Gibson Southern Jumbo Vintage Sunburst 2002
Gibson Southern Jumbo, vintage sunburst, made in USA 2002. The 'SJ' launched in 1942 as a more deluxe version of Gibson's workhorse J-45 dreadnought. It comes with some nice touches: white button tuners, bound fretboard, split parallelogram inlays, seven-ply binding around the body, the large pickguard and scalloped bracing. It looks magnificent: stately, but ready to rumble. The grain on the AAA spruce top is extremely tight and consistent, it looks amazing under the simple burst finish. The mahogany is similarly high grade: you can see the super tight doghair grain and the subtle ribbons through the chocolate stain finish, it's impressive stuff. The sound is lush: huge warbling lows, warm sticky mids dripping with complexity and a responsive, chirpy top end. This example is notably brighter and livelier than other Gibson dreadnoughts we've had through, it's got a lovely smooth eloquence to it while maintaining that signature sound. This one has one or two very minor knocks, but for twenty three years old, it's remarkably clean. A brand new example will set you back around A$7k currently, but in a handy development, this one leaves you some change to upgrade your whiskey collection to match. Deluxe!
Model: Gibson Southern Jumbo
Made: USA, 2002, Boseman Montana factory
Serial: 00042013
Finish: vintage sunburst, gloss nitro
Body: AAA solid sitka spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, dreadnought shape, scalloped X-bracing
Neck: mahogany, rosewood fretboard, 24.75" scale, 12: radius, moderate C shape, 43mm nut
Weight: 1.790kg
Mods: none
Pickup: none
Accessories: Gibson hard case, original docs
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has scuffs on the edges and front around the posts. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor rub wear on the back only. The back has minor dimples on the shoulders and some light scuffs in the elbow area. The sides have dimples in the elbow area and bottom bout. The front has dimples and rub wear in the elbow area, small scuffs in the bottom corner and play wear on the guard and shoulders.
Overall: excellent condition (9/10)
Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good. Setup with 12/54 Moonshiners strings.
Fret Life: 9/10, minor wear only