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I've got a Woody!

Mojorule

By Mojorule
in Gibson Acoustic

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Mojorule

Mojorule

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So my Southerner Jumbo finally arrived today, and my first impressions are that it's a good'un. Sound is not quite as growly as the Thomann sample I've been hankering after, but then I've not so much as touched it with a pick as yet. Fingerstyle, it just oozes warmth and indeed balance. I have little of similar ilk to compare it with, but the main thing is that it matches at least one of the ideal sounds in my head. Bassier than EuroAussie's Aaron Lewis, but then I'm hearing it from above, in the playing position, not recorded and broadcast over the net. Perhaps I might hope for it to develop a little more treble as it opens up, but there is a good dose of high end there already, and plenty of middle. Sounds very different from my cheapo Washburnesque in any case! Strummed with the hand it also has plenty of woody, mellow warmth and balance. Tomorrow will have a go at flatpicking and see if I can get it to growl. It certainly has what I would characterize as 'thump' already.

 

As for playability and feel, between them Gibson and Thomann have done an exemplary job. The vintage V profile feels quite similar to the rounded 59 profile on my electric, and the short scale does make it much easier to play than my cheapie. Don't notice that the nut is especially wide, but then I once measured my other acoustic and found it to have a 1.75 inch nut anyway. Certainly the Woody doesn't skimp on string spacing or nut width and is very comfortable. Set-up is great all the way up the neck and I've not found anything resembling a dead spot as yet. Easy to move round the fretboard. The only thing which might make my electric faster is its slippery ebony board. The VOS finish doesn't feel significantly different from the standard Gibson gloss finish to me, but then my 'glossy' electric is 20 years old, and was over 15 when I got it. As others report, this instrument is light!

 

Looks-wise, the guitar is also essentially as hoped. I noticed one slight blemish on the upper side of the lower bout (roughly where the right arm goes over), but will try to polish it out. (It looks a bit more like clouding from fingers than a real mark, but I couldn't get rid of it with a quick wipe.) A slight coppery blue mark just below the nut on the sixth string which threatened to be a flaw in the rosewood actually wiped away easily. The look of the wood under the nitro on the back and sides is a little rougher than on my electric, but not detrimentally so. Other Gibson acoustics I've seen in shops also seemed a little less rough-hewn, but all in all the grain of the wood doesn't in any way detract from the finish or look of the guitar. Perhaps this is really the effect of buffing less. The top is beautiful, the sunburst rich and dark. I will need to stand and look at the instrument for longer to really get a sense of its individual qualities - it's a good burst though. The appointments seem well done - the binding seems good, the rosette also, the tuners are stable and effective, and also (surprisingly and pleasingly) in aged rather than plain white. The best-looking Woody I've seen has the Gibson logo screened at a jaunty angle like the original 1940s models did, and I was hoping that enough moaning had been done here about the straight-across logos on new banners to convince Gibson to angle their silks a bit differently as standard. In the case of my guitar this isn't so, but the logo still looks magnificent with its slight curve upwards towards the 'n'. And the banner itself is just perfect. The firestripe guard is more subdued than I'd thought, but looks fabulous. The rosewood on the fingerboard and bridge is satisfyingly rich and dark. The split parallelograms glisten more than I'd expected.

 

So on day 1, it sounds great and very close to my ideal, it feels fantastic, and it looks good. Only had about an hour's worth of play on it though. Photos as soon as I can point my webcam at it without waking various family members up.

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ol fred

ol fred

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Okay, as usual your writing skills describe your acquisition and emotions leaving little to the imagination but where are the pics???

I wouldn't mind gettin a woody myself[woot]

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EuroAussie

EuroAussie

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Hey Mojo, great to hear you've finally received your Woody !!

 

Sounds like your expectations were largely met, like others I would love to see and hear pics / sound samples. Am very curious how it sounds against the Aaron Lewis.

 

One really big tip I would give you is to try it with 13's. I found there is a huge leap forward in tone from great to brilliant. The top really starts vibrating with mids and that rumble starts to really roar. In my eyes the SJ was designed with mids in mind. Play it with 12's for some time, get a feel for the guitar and then try 13's, would be curious what you think.

 

Congratulations mate !

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Mojorule

Mojorule

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Many thanks all for your wishes and compliments.

 

My photographic skills are not up to the level of my writing ones (Mr Shaky Hands when not typing or playing guitar), and available equipment is not really up to the job (built-in webcam). So I'm posting the following in the spirit of no pics = it didn't happen. It did happen, so there must be a picture. It was done with natural light at the end of my lunch break today. Unfortunately the sun didn't shine today, so the natural light was left wanting. I could spin it by saying that the photo has that old-time Americana look, it's grainy and misty (how Robi Johns would sell it via Sweetwater?), but in truth, I had no time, I have no equipment, and I'm not very skilled at pointing a whole laptop at guitars. I'll try again, and following Goethe's deathbed advice, use 'more light', as soon as I have a moment.

 

post-27927-041973900 1304546192_thumb.jpg

 

You will not be surprised to hear that the sunburst is in fact less seeping sepia than this photo might suggest, and more melting toffee and coffee. The back and sides are a little less dark than I'd expected. Still dark, but not veering off into black. This is a good thing. The VOS finish feels pretty well like the aged gloss on my electric (lovely, comfortable, not slippery, but not sticky either), but its looks do take a little bit of getting used to. Not in any way bad, just really different from my electric. It's like somebody took a normal gloss finish and rubbed it over with a pan scrubber ever so gently. I've now noticed that the whole instrument has this look (not just the back and sides), and that it's not the way the wood has been sanded or anything. In fact, in Goethe-approved lighting conditions I can make out the grain of the mahogany back quite well and it is lovely. I have been able to see the grain of the spruce top clearly in any light since first opening the case, and it took until today to see the VOS pan scrubbing there, because the grain shows so much more clearly there. It's nice to see the grain beneath the VOSsing, and I am really loving the grain on the back today.

 

The mark on the upper side that I mentioned seems to be a minor blemish and goes into the binding a bit, but such things don't bug me too much any more, as they make me feel less guilty about playing the instrument than I would if it were absolutely perfect in cosmetic terms. My electric has a few such items too. Not damage or dings, only tiny imperfections, but just enough to keep OCD at bay and remind me that these are instruments to be played, not museum pieces to be kept locked away. The fingerboard also has a couple of tiny blemishes (one where that copper oxide patch was, though it is a small mark in the rosewood rather than the drastic discolouring or hole that I thought it might be before I gave it a wipe), one a bit further up. A bit like teeth marks only much, much smaller. Oh, and indeed this Gibson is glued enough, though this only shows in a rather small patch if you look very carefully at one of the upper braces. Again, I find this reassuring not a problem. Rather a little mess there than some traditional bubbling between the fretboard and soundhole.

 

Speaking of the braces they really are tall and thin - especially thin.

 

And the instrument just feels and sounds so right. This player's dream. Tried it with a pick yesterday (my favourite pick is a worn-out hard Gibson equilateral triangle, but it won't survive my acoustics really, so here I used my less favoured, but very trusty purple 2mm Dunlop 500), and from the playing position it had the growl and cut that I've been wanting. I even tried out the Thomann country jingle. The big roaring sound seems to be there, it just takes 2mm of Delrin to bring it out. I'm really impressed at how this guitar can go from warm and smooth fingerpicking tones to growling flatpicking ones. And in between it can be coaxed to do warm, but articulate flatpicked jazz lines and smooth vamping, just by hitting the strings a bit less hard with that purple tortoise. Fantastic.

 

Sorry no sound samples. I am even further from anything resembling recording equipment than I am from photographic tools. If I work anything out, I'll be sure to post it.

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EuroAussie

EuroAussie

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She looks like a beauty Mojo, love the sunburst on her !

 

You will have many years of love with this guitar, no doubt.

 

Recommend you place a bone saddle and pins incase its not there and try her with 13's to get the absolute full potential of the SJ.

 

Congrats once again !

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Mojorule

Mojorule

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Great guitars that for some reason fall under the radar.

I love mine to death.

 

 

Well since we're showing pics...

I love mine, it's awesome!

5519457638_aa6e73dff9_b.jpg

 

Beautiful guitars both, comrades!

 

I'm curious to know. Does/did your VOS finish also involve the pan-scrubber effect? I've realized that it's not rough-hewn wood, but really is at the level of the nitro somewhere. Sort of very light abrasions which go in any direction other than that of the grain of the wood. Completely imperceptible to the touch, but very much visible when you look at the instrument closely. Despite being very visible, they are much finer than scratches. Don't show up on photos. A bit disconcerting to me, but not enough to distract from the glorious colouring and overall look. I've read all sorts of different accounts of VOS guitars, and none really focused on this particular effect. The fact that it is all over the instrument (less obvious on the neck), front, sides and back, would seem to suggest that it is intentional and not the result of some freak accident that befell my individual guitar.

 

EuroAussie, the same question to you, as your Aaron is also VOS.

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EuroAussie

EuroAussie

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Im not exactly sure what you mean but i can tell you the finish is very light, but solid. The other thing is that the smallest scratch comes up really clearly on this guitar. Ive alreay got a couple small dings and a few scratches on it, actually it totally fits the mojo for this guitar, starting to look like a 51' vintage ..... cant wait for more dings at the next gig ;-)

 

Beautiful guitars both, comrades!

 

I'm curious to know. Does/did your VOS finish also involve the pan-scrubber effect? I've realized that it's not rough-hewn wood, but really is at the level of the nitro somewhere. Sort of very light abrasions which go in any direction other than that of the grain of the wood. Completely imperceptible to the touch, but very much visible when you look at the instrument closely. Despite being very visible, they are much finer than scratches. Don't show up on photos. A bit disconcerting to me, but not enough to distract from the glorious colouring and overall look. I've read all sorts of different accounts of VOS guitars, and none really focused on this particular effect. The fact that it is all over the instrument (less obvious on the neck), front, sides and back, would seem to suggest that it is intentional and not the result of some freak accident that befell my individual guitar.

 

EuroAussie, the same question to you, as your Aaron is also VOS.

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erivel

erivel

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Yes mine does have the "pan scrubber" effect on mine. My 2008 J-45 TV with Adirondack top had the same thing on the finish and was even more noticeable because the sunburst was darker. Looks concerning at first but I got over it. It is kind of unusual though. I guess they are going for that vintage worn in look.

 

Beautiful guitars both, comrades!

 

I'm curious to know. Does/did your VOS finish also involve the pan-scrubber effect? I've realized that it's not rough-hewn wood, but really is at the level of the nitro somewhere. Sort of very light abrasions which go in any direction other than that of the grain of the wood. Completely imperceptible to the touch, but very much visible when you look at the instrument closely. Despite being very visible, they are much finer than scratches. Don't show up on photos. A bit disconcerting to me, but not enough to distract from the glorious colouring and overall look. I've read all sorts of different accounts of VOS guitars, and none really focused on this particular effect. The fact that it is all over the instrument (less obvious on the neck), front, sides and back, would seem to suggest that it is intentional and not the result of some freak accident that befell my individual guitar.

 

EuroAussie, the same question to you, as your Aaron is also VOS.

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Mojorule

Mojorule

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Im not exactly sure what you mean but i can tell you the finish is very light, but solid. The other thing is that the smallest scratch comes up really clearly on this guitar. Ive alreay got a couple small dings and a few scratches on it, actually it totally fits the mojo for this guitar, starting to look like a 51' vintage ..... cant wait for more dings at the next gig ;-)

 

How to explain it otherwise? It's doesn't seem to be scratching in the top layer of nitro, because the surface is as smooth as the proverbial baby's bottom. Perhaps full-gloss guitars are even smoother, but the Woody is at least as smooth as my 20-year-old Howard Roberts. There is nothing scratch-like to the touch. It's not in the grain of the wood either, because underneath this effect I can make out the grain and it is really nice, top, back, sides and neck. The stain/colouring is solid too. But between those two surfaces there is a layer of ever-so light abrasion.

 

Yes mine does have the "pan scrubber" effect on mine. My 2008 J-45 TV with Adirondack top had the same thing on the finish and was even more noticeable because the sunburst was darker. Looks concerning at first but I got over it. It is kind of unusual though. I guess they are going for that vintage worn in look.

 

Thanks for this information, Slopes. It is actually reassuring just to know that somebody else has the effect on two VOSsed guitars. It effectively means that this is part of the process. As such I'm already over it. It really doesn't affect the beauty of the finish overall does it? I just didn't want to feel that I'd been sold a slight second, even though I can accept the effect so readily. It is noticeable, so I didn't want to feel that I'd gained a guitar which would not maintain its value relative to others. Not that I ever plan to sell this instrument, because it just has the perfect sound and feel. But knowing it's as intended just gives me more confidence to play it and enjoy it, rather than thinking that a better Woody might be around the corner with the same sound and feel and smoother looks.

 

I've been doing some homework on VOS and between you chaps, you've effectively confirmed something that seems to come up when this finish option is discussed, namely that Gibson's approach to VOSsing is as idiosyncratic and individualized as their approach to so much of their work. Some folks report a 'swirl' effect (presumably the pan-scrubber effect that Slopes and I have), while others stress that their guitar has none of the swirl effect 'reported by others' (so as solid as EA's Aaron). I couldn't find any posts on this forum from the first group of people, only from the second. But elsewhere, I have found some discussion and pictures of swirling. On the My Les Paul forum, there is one post from 2007 which has what looks like a VOSsed Hummingbird with cross-hatching. Several people piped in to the effect that their VOSsed Gibson had no such thing, and that it was not normal. Then several others chipped in to say that theirs had something similar and that it is part of the process. It seems that such treatment is a standard part of the VOSsing process, but that it is not universally applied. In other words, Gibson works with a standard menu of VOSsing techniques, but takes an a la carte approach to applying them. I like the fact that my pan-scrubs are all over the guitar. I find that reassuringly rigorous (fortunately not too vigorous). The cross-hatching effect on the MLP Hummingbird, meanwhile is apparently not distributed uniformly over that instrument. It looks more like vigour than rigour.

 

I now have a theory EA. Slopes' Woody and mine have pan-scrubbing while your Aaron doesn't, because our guitars are officially 6 years older than yours!

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Mojorule

Mojorule

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Oh. And did I say? This guitar feels and sounds the canine gonads. All of my favourite sounds are there: the Thomann sample's thump and growl when strummed and hammered-on using a pick; the mix of vintage-style dry cut and newer jazzy warmth that you can hear on Alton Elliot's/Robert Perkins's reissue SJ here - http://www.melodymanrecords.com/Guitars/2003-gibson.html (compare with their drier, treblier sounding original 1946 here - http://www.melodymanrecords.com/Guitars/1946-gibson-SouthernJumbo.html); the sweet, warm almost classical-guitar style sound that Robi Johns gets out of a J45 Standard in the Sweetwater Sound publicity clip on Youtube. It certainly won't do Hummingbird-style Keef Richards strumming because of that compression and growl, but it does strum really nicely, and does everything that I really want from an acoustic. Of course, if I were in a Stones covers band, it might not do everything that I need, but that's something different really. Hurrah for Gibson, and hurrah for Thomann. Well impressed (just had a really good playing session and felt I was beginning to get to grips with the instrument, not just recognizing its wonderful feel in a slightly tentative way).

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EuroAussie

EuroAussie

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I think ill need to learn the thomann jingle tunes and post it up here, would be good to make a comparisement. Then i could record all my Gibbys and Furch and have my own Thomann sample set to compare :-)

 

Oh. And did I say? This guitar feels and sounds the canine gonads. All of my favourite sounds are there: the Thomann sample's thump and growl when strummed and hammered-on using a pick; the mix of vintage-style dry cut and newer jazzy warmth that you can hear on Alton Elliot's/Robert Perkins's reissue SJ here - http://www.melodymanrecords.com/Guitars/2003-gibson.html (compare with their drier, treblier sounding original 1946 here - http://www.melodymanrecords.com/Guitars/1946-gibson-SouthernJumbo.html); the sweet, warm almost classical-guitar style sound that Robi Johns gets out of a J45 Standard in the Sweetwater Sound publicity clip on Youtube. It certainly won't do Hummingbird-style Keef Richards strumming because of that compression and growl, but it does strum really nicely, and does everything that I really want from an acoustic. Of course, if I were in a Stones covers band, it might not do everything that I need, but that's something different really. Hurrah for Gibson, and hurrah for Thomann. Well impressed (just had a really good playing session and felt I was beginning to get to grips with the instrument, not just recognizing its wonderful feel in a slightly tentative way).

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