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| Jumbo guitars - General Guitar - Guitar - ezFolk Forums | |||||||||||||||
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Will Approved 
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One of the enduring icons amongst acoustic guitar designs are the dreadnought popularized by C.F. Martin, and the jumbo (super-jumbo) popularized by Gibson. The jumbo remains popular to this day because of its imposing sound and size. For many years until recently, Guild made 12-strings only in the jumbo size. There are also other guitar designs that have the "jumbo" designation, but they really don't live up to their names compared to the super-jumbo with a lower bout of 17" to 18" in width. The Martin "jumbo" is actually smaller than their dreadnought, and looks more like a thicker version of their OM/000 design with a slightly wider lower bout. Similarly, the Gibson so-called "advanced jumbo" is basically a round-shouldered dreadnought with a slightly wider lower bout. During the Fullerton liquidation sale following Music123's sale to Guitar Center last year, I was able to purchase 3 solid spruce top jumbo guitars because they were clearance priced. Two of them are 12-strings and one is a 6-string. It took a little while to get used to their 5" depth, but they sound and look great.   I'm playing my Fullerton Kingwood jumbo 12-string on this song: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/song_player.php?mode=song_hifi&type=song_id&a=true&id=10641 Some of you are lucky enough to own a genuine Gibson SJ-200 (right, PhilJ200?). Let's hear from all of you players of jumbo guitars. By the way, the Fullertons were clearly inspired by the Guild jumbos below. All I would need is about $4,400 extra cash lying around. Yeah, right. (Both of the Fullerton jumbos cost me less than 1/10 that price.)  Guild F50  Guild F412  Last edited on Fri Sep 26th, 2008 03:10 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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Philj200 Approved 
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Some people love them. Some don't see the point. They are bigger, heavier, tend to be more expensive, because of their size they get knocked around a bit more than smaller instrument, (do you sense a but coming?.... (well, here it is).... but they are not too big to be played, to heavy to be carried, or too expensive or the the manufacturers would not make them. I hitch-hiked through nine countries in Europe with my J200. When you play a big guitar, the guitar sound is felt by your entire body.It projects deeper into a room and makes recording easier and more balanced. I once asked Reverence Gary Davis why he always played a Gibson J200. He said, "So my people can hear me." He meant the congregation in the store front church on Third Avenue in the Bronx, where I would hear him play as well. I have an embarrassing number of guitars, maybe ten at last count. Two are big instruments, a Tak-12 string. I loved the lush fullness of the chords in first position. And a 1949 Gibson J200. The old Gibson has a mellow depth that makes everything sound better. I'm the third owner that I know of and the instrument has been through a lot since I purchases in in 1961 from Roger Sprung in NYC. (There a tale in there that involved Bob Dylan. But that's for another thread.) It is semi-retired but still perfectly playable. Still having a robust fullness of tone and projection. But I'm very careful where I take it these days. For general knock around picking I have a Martin DXM. It's a full-size Dreadnought size guitar too. I'm a biggish guy, 6'2", 200 pound (down a lot since retirement, praise be), and I've never had a problem hefting a big guitar. But when I let someone else play it, 5' tall, 105 pound woman have no trouble either. Technical observation: Are bigger guitars more fragile? No. The extra mass spreads out the stress. Are they harder to live with? If you live in a shoe box and count cubis inches, the extra size of a big instrument might matter compared with a 000-18. But if you live in a shoe box, you don't have room for a computer either. Should you consider a bigger instrument? Sure. But consider everything else too. I have a friend who swares by parlor guitars. Fine. That's her reality. But to me they sound small as well.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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Will Approved
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A gallery of J-200's and jumbo 12-strings... Famous singers/players of Gibson J-200 jumbos: Emmylou Harris, Everly Brothers, Elvis Presley, Dave Guard (Kingston Trio), George Harrison, John Prine, Pete Townshend (The Who), Ron Wood (Rolling Stones), Neil Young    Famous singer/players of Guild jumbos: John Denver, Bonnie Raitt, Eric Clapton  Famous singers/players of Taylor jumbos: Leo Kottke, John Denver   Last edited on Fri Sep 26th, 2008 02:36 pm by Will ____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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Philj200 Approved
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THe list of people who prefer large guitars is endless. I miscounted my own list. I didn't add my Martin to the Gibson and Takamini. That makes three. Not counting two f-holes. (One a Gibson, the other a throw-away), an Orisco nylon (bought before he became famous), a resonator (more on that in another thread), a beach guitar that never goes to the beach, a JBPlayer dreadnought (ooops, count goes to four) and I think that's it. So discounting the nylon, beach junker and f-holes: that puts large guitars four, small zero. That's where I stand.
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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UkeForever Approved 
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For me, it's a matter of balance. I like that some of the jumbos, like the Martin M-series, have thinner bodies. That helps to control the boominess. But big guitars, to my ears, are generally out of balance. I'm a fairly large person, and I like the smaller-sized guitars. (That sounded like a confession. Yes, I'm part of the OM-Anonymous club!) In this day and age, I can't imagine not close-miking an acoustic guitar or using a pickup when performing live. Those are great equalizers. Unless you have a very big voice to match, like the Rev. Davis, in a purely acoustic setting, a jumbo would be too much. You certainly don't see his protege, the soft-spoken Roy Book Binder, playing the behemoths! Because of miking options, to me, it comes down to comfort. I play uke in half of my sets (when I play around) and the dreads and jumbos just feel ungainly and heavy. It never surprises me to hear a great sounding jumbo. With that kind of square footage, the guitar maker would really have to screw something up to not get a big sound out of the instrument. But what truly amazes me is a parlour or an OM that sounds as big as a dread, and they are out there. Of my meager collection of four acoustics (Alvarez Yairi dread, A&I Ami, Larrivee OM-03R, Bourgeois VOM), the Ami and the Larrivee impress me most from the standpoint of sound output. The Bourgeois sounds sweet and sublime in a league I can't yet quantify, yes, but the Ami & Larrivee, especially at their price points, do some amazing stuff. They can make a lot of noise. One guy at the local open mike has a Gibson SJ-200 with the maple back & sides, scrolled bridge and all that. It's a nice guitar...ok, a really nice guitar, but it doesn't blow me away. If that's your bag, Will, you could always sell the 50 or so guitars you own and grab one!  I love the pictures in this thread. Looking at guitars is definitely a pleasurable experience, even when they are as big as Texas!
____________________ Don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya. John Rockwell's Crazy Songs 
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Will Approved
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I got to play a Gibson J-200 for a short while at a local guitar shop a few years ago, purely by chance. In fact, that J-200 did not belong to the shop (yet) - it belonged to another customer who had brought it in to be appraised and sold, and the owner offered to let me play it. Whoa! How many people get an unsolicited offer to play a mint condition Gibson J-200?
____________________ Will http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/297/ Loose Change & Friends http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/245/ http://loosechangeandfriends.com The Earth Tones http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/337/ A Bunch Of Coconuts http://abunchofcoconuts.com |
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UkeForever Approved
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Sounds like you've got the itch! Brother Bobby will sell you one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPkQ1ebyPpI Here, the way it is supposed to be enjoyed (barefoot on the back porch): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqU5kxbaraE And of course, we can't forget the movie August Rush, prominently featuring the SJ: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnoeD9Xb6Xw Last edited on Sat Sep 27th, 2008 02:41 pm by UkeForever ____________________ Don't let the door hit 'ya where the good Lord split 'ya. John Rockwell's Crazy Songs
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Philj200 Approved
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This is mine. I felt every ding and scratch on her. A lot of great people have played her including Lightning Hopkins, Erik Darling, Jim Woods, Dave Van Ronk, Dave Laibmann and many more. I'm a generous sort. Or was. Now, I'm much more protective of her. Attachment: Miss Gibson.jpg (Downloaded 24 times)
____________________ My MP3 Section: http://ezfolk.com/audio/bands/1143/ My Myspace area: http://myspace.com/philj200 |
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| ezFolk Forums > Guitar > General Guitar > Jumbo guitars | |
