Historic 1957 SJ-200 vs Martin D-41 - comparison clip

[Brucebubs 105]

New comparison clip I found.

 

 

OK, so maybe I'm just biased but I think the Gibson sounds better to me.

[Sgt. Pepper 919]

Yes the Gibson guitar is going to sound better to a Gibson guy on a Gibson site. No new info there. It it was on the Martin site it would be reversed, I'm sure.  How are you realistically  going to compare a RW guitar to a Maple one, and both are two totally different body shapes. 

I own a D-41 and know it has  a scale of 25.4", scalloped bracing and and ebony fretboard, RW back and sides and a Adi top. Not sure about the SJ-200's specs except it is a Maple back and sides guitar,.

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by Sgt. Pepper

[Brucebubs 105]

3 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

How are you going to compare a RW guitar to a Maple one, and both are two totally different body shapes. 

I own a D-41 and know it has scalloped bracing. Not sure abut the SJ-200.

The 1957 SJ-200 has 'Traditional hand scalloped X-bracing'.

I think the comparison here is not RW vs Maple or Jumbo vs Dreadnought but the difference between 2 completely different guitars with a similar cost.

[Sgt. Pepper 919]

5 minutes ago, Brucebubs said:

The 1957 SJ-200 has 'Traditional hand scalloped X-bracing'.

I think the comparison here is not RW vs Maple or Jumbo vs Dreadnought but the difference between 2 completely different guitars with a similar cost.

Ok  if that was the point of it ,and it is yet another opportunity to say Gibson sounds better than Martin which is just a disappointing brand. 

Is a Corvette gonna drive differently than a Mustang or Camero? Yes their different animals.

Edited December 1, 2020 by Sgt. Pepper

[Brucebubs 105]

For the record - Yes, I do own that exact same 1957 SJ-200 but I also own these 2 Martin guitars ...

- 2009 Martin Grand J12-40E Special

- 2011 Martin JDP II build #71 of 71

[BluesKing777 241]

 

Here is the same guys with a 67 vs new:

 

 

 

BluesKing777.

 

 

[BoSoxBiker 70]

14 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Yes the Gibson guitar is going to sound better to a Gibson guy on a Gibson site. No new info there. It it was on the Martin site it would be reversed, I'm sure.  How are you realistically  going to compare a RW guitar to a Maple one, and both are two totally different body shapes. 

I own a D-41 and know it has  a scale of 25.4", scalloped bracing and and ebony fretboard, RW back and sides and a Adi top. Not sure about the SJ-200's specs except it is a Maple back and sides guitar,.

 

I thought you had a re-imagined series? Those/mine come with Sitka, not adi - at least to every site I've seen including Martin's. Is there a little secret I didn't know about?

[BoSoxBiker 70]

For me, It's fun to pick out the contrasts or individual elements that they have. One comes at around 3:37 as the guy playing the SJ-200 jumps on the string attack pretty good and we get that Gibson growl. Nice! Do the same on the D-41 and the windows in my Living Room bulge outwards from the sonic blast that comes out as a result of doing the same. My RW version of the SJ-200 does the same as my Standard Maple version.

Good times! Thanks for posting.

(edit: I wanted to make it clear that I was not suggesting that my RW SJ-200 lacked the projection that my D41 has. To the contrary - it does quite well in that department. I was simply talking about the Gibson Growl at that point.)

Edited December 3, 2020 by PatriotsBiker

[zombywoof 251]

Comparing guitars is generally bad business as our own biases do tend to determine the outcome.  What I did find interesting is  they demo'ed the guitars playing with bare fingers which is how I approach the things.  While you are obviously not going to get the snap you do when some kind of pick is employed, I felt both sounded pretty flat and dull.   They certainly did, however, respond far better to the more aggressive strumming attack which looks like the players were using the back of their nails.  

Edited December 2, 2020 by zombywoof

[Sgt. Pepper 919]

1 hour ago, PatriotsBiker said:

I thought you had a re-imagined series? Those/mine come with Sitka, not adi - at least to every site I've seen including Martin's. Is there a little secret I didn't know about?

Maybe its Sitka. Some kind of Spruce.