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newbie here. can anyone tell me about this gibson SJ?


bscepter

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hi guys - i just traded a martin hd-28 for a 1998 gibson "1947 Southern Jumbo."

 

unlike the current "true vintage" version, this has rosewood back and sides, a firestripe pickguard, a non-reverse belly bridge and white butterbean tuners.

 

the only thing else i know is that the original price tag in '98 was $3,250 - so it was obviously more than just a regular SJ. the guy i bought it from said that this particular model was made in small numbers (500 at a time, i think) and that it may have a brazilian rosewood bridge - and possibly even a brazilian fretboard - but i don't put too much stock in what sellers say these days - although this guy was a pastor, so i hope he's telling the truth!

 

oh, and it plays and sounds amazing! i loved my martin - but this is in another league!

 

Any info would be helpful!

 

here are a couple of pics:

 

29yscoi.jpg

psy79.jpg

 

(FYI: i also posted this over at the acoustic guitar forum.)

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Welcome to the forum. I don't have any answers for you, but I bet some of the other guys here will have some info for you.

 

Is that the Vintage Sunburst like on current Gibsons, or is that a Triburst. Pictures and rendering on different computers can play tricks. One picture looks like the Vintage Sunburst on my computer screen (gettin' old) while the other looks like it might be a Triburst. Either way, they both look great. Fabulous. Congrats on getting that one!!

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Welcome to the forum. I don't have any answers for you' date=' but I bet some of the other guys here will have some info for you.

 

Is that the Vintage Sunburst like on current Gibsons, or is that a Triburst. Pictures and rendering on different computers can play tricks. One picture looks like the Vintage Sunburst on my computer screen (gettin' old) while the other looks like it might be a Triburst. Either way, they both look great. Fabulous. Congrats on getting that one!![/quote']

 

thanks!

 

i think it must be "vintage," as there are only two colors in the burst - dark brown and amber. the one pic makes it look like there's red, but there isn't.

 

the more i learn about the SJ, though, the more i'm baffled that gibson made some glaring errors for a supposedly 1947 model:

 

• wrong logo ("block" logo arrived in '48, as far as i know)

• wrong tuners (mine are three-on-a-plate closed back - should be individual klusons)

• wrong banner (banner went away in '46, as far as i know)

 

don't get me wrong - the guitar is an absolute gem. i'm just wondering why gibson goofed like this.

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this is my rosewood sj. it came from a small run of 26 done for a large dealer in '06. on the label it mentions the dealer's name (in this case it was fullers). yours might be from a similar batch in similar circumstances.

RWSJ.jpg

 

 

that's pretty! and yours has the correct headstock logo. nice!

 

mine simply says "1947 southern jumbo" inside, along with the SN and the guarantee on the orange label.

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yeah' date=' i think his last name is gonder. call the main bozeman number and tell them you need help with a serial number search. you'll wind up with bill. very nice guy. the number is listed on the site here over in the products link.[/quote']

 

awesome. thanks. i'll give him a call tomorrow.

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yeah' date=' i think his last name is gonder. call the main bozeman number and tell them you need help with a serial number search. you'll wind up with bill. very nice guy. the number is listed on the site here over in the products link.[/quote']

 

i mist be blind - "products link?" i'm not seeing it.

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"i'm baffled that gibson made some glaring errors for a supposedly 1947 model: wrong logo, wrong tuners, wrong banner"

 

And still do. Check out the supposedly "true vintage" SJ with its "untrue" 60s pickguard. To add to the confusion on your model, the SJs made with rosewood b/s came out in 42, so one wonders how the marketing department latched on to '47. Out of a hat? This stuff isnt that hard to figure out, so one wonders why this kind of thing goes on (no disrespect to the good folks in Bozeman that build these things).

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"i'm baffled that gibson made some glaring errors for a supposedly 1947 model: wrong logo' date=' wrong tuners, wrong banner"

 

And still do. Check out the supposedly "true vintage" SJ with its "untrue" 60s pickguard. [/quote']

 

and reversed belly bridge and tulip tuners, too!

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This stuff isnt that hard to figure out' date=' so one wonders why this kind of thing goes on (no disrespect to the good folks in Bozeman that build these things).[/quote']

 

Maybe the folks building the TVs have acquired that acquired taste you refer to in your signature...

 

(Said in jest, of course!)

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spoke with bill in bozeman. very nice gentleman. he says it's likely a sitka top, indian RW back and sides with brazilian RW fretboard and bridge. but he said i should take it in to a luthier to confirm as, for obvious reasons, he can't confirm without seeing the instrument.

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