1990 Black J100 Sycamore?

[seamonkey]

hi.  a  Gibson lore question... i read that  all black J100s were created from sycamore. any truth to that? seems most of the sycamore ones were 1987 or a little later.  thank you GBF hive mind, any info would be great

[J-1854Me]

I'm fairly certain that sycamore was used in Nashville before Bozeman got what they had from there.  I've seen some (very few, since there were not many acoustics produced) from the mid-80s that appear to be sycamore.  My sense is that Nashville got it from Kalamazoo.

In Bozeman, it was certainly used from 1989 thru (I'm guessing) about 1990, possibly into 1991. 

Fred

 

[seamonkey]

thanks, Fred. for some reason the possibility of sycamore appeals to me

 

[J-1854Me]

Whatever floats your boat, I guess.....  :-)

I had an '89 J-100 (sycamore) for several years.  Very nice guitar, sounded fine, played fine, etc. 

Had it from the late 90s to sometime in the mid-00s or so.  In early '00s, I acquired an '01 J-200, so played the two maple 17" jumbos side by side for a number of years.  After a while, I decided that if one of the two very similar guitars was going to go, it was the vaunted sycamore -- the maple J-200 just sounded nicer (to MY ears...!).

I understand that sort of a 'sycamore mystique' that has developed over the years, and I don't doubt it holds some cachet.  But just be sure to 'calibrate' yourself and check the sound that you're expecting with what you actually hear, is what I guess I'm saying.

Best,
Fred
 

 

[slimt]

1 hour ago, J-1854Me said:

Whatever floats your boat, I guess.....  🙂

I had an '89 J-100 (sycamore) for several years.  Very nice guitar, sounded fine, played fine, etc. 

Had it from the late 90s to sometime in the mid-00s or so.  In early '00s, I acquired an '01 J-200, so played the two maple 17" jumbos side by side for a number of years.  After a while, I decided that if one of the two very similar guitars was going to go, it was the vaunted sycamore -- the maple J-200 just sounded nicer (to MY ears...!).

I understand that sort of a 'sycamore mystique' that has developed over the years, and I don't doubt it holds some cachet.  But just be sure to 'calibrate' yourself and check the sound that you're expecting with what you actually hear, is what I guess I'm saying.

Best,
Fred
 

 

Ive owned those as well. They were just fine.  

[zombywoof]

I have played a fiddle made with sycamore but that is about it.  I gather from a furniture maker I know that American Sycamore is closer to mahogany  than maple while in Europe it is vice versa and as such was used for violin and cello backs and rims.   It is plentiful but I gather the quality can really vary with some of it being good for nothing more than pulp wood.

[seamonkey]

Thanks, All!!