I went and done it... picked up an SJ200. I need an intervention!

ClydeTower

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So, I've been in the mood for a jumbo for a while now, looking high and low for a NH F50R burst, but still haven't found one, so in the meantime, decided to help out Gibson with their financial troubles and picked up a 2017 SJ200 Sunburst. Its a store demo, so got it at more than half off retail. It looks basically new, not a scratch on her. And I gotta say, although I'm a big Guild fan, this is probably one of the best sounding and playing acoustic guitars I've ever owned. From the first strum I went "wow", there might be some truth to this whole "king of the flat tops" thing. But in all fairness to Guild, I will hold out my judgement until I find my NH F50R (I know, RW vs Maple, apples to oranges), but still a worthy shootout nonetheless.

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F312

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It’s Perty and I do hope it helps Gibson.

Ralph
 

ClydeTower

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It’s Perty and I do hope it helps Gibson.

Ralph

I figure, if Gibson goes under (which I highly doubt), owning a Gibby could be a good investment...
By curiosity, have you still got that 66 F50 in your cross hairs?
 

Cougar

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....so in the meantime, decided to help out Gibson with their financial troubles and picked up a 2017 SJ200 Sunburst.....

Holy smoke, Clyde! That is one of the most awesome of awesome guitars! Major congrats! That's just.... awesome!
 

twocorgis

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Congrats Clyde! I've never played a J200 that I liked anywhere near as much as my F50ce, but I know that there's some good ones out there. I can't handle all the bling and that mustache bridge either, but hey, Walter Broes likes it! I will say that my Gibson WM45 probably has the best neck of any of mine though.
 
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Brad Little

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Congrats Clyde! I've never played a J200 that I liked anywhere near as much as my F50ce, but I know that there's some good ones out there....
I'm with Sandy on this. So keep looking for an F50R and let us know your conclusions.
Brad
 

ClydeTower

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Congrats Clyde! I've never played a J200 that I liked anywhere near as much as my F50ce, but I know that there's some good ones out there. I can't handle all the bling and that mustache bridge either, but hey, Walter Broes likes it! I will say the my Gibson WM45 probably has the best neck of any of mine though.

That's what I love about acoustic guitars, once you think you have it all figured out, one falls into your lap and changes everything. I went at this with an open mind and life handed me a sweet surprise I wasn't expecting. The great thing is, after playing this jumbo to my heart's content, I went and picked up my D55 just to "confirm" what my senses were telling me. What I found is that my D55 still sounded awesome, just different. This only reaffirms my feeling that there are many guitars out there, different brands, different tonal pallets, some good, some bad, some wonderful... If I can experience as many of these as I can while I'm still on this earth, my life will all the more richer for it :courage:

So enjoy my LTG friends, enjoy it while it lasts!
 
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gilded

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Some individual guitars are great, even when other guitars of the same make and model are not typically exemplary.

15 or so years ago, I stumbled across an early '50s SJ200 that had a little water damage, resulting in some loose bracing. My luthier fixed it, but it didn't sound too good. Knowledgable people said, 'that's why they call a J200 the Whispering Giant.'

I put it up for sale in an Austin music store and actually worked a multi-instrument trade out on old Tele I wanted. It took about six weeks to put the deal together.

At the end of six weeks, I drove to Austin to complete the transaction. At the store, I made the mistake of playing the J200 again. All the tite-bond glue had dried, the guitar had woken up and.....well, it sounded amazing!

The moral is, you never know if a guitar is good or not until it's in good shape and you play it for a while.

Congrats on the SJ200!
 

ezstrummer

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I have always wanted a J200, but that price...... It is the one guitar I may never have. That one is a beauty for sure.
 

ClydeTower

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I have always wanted a J200, but that price...... It is the one guitar I may never have. That one is a beauty for sure.
Wait for the liquidation sale.

A Guild F55 has a MSRP of $4870 vs a Gibson SJ200 standard which starts at $3799... The Guild is over $1K more than the SJ...

Just keepin it real :)
 
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chazmo

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OMG, $4870? Really? Even if MAP drops to 20-30% lower than that MSRP, it's still too high. I guess I haven't been paying attention. That makes me pretty sad.

Jeez, what was the last MSRP for an F-50R from New Hartford? $3200, 3300 or so? Maybe I'm just really out of touch here. MSRP is meaningless of course, but still.
 

ClydeTower

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OMG, $4870? Really? Even if MAP drops to 20-30% lower than that MSRP, it's still too high. I guess I haven't been paying attention. That makes me pretty sad.

Jeez, what was the last MSRP for an F-50R from New Hartford? $3200, 3300 or so? Maybe I'm just really out of touch here. MSRP is meaningless of course, but still.

Guild's (Cordoba) website is kinda lacking in regards to proper information and Gibson's have a gizzilion versions of the same guitar so its kind of difficult to compare prices, but based on MAP prices I've seen for new top end Guilds vs Gibsons, I'd say they're in the same wheelhouse for USA built guitars. So I'd be cautious about singling out Gibson as the king of over priced guitars... it seems that Cordoba wants in on this action also.

http://guildguitars.com/g/f-55-in-antique-sunburst/

My 2017 SJ200 cost me $2700 which I think is fair when compared to other USA built jumbos out there. YMMV
 
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txbumper57

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Not to upset anyone but Gibson has always been the King of Overpriced guitars, at least for the last 15-20 years anyway. It is one of the main reasons they are in the situation they are in now. Your SJ200 sold at $2700 was also a Demo Model if I recall correctly which is even further discounted from what the normal bottom dollar is. Doesn't make it any less of a guitar but not really a A/A comparison for a non demo model selling new. As far as New Hartford F50R's and F512's go, in 2014 before the sale of the company to Cordoba and the liquidation of Stock by Fender you could get a Brand New First Run A-Stock F50R with the DTAR Multisource, Premium Case, and Full Warranty from a licensed Guild Dealer shipped to your front door for $2400. An F50 Maple was $2300. They had a MSRP of $3499 or $3599 with the factory pickup, somewhere around there. The F512 model first run A-Stock with the same pickup, case, and warranty options from the same dealer shipped to the front door was $2500. The F412 was $2400. MSRP for both of those were around $3999 with the pickup give or take. Those were the lowest prices I found them at new but mostly they were selling from other dealers for around $2700-$3000.

TX
 
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ClydeTower

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Gibson has always been the King of Overpriced guitars, at least for the last 15-20 years anyway
Granted my SJ200 was a floor model so I got it at a discounted price.

However, my initial comparison was between new Cordoba Guilds and current Gibsons which I would consider comparable price wise. Its not that Gibson has brought down their prices, its that Cordoba is bringing up their prices to the same level as Gibson, which is worrisome for the brand when you see the backlash Gibson has had regarding their princing.

When you consider MSRP for other comparable US made guitar brands, for example, for their top tier RW dreadnought :

Taylor 810e (2018): MSRP: $3399
Martin HD28 (2018): $3799
Gibson hummingbird (2018): $3849
Guild D55 burst (2018) : $4870

Again, its hard to compare them directly because options will vary from one model to another, but for new Cordoba Guilds, the trend is undeniable... With Gibson down on one knee, we may have a new price "king" sooner than we think!
 
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Cougar

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My 2017 SJ200 cost me $2700 which I think is fair when compared to other USA built jumbos out there....

I've been looking at SJ200s for a while. Just looking, mind you. I'm with ezstrummer in figuring they're out of my price range. That being said, I think you got an excellent deal there!
 

FNG

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I've played a couple of Gibson Western Classics that I really liked. Little more understated in looks but pretty nice sound.
 
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