History of Gibson Jumbos - 5 Watt World

[Larsongs]

Stumbled upon this 5 Watt World video.. I think it’s exceptionally informative & really interesting. I thought I’d share it for those of you who may not have seen it & a rewatch for those who have.. Enjoy..

 

[Lars68]

Very nice video.

Thanks,

Lars

[Murph]

Cool old pics, too.

[J185cat]

Enjoyed that a bunch. It was awesome seeing such a variety of vintage Gibsons being played so well. Thanks for posting.

[jt]

Sadly, the video repeats the disproven myth that the WWII-era guitars were built by the experienced "craftsmen" who were too old to serve in the war effort. 😞

Wrong date, too, for the J-50, which Gibson introduced in 1942, not 1950.

[J185cat]

2 hours ago, jt said:

Sadly, the video repeats the disproven myth that the WWII-era guitars were built by the experienced "craftsmen" who were too old to serve in the war effort. 😞

Wrong date, too, for the J-50, which Gibson introduced in 1942, not 1950.

I picked up on the “experienced craftsmen” comment also. The history of Gibson is complicated and apparently not that well documented but you just have to keep trying jt. You have already educated many of us.

[Larsongs]

I noticed a few possible discrepencies also.. Like the stories  of the first J200's being built for different Aritsts in 1934, 1936, 1937 & so on.. Some of this stufe we may never know for sure.. But, overall I thought it was excellently done.. 

[jt]

14 hours ago, J185cat said:

I picked up on the “experienced craftsmen” comment also. The history of Gibson is complicated and apparently not that well documented but you just have to keep trying jt. You have already educated many of us.

Thank you!

[Walter_Freeman]

This video enriched my knowledge. I became even more interested in the story. Thank you for this. I hope to find more videos in history.

[fortyearspickn]

Finally made the time to watch this.  A really great video.   (it's not only about jumbos as the title suggests)  Thanks Larsongs.   

(I was surprised at the end after all the superlatives he heaped upon Gibson Acoustics (except for the Norlin  Era!)   and the inspirational clips from Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, etc.  to hear him state at the end - he's never owned a Gibson Acoustic !    

[cunningham26]

On 3/31/2023 at 1:48 PM, jt said:

Sadly, the video repeats the disproven myth that the WWII-era guitars were built by the experienced "craftsmen" who were too old to serve in the war effort. 😞

Wrong date, too, for the J-50, which Gibson introduced in 1942, not 1950.

Is the myth that there were some gibson old timers too old for the war effort doing things the 1940's version of the old fashioned way? I feel like i've heard that before and attributed it more to the archtops that came out of that era with carved tops and 30's style logos.  clearly buries the lead on the effort of the women on the factory floor cranking out banners.

[tpbiii]

It does have more holes than Swiss cheese, but if you are not a sticker for details it is not too bad.  I never had any interest in Super Jumbos, but my late wife and I collected examples of most of the others 1935-1965.  Missing is the 1940 RW J-55.  If I want to show them all, I will have to use cromakey -- there is no plan to have them all in one place,

 

[fortyearspickn]

TPB, always amazed and in awe when I see slices and glimpses of your stringed instruments. Guitars and more!   I’m curious, do you use some type of program/app/ spreadsheet software to “manage your inventory”?  Not just what it is, but provenance, cost, value, tonal characteristics, strings!!?   It’s got to be daunting. 

[DanvillRob]

I've seen this video before.....but it was still very cool to watch it again!

I'm surprised ANYONE can keep the history and model designations clear on Gibson acoustics.

Great post.

[jt]

On 4/21/2023 at 1:55 PM, cunningham26 said:

Is the myth that there were some gibson old timers too old for the war effort doing things the 1940's version of the old fashioned way? I feel like i've heard that before and attributed it more to the archtops that came out of that era with carved tops and 30's style logos.  clearly buries the lead on the effort of the women on the factory floor cranking out banners.

Yes, that's the myth. Women did most of the work building the guitars. The video flashes a photo of them (the women I've dubbed the Kalamazoo Gals), but makes no mention of their role in producing those great wartime guitars.

[zombywoof]

I initially thought my 1942 J50 was a J45 which had lost its finish because the Pros from Dover prior to J.T.'s research and book claimed the model was not introduced until 1947.  Where these folks came up with 1950 though I do not have a clue.