50 s J50 Adirondack. Holy moly

[rbpicker]

My local mom and pop shop ordered 5 specials from the Gibson Custom Shop.  They’re configured like the 50s J50, with the batwing guard, natural finish, only with an Adirondack top.  
 

HOLY MOLY… I was blown away by the sound of these monsters.  I’m not typically a fan of Adirondack tops, as I typically find them harsh and a bit brittle sounding.  Not these…they’re loud when flatpicked and strummed, smooth, and oh so sweet when fingerpicked.  I’m trying to decide if I want to dump a couple of guitars to justify the purchase in my own mind.  
 

It won’t make me a better player, it won’t evoke new and different songs for me to learn, my wonderful wife won’t notice (and she wouldn’t care if she did)….so I’m torn.  At my age, why do I still lust after these extraordinary guitars?    My J45 is pretty extraordinary and the LG2 I just picked up from Sal I very cool….why, I ask, why?

ROGER

Edited May 30, 2023 by rbpicker

[J185cat]

The Git virus burns strong in you. Unfortunately there is no cure. I am still haunted by a guitar I played at a local shop over ten years ago but could not ‘justify” whatever that means.

[egoidealmusic]

You want one for the same reason as I want you to post a link if they're selling another...sounds fantastic.

[Sgt. Pepper]

I thought Gibson only dealt with big  cookie cutter stores  now and stopped using mom and pop places cause they couldn’t move enough gear?

Edited May 31, 2023 by Sgt. Pepper

[docr]

Wouldn't it be enough if the same songs just sounded great on the Adirondack J50? I can follow your thoughts very well, had the last Saturday also. Considering the balance of my bank account and the possibility of finding another guitar of the same type, I bought the 1939 J-55 after all. 
Your comment about Adirondack tops is interesting. I only have 2 Gibsons with this wood for the top - a J-185 and just the J-55, but that one has a thermally treated version. I assume the J-50 has an untreated top because of the coloring? 
Anyway, the J-185 sounds relatively unspectacular, kind of dull and doesn't really get going. I got the tip here in the forum that Adi tops need a longer break-in period - but if the guitar doesn't sound so great - compared to other guitars - you don't play it all the time. The J-55 is completely different, fortunately it sounds very balanced, the dynamics are also as you describe with the J-50. 
So - the J-50 is missing in your collection. 🙂
References to age I can also understand, but I want to play at least now  great guitars after many decades of making music on mediocre instruments.

[Murph]

The sound in your head.

You're still searching for the sound in your head.

Perhaps, you've found it...

[kidblast]

8 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I thought Gibson only dealt with big  cookie cutter stores  now and stopped using mom and pop places cause they couldn’t move enough gear?

AFIAK if the dealer agrees to the terms, they can sell them

the problem was most local stores - at least some time back - couldn't abide by the standards Gibson wanted dealers to sign up for to sell USA Gibson products.

 

maybe they've lower the bar a bit?

[Sgt. Pepper]

Just now, kidblast said:

AFIAK if the dealer agrees to the terms, they can sell them

the problem was most local stores - at least some time back - couldn't abide by the standards Gibson wanted dealers to sign up for to sell USA Gibson products.

 

maybe they've lower the bar a bit?

The owner of a mom and pop store I became friends with told me all the BS he had to deal with for the honor of selling Gibson Guitars. Then they took that away.

[rbpicker]

I have three small shops within 30 minutes of my house that sell Gibson acoustics. Between them, there is a lot of selection - from the studio and faded models all the way up to J200s for 6K.    Not sure what the arrangements are these days, but Gibson must have made it easier for dealers to handle the goods.

for me, way too much temptation : )

rb

[fortyearspickn]

The concept of  "Authorized Dealer"  isn't new, nor is it meant to be unfair. It's not like Walmart coming to your town and putting Mom&Pops out of business by lowering prices.

It's simply a way to make sure, given they can only produce a limited number of guitars, that the place that sell them for them - have a decent selection.   And, that they have some semblance of a 'Guitar Tech' person who can make sure they are in good shape - and when someone wants the truss rod tweaked - turns it in the right direction, using the proper tool, without voiding the warranty.     We have a  'music store' here -   (in addition to three that sell Gibsons)  -  they sell mostly band instruments and a few guitars - all low end stuff.  It would be ridiculous for them to try to sell Gibson Acoustics.   And, there are enough small stores like this = several would try.  And give Gibson a black eye over 'quality' and 'customer service'.   How many people come here because they can't decide if they should contact Bozeman, Nashville, or the store they bought their guitar from ?

[zombywoof]

 

Both states I have lived in over the past 20 or so years have had Mom & Pop stores which apparently did enough business to be authorized Gibson dealers within a 20 minute drive.  While it was fun playing what they offered I never did buy anything although my wife still talks about a Collings 12 string she ran across but which we just did not have the cash to buy at the time.  

Returning to the other topic regarding top wood, I have never drank too deeply from the Tone Wood Kool Aid and agree with luthier John Greven when he repeated an opinion somebody he admired made which was "spruce is spruce, get over it."  In the end what comes into play is the knowledge and skill of the builder.  

We do own three Gibsons with red spruce tops and two with Sitka.  We had no choice in the matter as at the time they were built it was all you could get.  But what they would have sounded like with a different top wood is something I will never know.  

Edited May 31, 2023 by zombywoof

[kidblast]

3 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

The owner of a mom and pop store I became friends with told me all the BS he had to deal with for the honor of selling Gibson Guitars. Then they took that away.

I was in a band with the co-owner of a store that used to sell Gibson's back in the late 90s.

One fine day the Gibson rep shows up with a whole bunch of new rules.  Essentially, they upped the bar to retain the dealer status and the store could not even come close to abiding by the new limits.

This is when Guitar Center and places like MARS Music were just getting a foot hold, it was clear who Gibson was in cahoots with,, now, they may be rethinking.

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by kidblast

[rbpicker]

By the way, the store I referred to is Huber and Breese in Fraser, Michigan.  Check them out.  Good folks. Www.Huberbreese .com

roger

Edited May 31, 2023 by rbpicker

[JWG4927]

7 hours ago, zombywoof said:

Returning to the other topic regarding top wood, I have never drank too deeply from the Tone Wood Kool Aid and agree with luthier John Greven when he repeated an opinion somebody he admired made which was "spruce is spruce, get over it."  In the end what comes into play is the knowledge and skill of the builder. 

And I have never drank too deeply from the It's an old dusty musty obscure vintage guitar model the purchase of which does little to help Gibson or the economy, but it's old and probably sounds better Kool Aid. Another thing that comes into play in the end is being able to play.

Edited May 31, 2023 by JWG4927

[Sgt. Pepper]

2 hours ago, rbpicker said:

By the way, the store I referred to is Huber and Breese in Fraser, Michigan.  Check them out.  Good folks. Www.Huberbreese .com

roger

Anywhere near Bellaire? I’m going there Monday to visit my aunt and cousin.

[rbpicker]

34 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Anywhere near Bellaire? I’m going there Monday to visit my aunt and cousin.

Bellaire is about 3-1/2 hours north of here, Sarge.   Stayed at the Bellaire Inn a couple times. Small town, good craft beer place (at that time at least).

rb

[MorrisrownSal]

No NGD yet? Shame on ye….,

[Sgt. Pepper]

1 hour ago, rbpicker said:

Bellaire is about 3-1/2 hours north of here, Sarge.   Stayed at the Bellaire Inn a couple times. Small town, good craft beer place (at that time at least).

rb

I’m stoked to go. Been there once last summer. Legal weed and I haven’t seen my cousin since ‘99. He didn’t live there last time I visited my aunt.

[Joe M]

Roger, I played one of those during Paul’s anniversary celebration a few weeks ago and I agree completely. Just a great playing and sounding guitar.  Don Ruffatto, from Gibson, was there at the time and said he thought it was one of the best that he had heard. And, considering that they’re custom shop guitars, they’re very favorably priced. Came really close to taking one home but didn’t. But now that you’ve reminded me about them, I just might have to revisit one…..🤔😉  

,

[rbpicker]

57 minutes ago, Joe M said:

Roger, I played one of those during Paul’s anniversary celebration a few weeks ago and I agree completely. Just a great playing and sounding guitar.  Don Ruffatto, from Gibson, was there at the time and said he thought it was one of the best that he had heard. And, considering that they’re custom shop guitars, they’re very favorably priced. Came really close to taking one home but didn’t. But now that you’ve reminded me about them, I just might have to revisit one…..🤔😉  

Joe, do you attend the occasional Friday night open mics there?  I haven’t been, but want to do one of those.  I guess they provide the guitars ?

[rbpicker]

3 hours ago, Salfromchatham said:

No NGD yet? Shame on ye….,

Still recovering from the last purchase, Sal.  : )

 

[Joe M]

Roger, I've gone to a couple of the open mic nights, but never participated.....way too much good talent there 😜. And, obviously, there would be plenty of guitars to use if you didn't want to bring yours, but, honestly, I don't know why you wouldn't want to use your own??? They do have PA's and amps to use, so you wouldn't need to bring either of those.....

[zombywoof]

16 hours ago, JWG4927 said:

And I have never drank too deeply from the It's an old dusty musty obscure vintage guitar model the purchase of which does little to help Gibson or the economy, but it's old and probably sounds better Kool Aid. Another thing that comes into play in the end is being able to play.

Bozeman has somehow managed to get by just fine without me pitching in.  But I can name a few small local music shops which I probably helped keep afloat.

You miss the point though.  While to me choice of top wood is only incidental to a guitar's build, those old dusty guitars are often structurally very different from their modern counterparts in far more than the lumber they are built with.  So, while I can play me some Blind Lemon Jefferson on any guitar, at times I just feel the need to go at it on a guitar which has a more lo-fi sound like what you hear on a 78 rpm record.  And that is when I am going to grab my 1920 Gibson L3.  As an added bonus, the 1 7/8" nut, soft V carve Louisville Slugger neck, and 2 5/16" string spacing at the bridge make it about as comfy feeling as it gets.

Edited June 1, 2023 by zombywoof

[Joe M]

Doggone it Roger, now you’ve gone and done it…..looks like I’m gonna have to stop and double-check those out. 🤪 

[rbpicker]

2 minutes ago, Joe M said:

Doggone it Roger, now you’ve gone and done it…..looks like I’m gonna have to stop and double-check those out. 🤪 

Check them out, Joe. They’re pretty incredible.  Tell Robbie that “Dimples” is enjoying her new home.   (Dimples is the name Robbie had assigned to my guitar in the store because it has matching grain marks on each side of the lower bout).  I’m keeping the name although I don’t typically name my guitars.  Let me know which one you buy.  ; )

Roger