cactus t. picker Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 Hi! Is there anyone out there who owns a SJ Deluxe acoustic? I bought one new in 1974 and still have it. It has a great tone and a beautiful multi-point pickguard similar to a new Sheryl Crowe model. It has a top crack from the end of the fretboard to the sound hole on the treble side. Does anyone have any suggestions about a fix? I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 So this crack is about half an inch long or perhaps less? A few years ago I had a guitar that developed a crack like that on both the treble and the bass side, I didn't play that guitar much, and after a few months when I opened the case, the whole neck had started to collapse into the soundhole - almost like imploding - was not pretty, and a rather costly repair. I'd get it checked out by a luthier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchristo Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 welcome to the forum, we would like to see some pics of your SJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryp58 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 welcome to the forum, we would like to see some pics of your SJ Ditto! Never heard of a "deluxe" SJ. A Norlan-era offering perhaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Ditto! Never heard of a "deluxe" SJ. A Norlan-era offering perhaps? Yep. Norlin never met a model that didn't benefit by the appending of the term "deLuxe". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubee Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Some of those Norlin era guitars sound just fine in spite of all you hear. I had an early '70s Hummingbird that truly did that and I played it for about 20 years. That's me with it on the right in my avatar. I also had a J-45 Deluxe from that time period and it sounded very nice indeed. I say this having owned a number of other Gibsons from the '30s through a modern AJRI. That sounds like a standard 'pickguard crack', very common, and I'd just have any decent repair shop look at and get it glued. And keep enjoying your guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Cactus- I have a 1972 SJ Deluxe. It is a great sounding guitar. The SJ stands for Southern Jumbo...the Deluxe was an added on thing from the Norlin era. It's in the ancenstry of the square shouldered SJs which were the same as the Country & Westerns (if natural without sunburst) or the SJNs, the N standing for Natural. The SJ Deluxe came in both natural and sunburst. Mine is a natural. So, yes it has the same pickguard as the Shery Crowe C &W. During the Norlin era, the SJ lost some of its earlier SJ and CW amenities...the parallel-o-gram fret markers became block fret markers (like on the Les Paul). Also, the binding on the neck disappeared. Plus, I think the white binding on the top turned into dark binding. The volute on the neck also appeared as it did on all Norlin era acoustic guitars from that era. As the 70s progressed, somewhere the double X bracing appeared. As the late 70s took hold quality control issues got out of hand...some I think was sabatoge by the Kalamazoo luthiers. I've seen some late 70s SJs that have such strange binding and others that don't. Someone wasn't minding the store. My '72 SJ-D has had its share of weird things occur to it over the years, but the thing keeps going on and keeps getting better sounding. Not strange (as it happens to many Gibsons, is the natural finish is a lot more orangish and darker than it was when it was new. That's a cool attribute. Mine too had the crack between the fretboard and the soundhold develop or appear. My local authorized Gibson repair man determined that it was not anything to worry about structurally. (I own tons of guitars that he services for me...so I trust his opinions very much.) However, he placed and glued a small piece of maple wood under the crack in one spot underneath to shore it up and prevent it from ever further getting bigger. He said the choice of wood and glue he used could only enhance the sound, not take away from the instrument. My guitar's neck also went through some changes. At one point, after owning it 20 years or so, the neck became...well, Gibson described it as twisted. The Gibson repairman and repair facility (a different one than the above described one) said that it had to do with wood sometimes reverting back to its original shape. To repair it, Gibson stuck the guitar's neck (still on the body) into a high tech heat pressing machine for week that they had to reshape it back to its original factory spec shapee. I saw the machine. Pretty cool. They promised that if it stayed in its reheated shape for a year, I'd have no further problems. That was about 15 years ago. It has yet to re-twist. (That particular Gibson repair facility in Chicagoland has since moved...which is how I got to know the new repairman in the area.) He has since repaired the headstock when it broke (exactly below the volute...now a spot clearly known to have been where the volute should have been placed by Norlin to shore up the neck and prevent headstock breaks.) Oh well...the Gibson repairman said he guarantees it will never break in that spot again based on the strong glue he used. It actually plays better now with the headstock having been broken and repaired. Go figure. The saddle is really low on the guitar to keep the action fairly descent. All of those Norlin era guitars have a bit of an action problem around the 12th and 14th fret...but those raised strings around there keep the strings a bit higher off the soundhole, causing those guitars to really be loud boomers. Another weird thing is once the strap peg on the bottom pulled out I dropped the guitar as a result. This put an indentation in the top. The Gibson repairman helped me fix it over the phone. He had me saw a piece of wood slightly bigger than the depth of the guitar and then had me stick it in the guitar and force it into place so it popped the indentation right out of the guitar's top. Then, I removed the wood he had me use. I suspect it slightly loosened the top from from the double X bracing's stronghold...and yes, the guitar has sounded even better than ever, ever since. Who would have thought. I've never had any bridgeplate problems with the guitar although, I've heard contrary stories from other Norlin owners. One I know had the same repairman fix his bridgeplate with a replacement when the top bulged by past the bridge. His is fine now with the repair. I guess the morale of the story is...these can be great guitars, but they do need some maintenance when needed at times. Both Gibson repair people I've used have stated the guitar is a really good one, good sounding. Both at times gave my guitar a 50/50 chance of surviving the neck re-pressing and then broken headstock. But, the guitar at this point lives on and seems to get better and better playing and sounding as a fine instrument should with age. Hope this helps. Take care of yer SJ-D. QM aka Jazzman Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 A top crack, especially if it is not open, ain't a big deal. It is a relatively cheap repair and if the guy knows his stuff you will never even know it was there. A guitar with the top collapsing between the end of the fretboard and the bridge as talked about in a previous post probably had problems with either the top bracing or bridge plate. Damaged bridge plates on 1970s Gibsons are rare as they were making the things of plywood. Not great for sound but they were far less likey to crack. Not sure though if the heavier bracing of the 1970s would tend to be more impacted by something like a crack than the lighter stuff they used up through 1967. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfeetboy01 Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 Hi there! This reply is a year too late but I've played a '72 SJ Deluxe since 1993. It's my main acoustic... hell, it's my only acoustic, I've no need for another! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 click on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Looks just like the one I own...except over time (bought mine in 1974, mine is a '72) typical of many older Gibsons, the blonde natural top has significantly darkened and has a typically cool Gibson orange cast to it and its tone is wonderfully mellow, but loud at the same time. Great guitar in my book. Thanks for resurrecting this thread. QM aka Jazzman Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOKb-ZSyVNo ps. Here's a photo of mine...as well as my SJ Deluxe through a chorus pedal. QM aka Jazzman Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Romeo Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 A family friend had an early 70's Gibson SJ Deluxe he wanted to sell and I agreed to help. He had bought it new in 1973 and played it for a few years years before sticking it back in the case and putting it in the closet about the time Jimmy Carter was elected where it remained for 40+ years. The first thing I noticed was the action was insanely high and the top was buckling. I took it to a luthier who told me the pick guard didn't float meaning when it shrunk it took the top with it and loosened the bracing. He pulled off the pick guard, reglued the bracing (including 2 small cracks by the sound hole), and reset the neck. $535 later the result was...omg...the best sounding and playing guitar I have ever played in my relatively short guitar journey. I finally understood what people meant when they said a guitar was easy to play. Long story short I ended up buying it. I paid $1400 for it total but the thing is borderline pristine. it has just the odd nick or two and that is it. It has the original turners, early 70's case, and it sounds like a million bucks. It has even has the original hang-tag booklet that came with it. I am not one to spend money carelessly and drive a truck that is itself old enough to drive but wrote the check without a 2nd thought. I view it as an investment that will undoubtedly increase in value that I get to enjoy in the interim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted August 14, 2019 Share Posted August 14, 2019 Congratulations on obtaining the SJ Deluxe and making sure it’s one in good condition! And, welcome to the forum! I still have my ‘72 SJ Deluxe in my collection and it keeps playing and sounding better and better with age! QM aka “ Jazzman” Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson SJDeluxe Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 We just found my dad’s 1970 something Gibson SJ deluxe in the closet. My dad has asked me to sell it, but I don’t even know where to begin. Any tips or tricks on how to sell? and I’ve seen prices between 1800 and 2700, so I have no idea how much to sell it for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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