Advanced Jumbo "breaking in" period

[steve6string]

Hey all -

 

I've been lurking here for awhile, but don't believe I've ever posted.

 

I have a recent Advanced Jumbo, either a 2007 or a 2008. I bought it new last winter. I'm mostly fingerpicking on it (old blues and ragtime), with some Zeppelin/Rolling Stones thrown in. I'll also flatpick Bluegrass once in a blue moon. Here's the deal: I just don't love the sound, particularly when I fingerpick. The high strings sound thin -- tinny, almost. The bass is nice, but the treble strings...not so much. Everybody else in the world loves their AJ's. I sort of feel like I'm missing something.

 

My question for those of you who've bought new AJ's -- how long did they take to settle in or "open up?" If I keep playing, can I expect positive changes? If so, how long? Or am I kidding myself?

 

Thanks,

Steve

[diogo]

mine is everything but thin...what gauge of strings are you using? did you have it setup?

[steve6string]

It has lights on it now, but I've tried mediums. I had it set up, which helped with the action but didn't do much for the sound.

[DAS44]

try 11s I got em on my lp and they are even better than the 9s and tens I have tried.

[diogo]

i never use anything lower than 12s on anything, even the light ladder braced stuff, and they can take it, at least in my experience. i've had 13s on the AJ and it was ok but for some reason they were giving me trouble, even after playing 14s flatwounds on my archtops, so i returned to 12s and had it properly setup and it sounds fine. to me, it can be one of 4 things..either:

 

1_ the action is setup too low and you're not getting enough vibration from the the top

 

2_the guitar is still a bit "young"

 

3_ you may need heavier strings

 

4_ it's a dud (not likely, but not impossible either)

[G McBride]

Ship it to me and I'll send it back when it is broke in good. Might take up to five years or so due to global warming.

[larryp58]

My SongBird Deluxe sounded fantastic as soon as I purchased it new. I didn't think it could sound any better! BUT, after about a year it "opened up" even more. I think your guitar will "come around" the more you play it. My '08 SJ has a better tone now than when I purchased it last year. But I do play my guitars regularly. I gig every Friday night and practice on Mondays. (not counting just pickin' around the house) I say just keep on banging on it and it'll come around.

[ajsc]

Question.....Why did you buy it??

[DAS44]

play the heck outta it it then come back with results dont ask us how long play it until you know its "broken in"

[Taylor Player]

When I first got my AJ, it was used but had been unplayed so it was like new. At first I noticed that it took a few minutes of play for the AJ to "wake-up" which didn't bother me. Now, after 2 good years of play by me, I can't remember the last time I felt the guitar was not already awake from the minute I picked it up. I have had both 12's and 13's on it and really don't think there is a hugh difference except possibly with a bit of extra volume with the 13's that are on it now. I would possibly suggest trying out a Phospher Bronze string instead of an 80/20 type string if that is what you have on it. Phospher Bronze strings (my favorite are the Elxir Nano Phospher Bronze) will be less bright or tinny.

 

Best advice I can give other than that is play the dang thing loud and often.... it should break in.

[steve6string]

Thanks for all the comments. I guess I'll keep playing it and keep you posted.

 

To answer Paul's excellent question -- why did I buy it -- it looks nice, it plays nice, I got a great deal on it, and I thought it sounded good. I was replacing a Martin with a big fat neck, so I was looking at playability a lot more than sound. Also, I'm really bad at playing in a guitar store and making an informed decision. Had they let me play it at home for a month, I might not have bought it. Unfortunately I had to make a decision in a few hours. Also, I suppose I should rephrase -- it doesn't sound BAD, it just doesn't sound as good as I want it to. I'm hoping that someday it WILL sound as good as I want it to.

 

Again thanks for all the help.

 

Steve

[TommyK]

My workhorse Yamaha had lights when she was new (they all do). Had the same problem, the trebles didn't do much for me. I switched to mediums and she is a whole 'nother guit tar.

[ajsc]

My short scale AJ, has as tendency to go back to sleep when not played for a period of time. "But" will wake up in a matter of minutes,

when played.

I think it's a Rosewood thing?? I don't experience this with my J-45.

Didn't mean to be rude with my question, but I think this is the 1st complaint I've heard concerning an AJ.

Seems most people love them!! (Me included) I will choose an AJ, over a d-28, any day.

[ajsc]

Have you had the AJ, in for a set up??

Maybe this would help??

[Sedandelivery]

For what it's worth, it may just be your particular playing style. Something that's hard to explain, but for example, I just can't make any Fender sound good, but I love my LP. Also, concerning AJ's, I have never picked one up and liked the way it sounded. Not once have I ever wanted to take one home, but when I play a J45 (which I own) it sounds like the angels singing. I don't know why that is as the sounds should be fairly similar. The J45 to me is the perfect acoustic tone, but the AJ does nothing for me. I figure it has to be something about my playing style that doesn't suit that guitar. Keep playing it, and if you still don't like it, trade or sell it for a J45 or OJ or some other awesome Gibson.

[jchabalk]

do you have a different saddle around that you can try? i've had a similar problem to what you're describing and it turned out that saddle wasn't sitting flush and i was losing a lot of the high end. It just wasn't making good contact with the bridge under the B/e strings. It totally and completely changed after ensuring that the bottom of the saddle was perfectly flat.

 

That is something that *should* be checked during a setup but possibly could have been skipped too. If you can try another saddle you might be able to confirm that as a potential problem just by swapping them for a spell.

[rar]

The high strings sound thin -- tinny' date=' almost. The bass is nice, but the treble strings...not so much.

[/quote']

 

Have you tried some different brands of strings? I know it sounds screwy that the plain strings vary much tonally, but I have a friend with a Songwriter who has a very similar-sounding complaint -- his exact words were something like "the high strings, especially the B, sound tinny" -- after a shop that worked on the guitar replaced his regular brand of strings with D'Addarios. I heard a difference too, and it reminded me of an unfortunate experiment in which I tried D'Addarios on my AJ, so I suggested he change strings back to his usuals before getting too upset at the shop. After changing back to his regular strings, he was happy with the tone again. My recommendation would be to give John Pearce a shot at solving your problem, although it's Gibson Masterbuilts that make my friend happy.

 

-- Bob R

[Dave in SLC]

Just as an experiment, try a set of Martin's Light/Medium Phosphor Bronze (M545) set of strings. My AJ really 'likes' them, and sounds great!

 

If that doesn't bring a smile to your lips, try a few AJ's at different GC's, and try to get a feel for the 'average' or base tone of the model.

 

Enjoy the experiment! <smile>

 

Dave in SLC

[ksdaddy]

I know it sounds screwy that the plain strings vary much tonally

 

Nothing screwy about that. I once experimented with strings on a Guild X500 archtop and kept going back to the same set of Thomastik flatwounds. The plain B and E did sound different than the other brands. In this case, better.

 

As much of a D'Addario fan as I am, I will freely admit they were a lot harsher than the Thomastiks. I definitely plan to put a set on my Emperor. I've never tried their acoustic strings, no idea if they're any good.

[Hall]

. I've never tried their acoustic strings' date=' no idea if they're any good.[/quote']

 

 

Seems they lacked tension.

 

 

Groper

[Guth]

Keep playing it' date=' and if you still don't like it, trade or sell it[/quote']

 

Ditto that. I've heard some AJs that I liked a lot and others that didn't really do that much for me at all.

 

There are plenty of guitars out there, you owe it to yourself to find the one that's right for you.

 

All the best,

Guth

[AlanC]

String gauge is important. When I had 11's on my SJ200 I thought that it sounded a bit tinny. Since I put Martin SP12's on it the sound has been more to my liking.

[Fenno]

Is there any difference in the quality of the sound when you listen to a recording of the guitar or in front of someone else playing it?

 

I'm constantly surprised at how my J-45 sounds on recordings, because from the position of my ears when playing it, it sounds somewhat bass heavy.

[Rambler]

"'It may just be your particular playing style. For ex, concerning AJ's, I have never .. liked the way it sounded." Hm. I see you play blues & rags. So do I,and I do find that with my AJ, the treble lines, while not thin, are too bright for my ear (that's the ls/rw working). Also, I find the bass/low mids a bit too much. As for the Stones connection, you may (?) be getting too much top/bottom and not enough mid range chug. That's why mine is listed over on the trading post (AJ fanatics, here's your chance!).

 

"I got a great deal on it". Been there. A j45 or similar might fit the bill.

[pblossom]

Hang in there! I bought a brand new AJ in August. It was made in December 08. There were two at the store and the one I really liked got sold before I had a chance to get it. So I ended up buying the other one because the price went up almost $500 on AJs, but they told me they'd honor the old price if I bought it that day. The one I bought had not been out for display and hadn't hardly been played when I bought it and I was disappointed at first. The guitar, though loud, didn't really have much bass. As a matter of fact, if I played a G on the low E string it would just die out really really quickly. It sounded muffled. I actually thought the guitar was defective. I ended up replacing the stock plastic bridge pins with bone and there was an instant difference. The bass didn't really fill out then, but the guitar started to sustain a bit more. Since then I've played practically nothing but the AJ and it's gotten a LOT better. I've done a number of gigs with it where it really gets played hard and it's really starting to come around. Plus I play it every day for a while when I'm watching TV. The bottom end is getting a lot better. It's filling out, every note comes out clear but full and the mids and highs sound great. Every hard-playing gig just makes it better and better. I have an adi/bubinga custom shop J-45 that I really love, but I find myself always picking up the AJ. Also, I put a Baggs M1A soundhole pickup (the active one) in it and the guitar sounds tremendous through a PA, whereas with the J-45 with a Baggs element is a bit problematic because there's just too much low end and I have feedback problems.