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Hi hi.

I've been looking a lot at acoustic guitars lately, and I've found that for tone, feel, and looks, I'd really like a vintage Gibson. Or a new one I guess if I can find one.

Anyway, I nearly bought a 1968 J-50 yesterday, but there was also a 1964 Southern Jumbo that sounded soooooooo good. It cost twice as much as the J-50, so I did not get either.

I prefer the 24.75" scale neck, as that's what I've always played on electrics. I believe the J-45, J-50, and Southern Jumbo have that size neck, while a Hummingbird has a 25.5". They've changed so much over the years that it's hard to tell what the "definitive" specs are.

I know I'm not going to just narrow it down to one and buy that one... I have to play them to understand how each individual sounds and works. So I'm asking if anyone owns one that would like to chime in.

Thanks!

C

I played a buddy of mine's 1917 Gibson L-1 for a bit about a month ago, and I couldn't put that thing down. It just sounded and felt sooooooo goooooood.

I've got a '64 LG1 that I love to pieces, excellent for a bluegrass kind of sound. If you find one be sure to give it a try, great sound and pretty reasonable.

The only vintage Gibson acoustic I've owned was a B-25-12. It sounded good, but the action wasn't so good for slide. So, I sold it.

http://home.provide.net/~cfh/gibson6.html

I have a '69 Gibson B-25 that I inherited. It plays like a dream, small neck, small body but my my my does it sound deep. Extremely easy to note and plays the whole length of the neck. They are usually sub $1,200 guitars too which is good for vintage acoustics. Only thing it lacks imo is a wood bridge, but I can't bring myself to change it.

I wouldn't replace the bridge on that until you absolutely have to, it's more desirable down the road in terms of resale even though your stock one is probably plastic like mine was. It cracked and I had a luthier carve a rosewood one. Bridge was somewhere around $160 but the guitar is actually worth a little less now. Really like it though.

Gibson acoustics tend to be of lighter overall construction than some vintage guitars, so good ones sing like birds while poor ones tend to fall apart/need extensive work. the different models have widely variant sounds...a Hummingbird is very different to a J-45/50. you want to be careful with old Gibson flattops and go over them carefully, especially because nice ones are dear.

dubkitty wrote:Gibson acoustics tend to be of lighter overall construction than some vintage guitars, so good ones sing like birds while poor ones tend to fall apart/need extensive work. the different models have widely variant sounds...a Hummingbird is very different to a J-45/50. you want to be careful with old Gibson flattops and go over them carefully, especially because nice ones are dear.

I wonder if the new ones that are being produced are a little more substantial. The J-50 I played was a bit wimpy compared to the Southern Jumbo, their respective births being four months apart.

I'm pretty set on a Southern Jumbo or Country & Western, but I feel like it's going to be a loooooong search. The current Gibson Southern Jumbo "True Vintage" looks pretty great, but also $$$.


C

Southern Jumbo is just a J45 with more bling btw, unless you go true vintage then they'll have different tops. Try out an advanced jumbo if you get the chance and are looking into recent production. It's got the same bracing as a true vintage SJ. Also has louder sound, rosewood back & sides and a longer scale neck.