Gibson SJN

[Larsongs]

11 hours ago, DanvillRob said:

Just to be clear....I only have humidifiers in my acoustic cases.... and there are only 6 of them.

That’s manageable.. What do you do for your Electric Guitar’s? Saw this on YouTube & thought I’d pass it along to anyone who might be interested about Humidifying Guitars…

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Larsongs

[Larsongs]

11 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I use the Boveda packs. No mess and there is no question when they need to be changed. When they feel hard and lumpy, you put in a new one. Mine have been lasting months. I hated those dumb sponge ones. 

I might have to light a candle in your D-35's honor. I have owned two. I remember reading one guy saying in a forum, you either own a D-35 or you don't.

I think I mentioned I recently bought a new HD-28E with L.R. Baggs.. It’s a really great Guitar.. I bought it as a back up for my D-35 as it’s almost 50 years old & I wanted another Martin to play out with in addition to my Gibsons.. My D-35 is a fantastic sounding Guitar, is in great condition after Martin did Warranty work, Re-Fret & perfect repair to the Body. It gets of Studio & playing time.. I’m just paranoid taking it out anymore having had Guitar thefts in the past..

I know some of the Tone & Sound of mine comes from aging close to 50 years but it is one of the best sounding Acoustics I’ve ever played.. I played a Collings a couple years ago that came close.. But, even some D-45’s I’ve played didn’t sound as good.. Although, they were new…

That said, I love my Gibson's too!

[Sevendaymelee]

1 hour ago, Larsongs said:

I think I mentioned I recently bought a new HD-28E with L.R. Baggs.. It’s a really great Guitar.. I bought it as a back up for my D-35 as it’s almost 50 years old & I wanted another Martin to play out with in addition to my Gibsons.. My D-35 is a fantastic sounding Guitar, is in great condition after Martin did Warranty work, Re-Fret & perfect repair to the Body. It gets of Studio & playing time.. I’m just paranoid taking it out anymore having had Guitar thefts in the past..

I know some of the Tone & Sound of mine comes from aging close to 50 years but it is one of the best sounding Acoustics I’ve ever played.. I played a Collings a couple years ago that came close.. But, even some D-45’s I’ve played didn’t sound as good.. Although, they were new…

That said, I love my Gibson's too!

What year is your D-35? I have a '79 myself. 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Sevendaymelee

[Sevendaymelee]

6 hours ago, BennyBoy said:

Thanks for all the input. She bought it for $1600. It's not in as good of shape as we thought it was but still not bad. Need some love but plays well. 

I'm very happy to hear this! I have a daughter of my own who plays guitar, so a good outcome was what I was hoping for. Glad she got what she wanted! 

[DanvillRob]

14 hours ago, BennyBoy said:

Thanks for all the input. She bought it for $1600. It's not in as good of shape as we thought it was but still not bad. Need some love but plays well. 

It doesn't look abused....it just looks played!

CONGRATZ of your new axe!

[Sgt. Pepper]

11 hours ago, Larsongs said:

I think I mentioned I recently bought a new HD-28E with L.R. Baggs.. It’s a really great Guitar.. I bought it as a back up for my D-35 as it’s almost 50 years old & I wanted another Martin to play out with in addition to my Gibsons.. My D-35 is a fantastic sounding Guitar, is in great condition after Martin did Warranty work, Re-Fret & perfect repair to the Body. It gets of Studio & playing time.. I’m just paranoid taking it out anymore having had Guitar thefts in the past..

I know some of the Tone & Sound of mine comes from aging close to 50 years but it is one of the best sounding Acoustics I’ve ever played.. I played a Collings a couple years ago that came close.. But, even some D-45’s I’ve played didn’t sound as good.. Although, they were new…

That said, I love my Gibson's too!

I had a HD-28V for a while. After I traded my BB for the 000-28 I started to have a falling out with dreads (due to the size) and now all I have left in the Dread category is my D-15M. Both my D-35's were amazing. I think the first one was a tad better.

Edited September 3, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Larsongs]

9 hours ago, Sevendaymelee said:

What year is your D-35? I have a '79 myself. 

My Martin D-35 is a 1975.. I worked in a Music Store in Palm Springs, Ca. in my youth.. It was owned by the late Rockabilly Hall of Fame Artist Jody Reynolds.. “Endless Sleep” was his biggest Hit Record from the 50’s.. Elvis had the Honeymoon Pad in Palm Springs & Jody would supply all the Instruments for his Jam Sessions whenever he came to town.. Jody & Elvis had been friends since their early days when they were unknowns touring around the South.. Anyhow, Jody would take his D-35 to the Jam Sessions.. Elvis would play his D-35.. Since Jody owned the Store & the Inventory that D-35 Guitar was still considered new.. I got that new D-35 Guitar as a Birthday present from my girl friend, who I later married & is now my wife of many years…

Enjoy your ‘79! They are fantastic Guitars!

Sgt. Pepper, what year were your D-35’s?

Edited September 3, 2022 by Larsongs

[zombywoof]

I have used everything under the sun to humidify my guitars.  Still think the best way to go is a perforated plastic soap dish containing water beads.  Whether right or wrong though I look at particularly my old guitars and figure they have survived everything that has been thrown at them.   How much does climate impact 80 to 90 -year old wood?

But I tend to treat my guitars as the individuals they are rather than go with a one size fits all remedy,  So while I am always mindful of say my '32 L1 (which can develop a quite a belly without much provocation) I do not fret near as much about say my 1956 Epiphone FT-79.  There have been years when that guitar suffered though humidifiers which went dry and remained that way for weeks.  Darn thing is built like a tank though and despite my benign neglect when it comes to proper care and feeding, the most the guitar has needed in the decades I have owned it was one tweak of the truss rod.  Hey, maybe I am just biased as I consider the L1 a "vintage" guitar and the FT-79 a "used" guitar,

Edited September 3, 2022 by zombywoof

[Sgt. Pepper]

41 minutes ago, Larsongs said:

My Martin D-35 is a 1975.. I worked in a Music Store in Palm Springs, Ca. in my youth.. It was owned by the late Rockabilly Hall of Fame Artist Jody Reynolds.. “Endless Sleep” was his biggest Hit Record from the 50’s.. Elvis had the Honeymoon Pad in Palm Springs & Jody would supply all the Instruments for his Jam Sessions whenever he came to town.. Jody & Elvis had been friends since their early days when they were unknowns touring around the South.. Anyhow, Jody would take his D-35 to the Jam Sessions.. Elvis would play his D-35.. Since Jody owned the Store & the Inventory that D-35 Guitar was still considered new.. I got that new D-35 Guitar as a Birthday present from my girl friend, who I later married & is now my wife of many years…

Enjoy your ‘79! They are fantastic Guitars!

Sgt. Pepper, what year were your D-35’s?

One was a 50th Anniversary (not one of the ones with the small piece of Braz RW on the back) so 2015, and the other one was a 2018. I think the the 2018 someone returned to Music Zoo. It was mint when I got and then traded it as part of the money for my D-41. As I got it for just a hair over 2k. It was $2013 w/shipping.

Here is the 50th. I don't have a pic of the other one for some reason.

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Sevendaymelee]

54 minutes ago, Larsongs said:

My Martin D-35 is a 1975.. I worked in a Music Store in Palm Springs, Ca. in my youth.. It was owned by the late Rockabilly Hall of Fame Artist Jody Reynolds.. “Endless Sleep” was his biggest Hit Record from the 50’s.. Elvis had the Honeymoon Pad in Palm Springs & Jody would supply all the Instruments for his Jam Sessions whenever he came to town.. Jody & Elvis had been friends since their early days when they were unknowns touring around the South.. Anyhow, Jody would take his D-35 to the Jam Sessions.. Elvis would play his D-35.. Since Jody owned the Store & the Inventory that D-35 Guitar was still considered new.. I got that new D-35 Guitar as a Birthday present from my girl friend, who I later married & is now my wife of many years…

Enjoy your ‘79! They are fantastic Guitars!

Sgt. Pepper, what year were your D-35’s?

Wow! That's a great story! Thanks for sharing! 

Yeah, out of all the Martin's I've played, I  like the D-35 the most because it suits my voice the best. Sort of wraps the singer in a blanket of warmth and shimmer, almost as if the voice has its own pocket to sit in. Only instead of something like say, a J-45, there's a lot of muscle under the hood if you need to push it. Very dynamic! I just love them. 

[zombywoof]

17 hours ago, BennyBoy said:

Thanks for all the input. She bought it for $1600. It's not in as good of shape as we thought it was but still not bad. Need some love but plays well. 

It is nice to bring this thread back from the meandering path it has taken,   So, congrats to your daughter.  The thing about transitional year Gibsons such as 1970 is it is not like Gibson changed the specs at the stroke of midnight on Jan 1.  There is always going to be some overlap in specs.  So, you will say run into square shoulder J45s in late-1968 but still find slope shoulder versions from early-1969.  Me being me, the first thing I would have been looking at with this one (assuming it dates to 1970) is does it retain the single X bracing or have the Double X bracing,  But as long as the condition issues are aesthetic and not structural, I would say your daughter did well when it comes to price.

Edited September 3, 2022 by zombywoof

[Larsongs]

1 hour ago, Sevendaymelee said:

Wow! That's a great story! Thanks for sharing! 

Yeah, out of all the Martin's I've played, I  like the D-35 the most because it suits my voice the best. Sort of wraps the singer in a blanket of warmth and shimmer, almost as if the voice has its own pocket to sit in. Only instead of something like say, a J-45, there's a lot of muscle under the hood if you need to push it. Very dynamic! I just love them. 

I am the Lead Vocalist.. I totally agree! 

[Larsongs]

1 hour ago, zombywoof said:

It is nice to bring this thread back from the meandering path it has taken,   So, congrats to your daughter.  The thing about transitional year Gibsons such as 1970 is it is not like Gibson changed the specs at the stroke of midnight on Jan 1.  There is always going to be some overlap in specs.  So, you will say run into square shoulder J45s in late-1968 but still find slope shoulder versions from early-1969.  Me being me, the first thing I would have been looking at with this one (assuming it dates to 1970) is does it retain the single X bracing or have the Double X bracing,  But as long as the condition issues are aesthetic and not structural, I would say your daughter did well when it comes to price.

Sorry for drifting off topic..  I kept waiting for proof that it was real.. And asked a couple times. I don’t recall the OP answering? Did the OP ever ascertain proof of authenticity? I hope it is & not a Chibson Knockoff which are very common these days… 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Larsongs

[BennyBoy]

We did not authenticate. She took a chance. 

[BennyBoy]

Best I can tell with a mirror the bracing looks alot like this. 

[zombywoof]

You have to get a look below the bridge plate.  

[BennyBoy]

Has two straight pieces of wood behind the bridge. 

[E-minor7]

6 hours ago, BennyBoy said:

Best I can tell with a mirror the bracing looks alot like this. 

If you say so - and I guess only a few would go wrong by mistaken 1 X with 2,  the guitar is what it seems to be :

A heavier still single X-braced square from the second category as described and predicted in my first post on page 1.
 

Not a bad place to start - not the best either. Have fun 💫

[fortyearspickn]

19 hours ago, Larsongs said:

Sorry for drifting off topic..  I kept waiting for proof that it was real.. And asked a couple times. I don’t recall the OP answering? Did the OP ever ascertain proof of authenticity? I hope it is & not a Chibson Knockoff which are very common these days… 

I don't think anyone here questioned its 'authenticity'.  Just whether it was Paleolithic or Bronze Age.  Some folks, for some reason remove the paper labels visible in the sound holes, and more so - the paperwork is either tossed or lost.   China maybe knocking off Gibson acoustics in this century - but I don't think they were back in the 70s.   It's a great guitar at a great price.  Alls Well That Ends Well !  

[DanvillRob]

12 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said:

I don't think anyone here questioned its 'authenticity'.  Just whether it was Paleolithic or Bronze Age.  Some folks, for some reason remove the paper labels visible in the sound holes, and more so - the paperwork is either tossed or lost.   China maybe knocking off Gibson acoustics in this century - but I don't think they were back in the 70s.   It's a great guitar at a great price.  Alls Well That Ends Well !  

I'm with you, FYP!

[Larsongs]

24 minutes ago, DanvillRob said:

I'm with you, FYP!

 

44 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said:

I don't think anyone here questioned its 'authenticity'.  Just whether it was Paleolithic or Bronze Age.  Some folks, for some reason remove the paper labels visible in the sound holes, and more so - the paperwork is either tossed or lost.   China maybe knocking off Gibson acoustics in this century - but I don't think they were back in the 70s.   It's a great guitar at a great price.  Alls Well That Ends Well !  

Sure.. why not.. If they’re happy I’m happy for them.. 

[DanvillRob]

Just now, Larsongs said:

 

Sure.. why not.. If they’re happy I’m happy for them.. 

I'm confident it's an authentic Gibson....and they got it for a decent price..... if it plays well and sounds like they want it to....then all is good!

[zombywoof]

14 hours ago, E-minor7 said:

Not a bad place to start - not the best either. Have fun 💫

That is extremely well said!  

[Sevendaymelee]

40 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

That is extremely well said!  

I don't. This guy comes on a forum, looking for help to buy a guitar for his daughter, and he gets people on here telling him that the guitar he actually did end up buying may be lesser-than-good, may have bad braces, too many braces, may be from a bad era, may be fake etc... and then, to cap it off, it's "not the best place to start". 

 

It's like, come on people, stop pissing on his parade. He got the guitar he wanted, at the price he wanted, his daughter is probably ecstatic about, and all ended well. Be happy for them. I am. Not everyone is as anal-retentive as us when it comes to guitars, nor needs to be. 

Edited September 4, 2022 by Sevendaymelee

[slimt]

For 1600.  ? Not bad.  Enjoy it.   I would still recommend getting it checked out and set up.    
 

congrats.