I know I am preaching to the choir here, but....

[Taylor Player]

 

Interesting thing... I recently heard someone call the tone of my friend's Brazilian/Adirondack D-28 Golden Era "chimey"... I guess like a bell? That description made sense to me and seemed to describe it well. It's an absolutely incredible guitar. Then' date=' I was listening to a fellow band member play my Advanced Jumbo (EIR/Sitka) the other evening and it sounded "crunchy" to me... not "chimey" at all. It was the only instrument playing while we sang "Angel Band". It blew me away. Very vintage sounding, antique even... like it was born to play old, traditional music. Now, all of that may seem pretty silly, but it describes the two tones to me. One not any better than the other, just different.

 

My EIR/Adirondack Western Classic sounds pretty "chimey" though... interesting because I think the Super Jumbo was originally produced as a Gibson response to the prewar D-28.

 

[/quote']

 

I find my Taylor 612C (Sitka/Maple) to be a very "chimey" guitar and my Gibson AJ to be the darker sounding guitar. I definatly agree that it is a true "Vintage" sound. I think that is why many performers in the 1960's may have used Martins on stage but played Gibson's for there recordings. It was a truer 60's sound. FWIW the Advanced Jumbo that Gibson made in the 1930's was their response to the Martin D-28 with the herringbone purfling. It was dubbed "The bone killer" for that reason. Another great nick name for the AJ is "Acoustic Cannon" I think that one is the best!

[zombywoof]

One of the reasons I think I married the woman that I did is that she played a Gibson J-100.

[Guest]

One of the reasons I think I married the woman that I did is that she played a Gibson J-100.

 

Wow!

 

That reads like a Gibson ad, half-written! ;-)

 

Fred

[onewilyfool]

"One of the reasons I think I married the woman that I did is that she played a Gibson J-100."

 

Lol Zomby......nice metaphor , but you know a guitar is just some pieces of wood and steel, until it is in the hands of a master. So Zomby, how good is your PLAYING.....lol

[Cryoman]

I have 3 Gibson acoustics which are just fabulous, all 3 Custom Shop: J185-RW, J200-KOA, AJ-KOA and these three get played a LOT. But my rumbly Martin HD-28V is the cat's meow and just keeps me slightly enough away from the other 3 so that I'm not a fully, 'only Gibson' convert.

 

Cheers, Cryoman

 

 

PS. I've wanted and tried to buy a Taylor on multiple occasions (and will continue to try) but just can't cozy up to them for some reason....

[ballcorner]

I buy guitars with my ears. I have gone to the shop to buy a Gibson and come home with a Martin before and vice versa. I think to hold yourself to one brand of guitar without exception is to close a door on a world of sound potential.

 

My newest guitar, and that which brings me here, is a Gibson Advanced Jumbo. It is my favourite all-around every day player and I totally enjoy it and love it. Still, I wouldn't want it to be the only guitar I own.

 

I use a small recording unit (Boss BR-600) with an Audio-Technica 3035 condenser mic. Recording guitars really helps you understand their individual characteristics. The clearest treble leads I can produce, believe it or not, come out of a $230 parlour guitar made by Art and Lutherie (a Cedar AMI) that I purchased for my locker at work.

 

I am glad to hear you love your Gibson acoustics, but would always encourage you to play and hear whatever else you can get your hands on or your head next to.

[harmonicchaos]

imo gibsons are the best and always will be[-o< Taylors aren't as good looking and they just lack that "sound and soul" that gibsons have (i don't think i like any guitar companies that are youger than 50 years old;). Gibsons are #one and fenders and martins tied at 2nd ) and martins sound pretty good but aesthetically they can't quite compete with gibsons. right now i'm really GASing for a black songwriter special=p~ However i won't limit myself to these brands if i find a guitar that feels right i won't discriminate if it is a different brand but that would be a VERY rare thing )

[harmonicchaos]

imo gibsons are the best and always will be[-o< Taylors aren't as good looking and they just lack that "sound and soul" that gibsons have (i don't think i like any guitar companies that are youger than 50 years old;). Gibsons are #one and fenders and martins tied at 2nd ) and martins sound pretty good but aesthetically they can't quite compete with gibsons. right now i'm really GASing for a black songwriter special=p~

[woodruff]

Well, I have read all the replies and done some good chewing on the cud. and after 2 weeks, I still only GAS for Gibson Acoustic guitars. I know it's narrow minded, but I remain unashamed about my conversion. for me, indeed, GAS=Gibson Acquisition Syndrome.

 

even though my wife has a Bozeman 2007 J-45, I want one too.....my very own workhorse.

[guitarstrummer]

For me, it would have to be Gibson's "Buy ten, get one free policy". JUST KIDDING.

 

I own guitars from several manufacturers. Anyone who knows me knows that I have no guitar-playing talent. I tend to buy a guitar for a particular reason. It could be the sound, looks, or anything else that seems to motivate me on any particular day. I own guitars by Martin, Blueridge, Takamine, Ovation, Fender, Yamaha, Peavey, and Aria, in addition to all of my Gibsons. Yes, all of them were purchased for a particular need or want at the time. It just so happens that I own many more Gibsons than all of the other brands combined. Coincidence? I don't know for sure, but I don't think so. It just seems like Gibson has been able to scratch most of my recent guitar purchase itches lately. That's not to say I wouldn't purchase another brand, but I'd always check the Gibson line first to see if they have what I'm looking for. Also, after visiting the Bozeman facility, I have a new appreciation for the fine work that they do. If I can support them by purchasing their products, I will.

[onewilyfool]

"Why can't we all just get along??"...Rodney King 12:5

 

 

Balcorner......I agree.....I tend to buy first with my ears.....then my eyes. I don't want any wall hangers.....gotta have that sound.......keep pluckin' guys (and gals)

 

By the way, balcorner......I agree with you.....when you record a song or have a friend play your guitar back at you, you really hear differences in sound. One other thing I found.....I have a few acoustics that have pickups on board.....When I play on an amp, I hear ALL my mistakes....lol.....so playing amped makes me a better player....The sound on amped acoustics really shows differences in different guitars (and pickups)

[tioga_man]

I have to say that I have never cared for the sound of Gibson acoustics.

 

Please don't mistake me for a "hater" - I am far from it. I have used Gibson electric guitars for many' date=' many, years and I think Gibson makes fine instruments.

 

But. Gibson acoustics just sound dead to me. Compared to a lively Martin or Taylor, Gibsons don't seem to have any life. I guess the flip side of that is that if you don't like acoustics with a lot of brightness, then Martins and Taylors won't sound good to you. [/quote'] I know exactly what you're saying. But not all music demands or even wants all the frills - what you call "lively". Some music is better with it of course. But I've always viewed the Gibson sound as a no-nonsense, "just-the-music" kind of guitar as opposed to the open airy sounds that other guitars give. In other words, with Gibson, the guitar doesn't get in the way of the music.

[noisepolluter]

Anyone here besides me and my wife total Gibson Acoustic converts? I have owned several different brands of acoustic' date=' but finally at age 40, came on to Gibson, and this is where the train stops. Final Destination Gibson. My wife equally only loves Gibsons, and specifically her J-45. She is the only guitar player I know who dont suffer from GAS. I suffer, but I only GAs for another gibson acoustic. Right now I got my h-bird, and she is suiting me prefect for now.

 

I know some folks will consider me a bit narrow minded. Of course, i consider my gibson epiphany at 40 years of age a stroke of genius.....and i cant be the only genius in the drawer..... [/quote']

 

Hi Woodruff,

 

I'd say I'm a (slightly cautious) Gibson aficionado thanks to my girlfriend Esther, who owns a fantastic SG standard, songwriter and (as of this week) quite literally the nicest 335 that I have ever seen!

 

Having played the first two guitars, this encouraged me to buy a 335 earlier this year and a J45 just this week. Esther seems to manage to buy the elusive, hallowed Faultless Gibson without apparent effort, whereas I seem to get ones that reveal minor bugbears that need resolving before they come good.

 

That said, Esther is also someone from the school of Just Play The Damn Thing, whereas I tend to fuss and flap about some real or perceived minor defect.

 

I will say that although I've been impressed by many a yamaha/takamine/ibanez/whatever, they don't grab me in the same way that gibsons and fenders do.

[Dotneck]

Although I only own one Gibson (L20)' date=' it is a fantastic guitar. For a small bodied guitar, it has great sustain, volume, eveneness across the strings, and with the 1 13/16" neck, (and my big hands) it plays well strummed, picked or fingerpicked.

[img']http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u203/onewilyfool/010206010404010303200706015fbde8994.jpg[/img]

 

 

I had one of those and like a fool I sold it. Wish I could find another one...paid $1000 for it...it was a steal!

[Jinder]

Final Destination Gibson-what a killer song/album title!

 

I agree. I played Takamines for a while back in the day, along with a few Yamahas, but that was when I was ostensibly an electric player (I slung a Les Paul Standard in beautiful Cherry 'burst for years), but as soon as I went solo and got properly serious about my acoustic playing, I never really considered anything but a Gibson. and went straight for an SJ200, the guitar I always fantasised about owning as a kid, having seen Dylan, Harrison (both with the same J200, oddly, as GH gave his to BD when he expressed his admiration for it prior to the Nashville Skyline sessions), Cash, Emmylou, Elvis and so many more playing them.

 

To me, the SJ 200 represented (and still represents) the biggest and best in the acoustic guitar world. From the tone, the feel, the bling, the immensely comfortable and appropriate size for me (I'm 6'6" tall and 17 stone in weight), it just ticks every imaginable box. Luckily, it suits my love for Maple guitars down to the ground, but if it didn't, I'd have sought out the Rosewood SJ300 for the size, feel and appearance. I will own one of those one day anyway, but only as a companion to my Maple SJ200.

 

So, it was the SJ200 which lured me into the world of Gibson, but what delights I've discovered since then-the warm, supple punch of the Hummingbird, the glorious crunch and thump of the J45, the clang, boom and steam of the Dove, the gently outspoken but honeyed tones of the Emmylou, the crystalline voice of the CJ165, and necks all round to die for. Such playability across the board!

 

This is why I'm a die-hard Gibsonite. Gibson guitars just SPEAK to me in a way no other guitar does.

 

My local guitar shop have been trying to convince me to buy a Martin for years, so last week I sat down in their acoustic room and played through a good 20 top end Martins, including a 000-28, 000-35, HD28V, D15, J15, 000-15, OM and loads more including some exceptionally luscious Huss & Dalton models which played like butter, were built to perfection and sounded lovely if a little tight (all were new out of the box). Despite some of these guitars being truly awe-inspiringly good (I loved the HD28, a model my bandmate Gav bought just this afternoon! I can't wait to have a bash on it), the one guitar in the showroom which wrapped its arms around my soul by far and away the most, was the '01 Emmylou that I've admired for a good while. Despite being only 7 years old, it had a little finish checking around the headstock and the sides, which looked awesome IMHO, and just sounded...well, like an exceptional, fluid small-bodied Gibson. I seriously have the hots for it but can't quite afford it at the moment. I'm hoping beyond hope that it kicks around in the store for a few more weeks so I can get the money together. It's a bit of an oddball model, but what a beauty-I love that it looks like a J200 that has been boil-washed, and it plays just superbly and sounds the equal of any guitar I've ever picked up.

 

Anyway, collossal ramble over!

[woodruff]

Final Destination Gibson-what a killer song/album title!

 

 

To me' date=' the SJ 200 represented (and still represents) the biggest and best in the acoustic guitar world. From the tone, the feel, the bling, the immensely comfortable and appropriate size for me (I'm 6'6" tall and 17 stone in weight), it just ticks every imaginable box. Luckily, it suits my love for Maple guitars down to the ground, but if it didn't, I'd have sought out the Rosewood SJ300 for the size, feel and appearance. I will own one of those one day anyway, but only as a companion to my Maple SJ200.

 

So, it was the SJ200 which lured me into the world of Gibson, but what delights I've discovered since then-the warm, supple punch of the Hummingbird, the glorious crunch and thump of the J45, the clang, boom and steam of the Dove, the gently outspoken but honeyed tones of the Emmylou, the crystalline voice of the CJ165, and necks all round to die for. Such playability across the board!

 

This is why I'm a die-hard Gibsonite. Gibson guitars just SPEAK to me in a way no other guitar does.

 

My local guitar shop have been trying to convince me to buy a Martin for years, so last week I sat down in their acoustic room and played through a good 20 top end Martins, including a 000-28, 000-35, HD28V, D15, J15, 000-15, OM and loads more including some exceptionally luscious Huss & Dalton models which played like butter, were built to perfection and sounded lovely if a little tight (all were new out of the box). Despite some of these guitars being truly awe-inspiringly good (I loved the HD28, a model my bandmate Gav bought just this afternoon! I can't wait to have a bash on it), the one guitar in the showroom which wrapped its arms around my soul by far and away the most, was the '01 Emmylou that I've admired for a good while. Despite being only 7 years old, it had a little finish checking around the headstock and the sides, which looked awesome IMHO, and just sounded...well, like an exceptional, fluid small-bodied Gibson. I seriously have the hots for it but can't quite afford it at the moment. I'm hoping beyond hope that it kicks around in the store for a few more weeks so I can get the money together. It's a bit of an oddball model, but what a beauty-I love that it looks like a J200 that has been boil-washed, and it plays just superbly and sounds the equal of any guitar I've ever picked up.

 

Anyway, collossal ramble over! [/quote']

 

awesome story. and i agree, the HD-28 is a great Martin, probably my favorite. still, the AJ blows it away imho. my wife has a J-45 and i got a h-bird. i love the h-bird. but we would love to one day own a J-200 and me, well, one day i got to have an AJ....