Where do I start

[fortyearspickn]

Derek,    it's been 10  months....   how did you wind up?    Many of us would be curious to hear of the process and the results.  🙂

[derek R]

Hi,yes it’s been a while since i posted on here.

 I haven’t been able to move forward with a new acoustic what with covid overtaking our lives,but hopefully i can start to think about it now things are starting to ease off a bit,i bought a new Gibson electric guitar that included a couple of amps in the deal so I’m thinking i can maybe trade one of my other electrics and the amps towards a new acoustic guitar.

Thanks to everyone that replied to my query,having read through them ,if i can i hope that i can try out some guitars that have been suggested,particularly the j45s,as I’ve said I’m looking for something a bit brighter than the Martin i bought,maybe the Martin can be traded in with the other gear i have,i just don’t know yet which way to go about it.

 I love my Gibson’s and a Gibson acoustic would certainly be nice,when i started on this journey of playing guitar as a hobby Gibson’s just seemed to be the guitars that spoke to me,so to complete my collection as such a nice Gibson acoustic is something that I’ve thought about,whether that’s just wishful thinking or as someone said it’s sellers remorse (although i didn’t actually sell my Simon and Patrick acoustic),I’m looking for something that’s brighter than my Martin,a spruce top acoustic is what I’m thinking i should be looking at.

Again thanks to everyone for their input 

derek R

 

[kidblast]

10 hours ago, derek R said:

Hi,yes it’s been a while since i posted on here.

 I haven’t been able to move forward with a new acoustic what with covid overtaking our lives,but hopefully i can start to think about it now things are starting to ease off a bit,i bought a new Gibson electric guitar that included a couple of amps in the deal so I’m thinking i can maybe trade one of my other electrics and the amps towards a new acoustic guitar.

Thanks to everyone that replied to my query,having read through them ,if i can i hope that i can try out some guitars that have been suggested,particularly the j45s,as I’ve said I’m looking for something a bit brighter than the Martin i bought,maybe the Martin can be traded in with the other gear i have,i just don’t know yet which way to go about it.

 I love my Gibson’s and a Gibson acoustic would certainly be nice,when i started on this journey of playing guitar as a hobby Gibson’s just seemed to be the guitars that spoke to me,so to complete my collection as such a nice Gibson acoustic is something that I’ve thought about,whether that’s just wishful thinking or as someone said it’s sellers remorse (although i didn’t actually sell my Simon and Patrick acoustic),I’m looking for something that’s brighter than my Martin,a spruce top acoustic is what I’m thinking i should be looking at.

Again thanks to everyone for their input 

derek R

 

My 2 cents only..  but if you really want  brighter sounding acoustic, Gibson may not be the best way to achieve that.  They by nature are darker and a bit round sounding.  You might want to at least venture down to where the dealers are hanging up the Taylor acoustics and give those a spin.

 

[uncle fester]

3 hours ago, kidblast said:

My 2 cents only..  but if you really want  brighter sounding acoustic, Gibson may not be the best way to achieve that.  They by nature are darker and a bit round sounding.  You might want to at least venture down to where the dealers are hanging up the Taylor acoustics and give those a spin.

 

I was thinking staying in the gibson line, but maybe going maple-y.  A J200, or dove for sqaureshoulder dred, or what are the small bodies - nick lucas.

[kidblast]

1 minute ago, uncle fester said:

I was thinking staying in the gibson line, but maybe going maple-y.  A J200, or dove for sqaureshoulder dred, or what are the small bodies - nick lucas.

A J200 is big and round sounding, but not really all that bright sounding despite the maple back and sides.

 

[uncle fester]

1 minute ago, kidblast said:

A J200 is big and round sounding, but not really all that bright sounding despite the maple back and sides.

 

Someone may say they want bright, they really want a J200 🙂

[kidblast]

Just now, uncle fester said:

Someone may say they want bright, they really want a J200 🙂

nothing wrong with wanting a J200.  !!WOOT!!  I can dig it..   there's usually not a lot of chances of walking it back once you play a good one..   And most if not all of them are!

 

[RBSinTo]

On 11/9/2019 at 8:07 PM, derek R said:

I mainly play electric guitars,I’m not even that good considering I’ve been playing for a few years now and had lessons.

I have always had acoustic guitars about,i had a really nice Simon and Patrick acoustic which I gave to my son and bought a Martin acoustic thinking it was an upgrade,which it is,but it doesn’t have the same sound as the Simon and Patrick.

So now i think i may want to move on to a Gibson acoustic,so where do i start,i was thinking along the lines of a j45 or a hummingbird.

I’m open to suggestions,i feel that the Martin acoustics fretboard is too narrow and the sound is too dark,I’m looking for something easier playing with a more open sound and going by reviews and reading these forums and other forums i think a Gibson acoustic might be the way to go and hopefully inspire me to practice more than i do now and put in the effort to really enhance my years of lessons and general knowledge of guitar playing,i do get that the best way is to play as many guitars as i can and being in a big city that is not really a problem as there are many guitar shops about,but i feel really inferior going into these shops and playing these guitars in front of other people because as i said earlier I’m not the best of player.

 The cost of a Gibson acoustic is not cheap and would be a big outlay for me but i feel the cost could be offset if it encouraged me to actually put in the time to pick up the guitar and practice,don’t get me wrong,I’ve spent the same sort of money on my Gibson electric guitars so at the end of the day I can cover the cost.

 The main type of music I’m interested in playing is mainly rock/blues/rock blues,just really what most of us listen to,play,so as i asked where do i start.

Any feedback/suggestions/help would be really helpful as i really don’t know what type of Gibson acoustic i would be best looking at,considering my skill level and musical talent,i mainly play chords/rhythm type guitar just now and that is mainly what I’d be doing with the acoustic.

thanks again in advance.

derek r

Derek,

There are any number of very fine guitar manufacturer's models to choose from, and rather than tell you to consider this model or that, I suggest you visit a bricks and mortar stores ( when you are able to) and play many different company's models until a sound jumps out at you that you like. Whatever you ultimately buy will be an expensive purchase, so rather than hitch your star to Gibson's wagon before the fact, keep an open mind and in the end be completely happy with whatever you get.

RBSinTo

[fortyearspickn]

Yep.  SJ200  - people believe they are loud and ring like a bell.  They can be loud.  They can be 'clear'.  But, mostly they're 'full'.  Really great overall.       So,  you'll want to consider what you most want to do with this acoustic.  Sing along or play alone - or either of the above in a group.  Loud, projecting, bell ringers are fine - but many who want to accompany singing will go with something like a J45.    Until a they recently released a new strategic marketing line -  Taylor was generally  known for being 'bright'.  Gibson on the other side of the spectrum, with what many call  'The Gibson Thump'.   Don't base your decision on what you may hear on recordings or YouTube. Those are usually amplified and equalized.  Unless you visit Dealer sites where they will showcase different models and try to ensure the recording is 'true'.  

[derek R]

Hi everyone,just thought I’d give an update on where I’m at in my quest for a new Gibson acoustic.

 I was in town the other day with my better half,i wasn’t even out looking for a new guitar but ended up going round the guitar shops and ended up in the main store in the city,whilst there i had the chance to try out a few of the Gibson’s they had as the store was quiet and as I’ve said I’m quite apprehensive about my playing and playing in front of other people so i took the time try the guitars out.

After spending some time with the guitars i settled on a g45 studio,not a high end acoustic (it can come later),i felt the walnut and spruce combination gave me a brighter tone i was looking for compared to the Martin i have.

 I know that this guitar is not typical of what Gibson acoustics sound like because of the wood used but for the time being it’s giving me more of a tone I’m looking for and the feel of the neck and spacing of the frets seem to be a whole lot more playable than the neck on my Martin.

If the playability of this guitar is typical of Gibson acoustics then hopefully in the future i can invest in a more high end guitar but for now I’m enjoying the guitar I’ve bought,it’s so much easier to play and sounds more “open” than the Martin.

What i will say is that you read about the quality of Gibson’s not being great but i must say that this guitar straight out the box is bang on,i don’t see any issues with the finish,the setup of the guitar is pretty much bang on playability wise with nothing needing done so far,I’ll play it for another couple of weeks but as i said everything about how the guitar is just now is good,I’m very pleased with the finish and playability of it and reenforces my love of Gibson guitars.

Now some pictures 

thanks again to everyone who took the time to reply to my original post and give their views and thoughts its much appreciated.

derek r

[j45nick]

2 minutes ago, derek R said:

Hi everyone,just thought I’d give an update on where I’m at in my quest for a new Gibson acoustic.

 I was in town the other day with my better half,i wasn’t even out looking for a new guitar but ended up going round the guitar shops and ended up in the main store in the city,whilst there i had the chance to try out a few of the Gibson’s they had as the store was quiet and as I’ve said I’m quite apprehensive about my playing and playing in front of other people so i took the time try the guitars out.

After spending some time with the guitars i settled on a g45 studio,not a high end acoustic (it can come later),i felt the walnut and spruce combination gave me a brighter tone i was looking for compared to the Martin i have.

 I know that this guitar is not typical of what Gibson acoustics sound like because of the wood used but for the time being it’s giving me more of a tone I’m looking for and the feel of the neck and spacing of the frets seem to be a whole lot more playable than the neck on my Martin.

If the playability of this guitar is typical of Gibson acoustics then hopefully in the future i can invest in a more high end guitar but for now I’m enjoying the guitar I’ve bought,it’s so much easier to play and sounds more “open” than the Martin.

What i will say is that you read about the quality of Gibson’s not being great but i must say that this guitar straight out the box is bang on,i don’t see any issues with the finish,the setup of the guitar is pretty much bang on playability wise with nothing needing done so far,I’ll play it for another couple of weeks but as i said everything about how the guitar is just now is good,I’m very pleased with the finish and playability of it and reenforces my love of Gibson guitars.

Now some pictures 

thanks again to everyone who took the time to reply to my original post and give their views and thoughts its much appreciated.

derek r

Congratulations, and welcome to the Gibson acoustic family!

[derek R]

Thanks j45nick hopefully from here on in i can maybe move forward and start to build on where i am regarding Gibson acoustics,so far all my Gibson’s are electric,so maybe i can justify spending the same amount on acoustic guitars as i do on electrics,in which case i should be able to buy some nice acoustics (ha ha ,if my better half lets me).

[j45nick]

4 minutes ago, derek R said:

Thanks j45nick hopefully from here on in i can maybe move forward and start to build on where i am regarding Gibson acoustics, so far all my Gibson’s are electric,so maybe i can justify spending the same amount on acoustic guitars as i do on electrics,in which case i should be able to buy some nice acoustics (ha ha ,if my better half lets me).

I'm coming at this from the opposite direction. I have a few Gibson acoustics, but only a single Gibson electric. But that one is a nice one: an ES-335 1959 Historic from the old Nashville Custom, Art, and Historic Shop.

For an electric player, the G 45 Studio is probably a good place to start, but once you get hooked on Gibson acoustics you may  be keen to expand from there.

[bobouz]

Congrats!  Walnut is a fine tonewood.  The one’s I’ve played have delivered a tone more akin to the qualities of maple, which is my favorite.

Gibson’s frequent utilization of maple & short-scale fingerboards are two of the reasons I’m drawn to them.  Similarly, the P-90 tone of Gibson electrics typically represents the amplified sound my ears want to hear. 

Play what works & Enjoy!

[fortyearspickn]

Sounds like you Chose Wisely Grasshopper !   A G45 may not be a HIGH END acoustic - but it is certainly a great guitar.  May even turn out to be a keeper !