is not anywhere close to a real H'BIrd, even though it bears a superficial resemblance. I fear you may have given your wife a perfect argument if you want to get a J45 at some point in the future - to tell you to save a couple of thousand and just get an Epiphany Clone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 These vintage birds are obviously spectacular guitars. Our old friend Jesse was even more excited about his than even you are! And he then proceeded to buy a J-15 which he tricked out with a batwing pickguard and new tuners. And we haven't heard from him since. You are right, Avery - the Bird-flu is a rather serious phenomenon. Good man Jesse celebrated his 2016 Bird here for a fortnight and then dematerialized in mid-air. Another member hovered around courting the honey-glazed wonder for months and finally got the TV. Took it to his office where he sat smiling for days just from looking at it, , , till he grabbed the guitar, gave it a heavy ding on the back and turned into a live-gig Aladdin. One man erased every trace of the flora/fauna motif just after receiving the Bird. Others avoided buying due to the risk of scratching that same wildlife guard with picks and fingers. A forth fellow was lucky to find a lefty H-bird. Strummed it like a dream while singing - then bought 2 other high-end lefty acoustics, , , and shortly after quit guitar playing for good. Me for my part totally melted when seeing the first True Vintage live. Managed to get another a year later, , , and soon brought 3 more home for a 1000-days marathon A/B/C/D just to be sure the keeper would be second to none. From then on also began sleeping in the Cali-girl-case and there only. And now we have a member so mesmerized by his new Hummingbird that he had to buy a cheap copy to bring him out of the trance and back in balance. Wow, , , don't come and say the Board ain't feeling the fever. What will be the next. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerohead Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 Wow, , , don't come and say the Board ain't feeling the fever. What will be the next. . . [/size][/font] Hummingbird-flu gonna make ya sweat ah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriv58 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 i do not understand "this guitar is too nice" attitude- my gibson jackson browne and martin stefan grossman jumbos go where i go, outside on the porch, four day camping trips, wherever i want, and they sit out on a nice wooden rack as well. That's what buddies are for...and dinging them is still half the fun. I'm not worried about resale because they are keepers, and someone else's concern when i croak... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BirdMan81 Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 That's two replies with members stating they store their guitars on a stand outside of the case...question for you guys: are you keeping the room they are in humidified or are you using a sound hole humidifier....or both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scriv58 Posted March 8, 2016 Share Posted March 8, 2016 this is the first winter i have not used my humidifier- it never dipped below 41 very unusual winter weather we had in southern illinois. Soundhole humidifiers only work in the case, otherwise the air is leeching all the moisture out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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