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Build quality of J 15 and J29


Olguitar

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Oh sure, never judge a book by its cover but until I pick up a guitar made with walnut and find that it sounds good, I don't like walnut. Actually, now that I think about it, every guitar made with walnut had the same unpleasant characteristics in the way they sounded.

Okay, I can buy that. To date, walnut doesn't suit your ears, expectations, playing style, etc.

 

Guess my only remaining point would be that it does seem to suit a lot of folks who've found the J-15 to be very satisfying (as well as the Jackson Browne). I'm generally partial to the percussive sound of maple for fingerpicking, and that's what I find most present in the tone of walnut, with a little lean towards rosewood. Have I played some that were clunkers? Sure, but that's to be expected with any model, as most will be mediocre, a few will be lousy, and a select few will be great.

 

FWIW, I too have never run into a koa instrument that clicked with me in a major way, but then I can't say that I've sampled tons of them - so again, I'll keep on open mind to the good ones that may be waiting for me to stroll by.

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I had a J15. I really liked it, very nicely put together guitar and fantastic tone. I parted with it because I played my '41 Reissue SJ100 and fell in love with that, and the only way to finance it was to put the J15 on the block.

 

I don't regret it as the '41 SJ100 suits me better but I'd definitely own a J15 again if the opportunity and finances arose. Great bang for buck and mine was just as well made as any of the many Gibsons i've owned over the years.

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I had an AJ that had walnut back and sides. It was the loudest most vibrating guitar I ever played. If I kept it, I would have modified the bridge and lowered the wedge shape. It was a bit too much for my taste.

 

I have a JB with the walnut and as they advertise, it sounds like a grand piano.

 

IMHO - I do not think I have that great of an ear, but I feel there is Mahogany and then Rosewood. Everything else is in-between and depends more on the shape and build of the guitar. Then the other 90% depends on the player.

 

 

 

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I don't know. It is purely a physical/emotional/cognitive response. I hear walnut, I dislike it. It is dry sounding but not in a pleasant way. I remember the first time I got to play a Jackson Browne. My bank account was weak at the knees I was so sure it was THE perfect guitar for me and it would coming home asap. I disliked it at first strum. I kept trying and trying to find the magic in it and the bottom line was that it is not the right guitar for me. I like maple, mahogany, and even rosewood in some cases but I do not like koa and walnut.

 

Koa and Walnut have some of the qualities of maple in them.

Most people are turned off by Koa because they think it will sound as good as it looks right away...They don't realize koa is a treasure you have to play for a few years before it opens up.

 

 

Some koa does sound good right out of the box but most of it needs playing time to fully blossom.Koa is best described as a mix between maple and mahogany

 

 

 

JC

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I've owned both the J29 and J15. Still have the J15. Won't rule out a J35. I hear lots of good things about them. All three were bashed from the start by Gibson bashers. Their lower than usual price for a Gibson was all the bashers needed. All three excellent instruments. I sold the J29 primarily because it was too plain for me. The sound was great, but it looked like too many other "plain" guitars to me. Just a personal thing. Still got the J15. Sweet guitar. Don't play it as much since I got the walnut J100, but that's just "me" again. I like the big guitars. Super jumbos and dreads..... Don't fall for all the internet crap about the J15,29, and 35. They're all butt-kickers and a perfect "first Gibson" or 10th Gibson.

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I had a j29 and I don't feel it had the sonic spectrum that graph is showing.

 

I had a couple of Martin rosewoods and would agree with the graph but the Gibson was kinda .... 'stifled' ?

 

I have been listening very carefully to all my new and old acoustics. That graph makes a lot a sense to me. Rosewood most certainly sounds full and wide with a midrange scoop. I have been curious about midrange scoop ever since the 1980's when I notice I always set my graphic equalizer in my car to a V pattern. Then did it in my recording studio for decades. I also kill the mids on my Marshalls. I see now, I like scooped midrange. That would explain why my new Southern Jumbo is my least favorite guitar to play being it is the only mahogany guitar I have.

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I think Walnut has the boom and chime of Maple but with a bit less attack transients and lovely feathery overtones in the upper mids and trebles. It's very articulate and "quick" like Maple, but has more sustain and is more forgiving-I love my Maple Gibsons but it's a very exposing tonewood-misfrets or fluffed notes leap out far more noticeably than with any other tonewood.

 

Walnut has all the good bits of Maple and none of the downsides, it's a superb tonewood in my opinion. If I was to commission a guitar, it would probably be a Dove in tobacco sunburst with Walnut back and sides.

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It's all purely one's personal likes and dislikes. I think walnut sounds very "woody," and I get what I hear as a real Gibson thump out of it. It's a great fit for the music I play. I like the dry tone. One of my AJs is koa and while it seems to be a bit brighter tone (maybe the maple attribute) than I usually prefer, the guitar is so damn-easy-to-play that I use it a lot. I like it more now than when I first got it a couple years ago.

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  • 2 years later...

I am a full time luthier and spend 98% of my time with new build work opposed to repair work. I started as a guitar maker and for the 15 years have been making violins. I use all types of tonewood for the back, sides and neck. I can say from my own business I build every instrument to the same standard and as though I was making it for the most important person in the world. My price difference depends strickly on the cost of the materials. I piece of instrument grade maple is cheaper than the same quality American Walnut. I am saying all that to say a major difference in price can be the cost of the materials with no difference in the quaility. When you start adding "Bling" you are not adding to the quality just in the man hours and cost of additional materials. I personally owe a J-15...it is an awseome guitar and is a quality build. The best guitar I ever heard was a Walnut Olson that a buddy brought to a jam one weekend. When I saw athe walnut j-15 it was a no brainer. But I have found that musicians meet an instrument that they fall for.  Don't be afraid if the J15 is calling to you.

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I love the walnut. It's American. And the maple neck, too.

I have a J-15, and I also have a Rosewood J-45 with ebony board and bridge.

Neither is "better". The two guitars are simply different.

Neither will be for sale in my lifetime.

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