Mark Blackburn Posted March 6, 2009 Share Posted March 6, 2009 So glad you 'de-lurked' and shared with us, J.T. Foote -- not least for the interesting responses a good post like this one elicits! [Just as an aside, I'm with Karen of Calgary: I always sniff the inside of a guitar. My mainly mahogany Northern (Southern) Jumbo has a lovely delicate fragrance (more about that in a moment) and guitars with cedar inside are an olifactory delight, LOL!] Appreciated your follow up that buzzing had begun to develop in your new instrument. Mine too! But the experts at Winnipeg's pre-eminent fine instruments store (and only authorized Gibson dealer) LONG & MCQUADE all agreed that moisture (lack of) was the culprit -- a provided a free, in-guitar humidifier which, they say, "should do the trick in about 2-to-3-weeks," when I'll bring it back for another (free) tune-up. [Winnipeg, incidentally, is the world's coldest major city; that's according to the U.S. Consular Service; our furnaces are running more-or-less non-stop for nine months . . . You can do the math!] Thanks for including the link to your wonderful review! You might get a kick out of one I left at Amazon.com recently for the closest instrument to mine featured "at the world's biggest website" (where there was only one small (ancient) review for any Gibson acoustic guitar. I tried to provide a link (elsewhere) but it didn't show up. Here's a copy of my review for my similar instrument, J.T. Foote. (p.s. I think your state is the most beautiful on the entire east coast. Are you anywhere near "Long Creek" in the western half of N.C.? That would be the 16,000 acre R. J. Reynolds estate where I spent a few weeks, "in paradise," long ago when the earth was green. My review, "Five Stars" and titled, Get Your Gibson NOW 'cause THESE are the 'Good Old Days' The greatest Gibson acoustic guitars ever produced, are the ones being made right now, at the snow-bound Custom Instruments plant in Bozeman Montana. Is that true? "It can be your Christmas gift, your birthday gift (March 13) and your next year's Christmas gift too," said my wife . . . giving her blessing for me to purchase one of these. (Actually, mine is a "limited edition" made by the `god' of Gibson luthiers, Ren Ferguson -- more about that in a moment.) If you can find one, make your J-45 the `upscale' SOUTHERN JUMBO - same select woods as the J-45 shown here -- solid Sitka Spruce top, and magnificent-sounding Honduran Mahogany back & sides; the Rosewood fingerboard and bridge on these instruments are from the island of Madagascar (not `endangered' Brazilian Rosewood). Yes, go for the "Southern Jumbo" J-45, I say! It's just plain nicer to look at --with those classic `split parallelogram' mother-of-pearl inlays, up the entire fingerboard. (My edition has the smaller `Firestripe' design pickguard, found on the "Woody Guthrie" -style Southern Jumbo). [Just as an aside, for those who care about such things: my new `Gibson Girl' is a limited edition (65 copies made, for sale in Canada, with an almost invisible, stylized, Maple Leaf (like on Canada's flag!) that is hidden on the back of the head (my granddaughter spotted it, in bright sunlight). The little nameplate on the front of the head says, "NORTHERN Jumbo."] I didn't realize who had hand-made my guitar (didn't look at the label inside) when I bought it: I was simply blown away by the sound - the best I've ever heard from this `round-shoulder' style of instrument; and the action! It is a dream to play! Get your hands on one of these and discover why this `workhorse' dating back to the early 1940s has been the choice of most every major song-writer/performer you can name! All my life I'd been hoping to find an acoustic instrument with an action as good as a Les Paul or Stratocaster. You'll find it here. And, what is more, you won't have to play it for 50 years to elicit the best sound. [if you will indulge me in another aside: Chet Atkins told me (in a radio interview 40 years ago) that, when it comes to buying the best Gibson (acoustic, like the one he's holding on his "DOWN HOME" album cover, its headstock hidden - during his Gretsch-signature-model endorsement years) - "get the oldest Gibson you can find," Chet said, "one that's been played every day, for many years -- sounds so fine."] "I can't wait around (for years) for my guitars to sound good," says Ren Ferguson. An acknowledgement that he's constantly being told by life-long Gibson owners (who are lining up to pay upwards of 50,000 dollars for one of his `museum quality' flat-tops,) that Mr. Ferguson is making the "best acoustic instruments in Gibson's 135 year history." ----- Only when I got it home, did I spot Ren Ferguson's ball-point pen signature -- on the distinctive, orange "Custom Built" label inside. A quick online search determined that Ren Ferguson is making some of the finest custom-made guitars in the world - both for the gorgeous sound of his guitars, as well as for his unique inlay work. [The instrument he made for Johnny Depp, commemorating his beloved "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie, was purchased for the actor by his film studio -- for "upwards of $100,000" (correct).] Despite which, Mr. Ferguson admits that such `museum' instruments don't sound any better; "but they don't sound any worse either!" And his favorite guitar, (it could be yours!) is always "the one I'm working on right now." If you're like me, (all your life, coveting Gibson guitars -- the J-45 variations in particular) well . . . now's the time to buy one, I say! ----- On a long-forgotten album (black vinyl LP) Chet Atkins sang a song written for him by James Taylor (I never heard anyone other than Chet sing it). I like to think he had one of these J-45's in his lap (he fell asleep each night, he told me, "usually after watching Johnny Carson," playing guitar till he dozed off to dreamland! I pick up my Gibson now . . . close my eyes, and hear Chet singing, "Me and my guitar, always in the same mood . . . I am mostly flesh and bone, and he is mostly wood; never does grow impatient for the changes I don't know . . . if he can't get to heaven, maybe I don't wanna go!" Mark Blackburn Winnipeg Manitoba Canada p.s. your description of the Southern Jumbo's sound quality (mahogany vs the rosewood of your excellent Guild guitar) was the best description I have read about the respective 'temperament' of those two all-time favorite woods. If I may include an excerpt from your review, for those who might not (yet) have checked out your terrific review: "(5-stars for) SOUND: I really wanted a Mahogany dreadnought to compare against that dark, rich, glassy Rosewood tone that comes from my Guild. For a long time, I've felt that a Rosewood guitar strives to dominate; to be the premiere instrument on-stage ... which can make singing against such an instrument something of a struggle, even with a strong, articulate voice (sometimes I have it, sometimes not. I'm no spring chicken!) The Gibson doesn't try to make that claim; it accompanies me, and sounds clean and warm, without causing me to overplay and over-sing to 'keep up.' I haven't attempted to record with this guitar yet, but I suspect that I'm going to like the end result!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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