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Favorite Gibson? - stolen from AGF


generaldreedle

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Saw this on the AGF and it got me thinking what the pros here would say for those who have all different models and why.  I've only had two, a J45 custom rosewood and a Southern Jumbo and while I like them both the Southern Jumbo is my favorite and after a year or two seems to have broken in a little.  It's fundamental and dry without being brittle and it's resonant enough without too much sustain.  Just a great guitar, but anyway I'd love to hear everyone's opinion.

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Depends when I'm asked the question. Too many to choose from. I think I'm still looking for that one special Gibson that would want me to call it my favorite. The '42 LG1 seems to be getting most of the play time.

I have a few Martins but never hesitate on picking my favorite Martin.

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I've always loved and gravitated towards Gibson's maple guitars. I've played SJ200s and Doves for many years. Somewhere between those two is the Maple AJ which I absolutely adore. Mine has such remarkable articulation and responsiveness it's almost amusing. I love playing it and, if I had to live with one guitar for the rest of my days, I could settle happily for the Maple Advanced Jumbo.

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So -   "The Return of The Cliche:  

"If your house were on fire, which guitar would you grab? "

"If you were on a Deserted Island - which guitar would you bring? "

My SJ200!  Love my other 2: The H'Bird  TV has great tone and looks . The J45 Custom Koa  is the one I grab the most...

But, the Super Jumbo is the one I bought used at a Mom & Pop in Waco while the other 2  I got over the internet.

It's got  complex tone  and depth -   QuadraPhonic Sound - compared to Simple Stereo. 

 

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Couldn't say really, but the one I am playing today!

The oldest I own, biggest V neck, black finish 1935 Gibson Black Special L50 (it has a Schatten removable ebony bridge with a piezo embedded inside it - sounds great through my Tonedexter:

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(flat black for bluesier tone):

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got to watch for splinters!

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It is easy to get a 'groove' going 😠:

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BluesKing777.

 

 

Edited by BluesKing777
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Sometimes I miss the days when I did not know a Gibson from a can of tuna and was thrilled to have anything simply because it was a real live guitar.  I think one of my goals has been to recapture that feeling.

While I have played more Gibsons than I can recall, as best I can figure I have owned 10 in the past 50 or so years.  Still  own five  of them - four flattops and one archtop.   Of the flattops, two have managed to capture that old feeling to the point every time I pull them out of the case and hit a big fat open chord my mouth falls open in a silent Whoa!  Those two would be my 1942 J50 and 1932 L1.   You can make that three  if you throw my wife in the mix as her 1960 J200  remains the only six string she has even wanted to own in the past 20 years.

Those I would like to own make up a  pretty short list.   Odd thing is we have reached the point where I can buy pretty much anything  I want.  Always thought that when that happened it would be guitar a go-go around here.  But it never happened.  My wife thinks it is because it is now too easy and the hunt no longer presents me with the challenge it once did.  She might just be right.

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I’ve had a few Gibson acoustics over the years - currently 5. Love my J200’s maple tone, but I’m really hooked on my Adi/Rosewood AJ. Seems lately I’m more into playing the AJ. It’s something about that combo - the tone from the Adi top with the overtones of the Rosewood.  

 

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I really don't like Gibsons -- or any other guitars really.  Of the 50 or so old Gibsons I own, I guess I find the 36 AJ, 35 Jumbo, and 31 L-2 the least offensive.   I you count banjos, the 1927 Granada is not as bad as some others. (What is the difference between a Gibson Granada and a macaw?  Answer -- one is loud, obnoxious and in-your-face and the other is a bird.)

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My '51s - a J-185 and a Southern Jumbo, both "rescue/restore" guitars which I had the opportunity to watch for years as "road warriors" before being able to (not quite literally) pry them out of their original owner's arthritic fingers. They can shout, whisper, sing, flatpick, fingerpick, and as my fingers grow more arthritic their empathy has seemed to increase (fancy way to say they respond more easily). Ever adopt or rescue a really good dog? It's like that.

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