Ian27 Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Just wondering what the SPECIAL designation means on the label of my 1995 SJ200? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 14 minutes ago, Ian27 said: Just wondering what the SPECIAL designation means on the label of my 1995 SJ200? Gibson probably changed one spec on it that makes it different from the standard model, and the marketing gurus used "special" to set it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Ian27 said: Just wondering what the SPECIAL designation means on the label of my 1995 SJ200? Ian, Likely nothing more than meaning that you were given the special privilege of paying more than those persons who bought the regular 1995 SJ200. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 2 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Gibson probably changed one spec on it that makes it different from the standard model, and the marketing gurus used "special" to set it apart. Chief, Adding the word "special" on the label changes one specification for the guitar, so that must be it. He's a lucky guy. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Rehlmann Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Unfortunate your first post to be answered by the two Martin fanboys who only troll this forum to snipe at any opportunity. Very possible your guitar was made with a wood selection different from the standard model. Post a photo and maybe someone can give some information 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 (edited) I went and looked and while I could not find anything built in 1995 with the moniker "Special" attached I did quickly find there were a couple of runs J200 Specials in 1993. Ain't the internet grand? One had a Koa body and another a flame maple top. So, it does appear it is a different ballgame than the "Deluxe" guitars which appeared in the 1970s where apparently the only thing Deluxe about them was that it was written on the TRC. Edited July 1, 2022 by zombywoof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philfish Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 Wasn't special used on guitar center models, from Gibson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 In 1995, Bozeman did not actually have 'marketing gurus'. Their new facility, moved from Kalamazoo had been opened for 5 years, with 100 employees. Ten+ years later, they started to expand with new regular production models within each of the model product lines. They created "True Vintage" within the J45, H'Bird and SJ200 models for example. A few years later, discontinued it but created the "Vintage" models which were identical but had a torrified spruce top. Different type of spruce. Now they have sub-groups: Original, Modern, Custom, Historic ... with versions being added and removed. They expanded their plant, a couple of years ago, I guess to offer more choice and price points for the 'market'. Some members here are quick to reply with snarky comments but have never really 'owned' a Gibson acoustic. Some come here having bought used one that someone kept in their car trunk or on their screened in back porch and then proceed to complain about Gibson quality. As you know, the standard SJ200 has Maple back & sides. If yours has Rosewood, or 'flamed' or 'quilt' maple - someone typing up the label on the manual typewriter might have just decided it was 'Special' compared to the hundreds of 'Standards'. They don't bother typing 'standard' on those labels. If you can post a photo, or describe what your specs are - someone here might suggest a reason for the 'Special'. If you're really interested, you might be able to get someone in Customer Service in Bozeman to tell you what they have listed on their specs for that serial number/model/year. Of course, their focus is making guitars - not keeping detailed records going back decades. If they don't have the records, they may not call you back. Enjoy your SJ200, I love my 2004. Because they are not mass-produced, they're all 'special' ! And ... WELCOME ABOARD ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 (edited) Pictures? Edited July 2, 2022 by slimt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said: They expanded their plant, a couple of years ago, I guess to offer more choice and price points for the 'market'. Some members here are quick to reply with snarky comments but have never really 'owned' a Gibson acoustic. Some come here having bought used one that someone kept in their car trunk or on their screened in back porch and then proceed to complain about Gibson quality. "I guess to offer more choice and price points for the market?" You mean higher price points right? Other guitar makers keep great records, but make awful guitars. Good on Gibson for doing it the other way round. Not sure if you can accurately say where someone stored a guitar before it was sold, but the trunk of a car is a good hiding spot. Edited July 2, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 57 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: "I guess to offer more choice and price points for the market?" You mean higher price points right? Other guitar makers keep great records, but make awful guitars. Good on Gibson for doing it the other way round. Not sure if you can accurately say where someone stored a guitar before it was sold, but the trunk of a car is a good hiding spot. No - I mean higher AND lower prices. Yes - Good on Gibson: I'd rather have a good guitar than a good record. (Just read NY State still hasn't put their 1950 Census on the computer yet. ) Yes - I can't accurately say where a guitar was stored before it was sold, but we all know some folks store them in their trunks. And many eventually sell them. Or their ex-wives do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 (edited) 35 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said: No - I mean higher AND lower prices. Yes - Good on Gibson: I'd rather have a good guitar than a good record. (Just read NY State still hasn't put their 1950 Census on the computer yet. ) Yes - I can't accurately say where a guitar was stored before it was sold, but we all know some folks store them in their trunks. And many eventually sell them. Or their ex-wives do. If your ex-wife has your guitar, well its not yours anymore, and she can do what she wants with it. I buy my guitars based on record keeping, don't we all. Gibson has 4, count them 4 acoustics under 2k and they come with a golf bag, and of those 4 guitars all have 2 holes in them (if you like that sort of thing). Martin's entire Mexican line, and the USA made 15, 16 and 17 Series Guitars are under 2k. The Mexican stuff comes in a golf bag. The 15, 16 and 17 Series stuff comes with a hard case. Edited July 2, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 20 hours ago, zombywoof said: I went and looked and while I could not find anything built in 1995 with the moniker "Special" attached I did quickly find there were a couple of runs J200 Specials in 1993. Ain't the internet grand? One had a Koa body and another a flame maple top. So, it does appear it is a different ballgame than the "Deluxe" guitars which appeared in the 1970s where apparently the only thing Deluxe about them was that it was written on the TRC. There you go poking at my 74 DEEELUXE Southern Jumbo again! 💪 The "Deluxe" has to be the extra wood the ample bridge plate utilizes. That was an expense to Gibson. It's my Edsel and Studebaker true, but they each do fine on Mercum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 1 hour ago, fortyearspickn said: 3 hours ago, fortyearspickn said: In 1995, Bozeman did not actually have 'marketing gurus'. Their new facility, moved from Kalamazoo had been opened for 5 years, with 100 employees. You missed a move. The repair department and acoustic division which were the last two divisions still in operation in Kalamazoo finally were moved to Nashville in 1985. But if you saw catalogs, flyers, ads in guitar magazines and such prior to 1995 you were seeing the marketing department doing their thing. If nothing else, it is hard to forget all of the hoopla attached to the Centennial which really started to pick up steam in 1993 with the release of limited edition runs such as the Epiphone Texan, Frontier and Excellente being the first Epi acoustics to be made in the U.S. since 1969. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 If you like the guitar does it matter if it’s a : Special, Standard, Jr., Sr., Dlx., Vintage, TV, ect? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted July 2, 2022 Share Posted July 2, 2022 9 hours ago, fortyearspickn said: Enjoy your SJ200, I love my 2004. Because they are not mass-produced, they're all 'special' ! And ... WELCOME ABOARD ! That pretty much says it all! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RvrDxn Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 14 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: . . . but the trunk of a car is a good hiding spot. Yup. Got three dead whores in mine right now. Crawl space is getting full. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 20 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Other guitar makers keep great records, but make awful guitars. Good on Gibson for doing it the other way round. And yet you keep hanging around... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 On 7/1/2022 at 2:37 PM, Raul Rehlmann said: Unfortunate your first post to be answered by the two Martin fanboys who only troll this forum to snipe at any opportunity. I too, am weary of this. As a Gibson owner/player/enthusiast for well over 50 years I have no idea why this behavior is tolerated esp on a Gibson owned forum. The thought pattern preceding the activity is quite foreign to me as well. How does one wake every day with the goal of disrespecting owners of a certain brand of guitar and continue to waste countless hours of their life in the endeavor? It seems quite queer to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 (edited) Ian, Try an email or call to customer service. It may take a few tries so be patient. They should know once you give them the serial #. This forum isn't used by Gibson employees. We're just hacks that come round to post snarky comments! 😁 Edited July 3, 2022 by kidblast 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 22 hours ago, kidblast said: Ian, Try an email or call to customer service. It may take a few tries so be patient. They should know once you give them the serial #. This forum isn't used by Gibson employees. We're just hacks that come round to post snarky comments! 😁 I represent that! But you left out 'old', 'political', and my favorite 'fan boys' . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brucebubs Posted July 4, 2022 Share Posted July 4, 2022 (edited) Martin guitars used it too. I had a Martin Grand J12-40E Special - their first ever super jumbo guitar with 17" lower bout. They already used the 'Jumbo' nomenclature for the 14-fret 0000/M body that Chris Martin himself had built with fuller dreadnought body depth so they just added the word 'Grand' to the new body size. Oh, and there was no Martin Grand J12-40E ... they were all the same, no lower spec model. Edited July 4, 2022 by Brucebubs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 (edited) “S” originally meant Super.. I wasn’t aware the earliest were constructed using Spruce Top & Rosewood Back & Sides.. They are said to be among the most valuable etc…. More here… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_J-200 Edited July 5, 2022 by Larsongs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 (edited) Is there a brass plaque on the back of the headstock? Im pretty sure Montana Specials were made in 95. 12 different models. Im pretty sure. That year only ,did not have a catalog. Edited July 6, 2022 by slimt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 Here's a few links but I don't think it's there. I know they made 12 special guitar of the month in 1994 https://web.archive.org/web/20040814063817/http://www.gibson.com/acoustics/1995/1995.html https://web.archive.org/web/20011113223821/http://www.gibson.com:80/acoustics/1994/index.html https://www.dropbox.com/s/w9d2in2ursyq0ha/1994 Gibson Catalog (Japan).pdf?dl=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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