GAD JF30 Jumbo guitar

[adorshki]

I'm certain when I do get back to the music store I'll get a set of lighter strings. For now, I'll just continue playing with the 12's and work on improving my callouses.
RBSinTo

Pretty sure that's the spec gauge for the guitar, don't think the GAD's ever went heavier. I've done a lot of "re-voicing" experimenting with my F65ce going so far as to use Silk'n'steels tuned a full step down without losing too much in volume.

D'Addario Custom lights 11-52 (EJ26's) might be just the ticket for you if you like that pb sound, that's what they were shipped with (D'A pb strings, that is).

They even offer an extra light 10-47 EJ15 set, but suspect those might be just a little too wimpy for a full jumbo.

 

[bobouz]

The repairs we’re made..... he charged me $95.00 Canadian. I am very pleased with the results except for the gauge of the strings, which I find a bit heavy for my taste on this guitar. Next time I get strings for it, I'll try a lighter gauge string.

I know from your participation on the Gibson forum that you’re in Toronto. You’re quite fortunate to have a quality shop in The 12th Fret. The video presentations I’ve seen from their luthier were impressive. If that’s who you use, you’re in great hands.

As for your string choice, Al is most likely correct in that most folks would want something heavier than a set of D’Addario EJ-15 extra-lights, but that’s exactly what I run on my 1994 JF-30, which your guitar is based on. As always, it all depends on the tone a player is after, and the inherent characteristics of the guitar itself. I fingerpick 99% of the time with a light touch, and don’t require a lot of volume. Even with extra-lights, the JF-30 is capable of delivering a full & balanced tone. You might want to experiment & see how your guitar responds to a set.

 

[F312]

The dark stain on your neck against the light maple back looks great.

 

[RBSinTo]

Pretty sure that's the spec gauge for the guitar, don't think the GAD's ever went heavier. I've done a lot of "re-voicing" experimenting with my F65ce going so far as to use Silk'n'steels tuned a full step down without losing too much in volume.

D'Addario Custom lights 11-52 (EJ26's) might be just the ticket for you if you like that pb sound, that's what they were shipped with (D'A pb strings, that is).

They even offer an extra light 10-47 EJ15 set, but suspect those might be just a little too wimpy for a full jumbo.

adorshki,
For now I might just drop the tuning by one step and see if that makes it easier to use these strings. If not, I'll swap out the 12's for something lighter.
RBSinTo

 

[RBSinTo]

I know from your participation on the Gibson forum that you’re in Toronto. You’re quite fortunate to have a quality shop in The 12th Fret. The video presentations I’ve seen from their luthier were impressive. If that’s who you use, you’re in great hands.

As for your string choice, Al is most likely correct in that most folks would want something heavier than a set of D’Addario EJ-15 extra-lights, but that’s exactly what I run on my 1994 JF-30, which your guitar is based on. As always, it all depends on the tone a player is after, and the inherent characteristics of the guitar itself. I fingerpick 99% of the time with a light touch, and don’t require a lot of volume. Even with extra-lights, the JF-30 is capable of delivering a full & balanced tone. You might want to experiment & see how your guitar responds to a set.

bobouz,
You are the second Gibson Forum person with "dual citizenship" I've bumped into here, jedzep being the first.
Yes, the 12th Fret is and outstanding shop, and they have done repairs to both my Martin and Gibson guitars. However, this time, the work was done by a Luthier at Cosmo Music, another very reputable shop here in Toronto. They got the nod because they are up in my end of the world, and their turn around time is shorter than 12th Fret. The Cosmo Luthiers have also done repairs for me in the past as well as offering excellent advice when I bought the Gibson and this Guild, so I had no qualms about having them do the repairs, which were first-rate.
Again, as for the string question, I am a strummer rather than a picker, but am finding the 12's feel very heavy on this particular guitar, which I suppose is strange because I also have 12's on the D-28 and J-45, and they're no problem.
RBSinTo

 

[chazmo]

Is your action a little high, RB? You could try a 1/4 turn on your truss rod just to see if it's easier to play. Might buzz though if you do that, but might be instructional. I think your GAD has dual rods adjustable through the soundhole so if you try that just make sure not to twist the neck. 12-strings should be almost as comfortable to play as 6-strings. If they're not, then the guitar may need (more) adjustment.

 

[RBSinTo]

Is your action a little high, RB? You could try a 1/4 turn on your truss rod just to see if it's easier to play. Might buzz though if you do that, but might be instructional. I think your GAD has dual rods adjustable through the soundhole so if you try that just make sure not to twist the neck. 12-strings should be almost as comfortable to play as 6-strings. If they're not, then the guitar may need (more) adjustment.

Chazmo,
Yes, the action is a little high up at the top, but I don't play much up there, so in that respect it isn't problematic. The Luthier adjusted the truss rod,and frankly, messing with it isn't something I'm inclined to do. You say give it 1/4 -turn, and I don't even know whether it should be clockwise or counter-clockwise, and relative to what? When you are looking from the head down or when you can see the head of the truss rod screw through the sound hole?
From your final comment, it appears you believe this guitar is a twelve-string, which it isn't. I have enough trouble with guitars that only have six strings.
RBSinTo

 

[chazmo]

Bwahahaha. Sorry, RBS. I was indeed thinking of 12 string. Not enough coffee. Yes ONE truss rod for your GAD JF-30.

Usually clockwise represents a "back-bend" motion on the neck which will bring down the strings, whereas clockwise means forward bend (lifting strings off the neck). If your neck is already straight, then adjusting the rod is not the proper way to set up your guitar, but it can give you an idea of whether your action is either too high or too low and you can proceed with that information. I think Frank Ford's "frets.com" website gives very good descriptions of how to actually measure your action and do the proper saddle/nut adjustments, etc. Good luck!!!

 

[RBSinTo]

Bwahahaha. Sorry, RBS. I was indeed thinking of 12 string. Not enough coffee. Yes ONE truss rod for your GAD JF-30.

Usually clockwise represents a "back-bend" motion on the neck which will bring down the strings, whereas clockwise means forward bend (lifting strings off the neck). If your neck is already straight, then adjusting the rod is not the proper way to set up your guitar, but it can give you an idea of whether your action is either too high or too low and you can proceed with that information. I think Frank Ford's "frets.com" website gives very good descriptions of how to actually measure your action and do the proper saddle/nut adjustments, etc. Good luck!!!

chazmo,
Again, clockwise or counter-clockwise as seen from where?
I have to assume because he mentioned it to me when describing the work he had done, that the Luthier adjusted the action just to the point where the strings didn't buzz, so I'm not inclined to fool with it.
I'm a handy guy, the rarest of the rare, a Jew who knows how to use tools, and have actually done some simple Luthiering on low end music school discarded guitars that a buddy has. But when it comes to anything more than changing strings on mine, I leave it to the experts.
It's a wise man who knows his own limits.
RBSinTo

 

[chazmo]

RBS, that's fair... Clockwise is the same either from the headstock or from the soundhole. But, I'm not 100% sure that the truss rods all work that way, so I can't be sure -- I've never adjusted the GAD truss rods.
That's totally cool about not mucking with it. But next time you see your luthier you can just bring the guitar and say that the action feels too high for you and let him/her adjust it for you.

 

[RBSinTo]

RBS, that's fair... Clockwise is the same either from the headstock or from the soundhole. But, I'm not 100% sure that the truss rods all work that way, so I can't be sure -- I've never adjusted the GAD truss rods.
That's totally cool about not mucking with it. But next time you see your luthier you can just bring the guitar and say that the action feels too high for you and let him/her adjust it for you.

chazmo,
I disagree.
If I am holding the guitar by the headstock with the body pointing away from me, turning the screw to tighten will look the opposite from holding the guitar by the body with the headstock pointing away from me and turning the screw to tighten. From one viewpoint the screw will be turning clockwise, and from the other viewpoint it will be turning counter-clockwise.
For now order of operations will be:
1. drop tune strings,
2. replace strings with lighter gauge strings,
3. have Luthier adjust truss rod if applicable.
RBSinTo

 

[chazmo]

OK. It's all perspective, I guess. Clockwise, looking from the bridge through the soundhole. I.e., looking up the neck towards the headstock.

 

[RBSinTo]

OK. It's all perspective, I guess. Clockwise, looking from the bridge through the soundhole. I.e., looking up the neck towards the headstock.

chazmo,
Stating direction and as seen from which point of view makes all the diffence. Now I completely understand how to "flatten the curve" of the neck, by adjusting the screw.
Thank you.
RBSinTo

 

[chazmo]

Well, small changes only, RB (1/4 turn at the most). It's really easy, but don't force anything. Good luck!

Oh and check out the Frank Ford viddies if you get a chance

 

[HeyMikey]

If you do tune down then mediums or a highbred set of med(low)/light(high) might be needed to keep tension on the lower end strings. Otherwise they can get kind of floppy.

 

[adorshki]

adorshki,
For now I might just drop the tuning by one step and see if that makes it easier to use these strings. If not, I'll swap out the 12's for something lighter.
RBSinTo

WesterlyWood recently commented that for some reason 80/20's felt "softer" than pb, which we figured makes sense as they'd have a higher percentage of copper, a "softer" metal.

Another "gotcha": Neck profile (thickness/shape) For the first couple of years after I got my D40 I couldn't figure out why it always felt like i had "stiffer" action than my D25, both had 1-11/16 nuts and they were both strung with EJ-16's..thought to myself: "Must be the "Fender setup", since it reminded me of my early '80's MIK Fender F210 which proudly proclaimed "Set up in the USA" on the box.

But a check of action heights showed it was set up precisely to the specs Guild published at the time at 5-6/64 on low E an 4-5/64 on high.

Then one night while just eyeballing it, I noticed a very slight "bulge" in the neck beginning at just above the 5th fret, so subtle as to be almost unnoticable, but it made me look more closely. Realized the whole neck was thicker (deeper and rounder more like a "U") than my 2 Westerlys which had what Fender called "modern Flat oval" at the time.

With my love of ergonomics I deduced that shape must be making my fingers work a little differently than I was accustomed to, which I perceived as "stiffer" action.

Hard to believe such a small thing would make that much difference, but just like nut widths, it does. In fact it's also been observed by some folks over the years that while they prefer a 1-11/16 nut, they didn't mind 1-5/8 nut as long as it was on a thicker neck profile. To me that corroborated the importance of neck profile as one element of overall "feel".

And in the last 4 or 5 years I've come across situations where the '40 actually works/feels better for some stuff on higher frets than the D25, and it doesn't feel "stiffer" anymore, which might be due to my aging hands preferring a thicker neck now. I've heard that here before, too.

 

[JF-30]

That is one nice Guild you got there. My avatar is a pic of the one I had. Oh buy the way its Sgt. Pepper or Chief as you call me.

 

[RBSinTo]

That is one nice Guild you got there. My avatar is a pic of the one I had. Oh buy the way its Sgt. Pepper or Chief as you call me.

Chief,
Nice to see you here.
Should we ask some of our favs from the other place if they'd like to join us here. You know. For old times sake?
Just kidding!
And thanks for the compliment. I'm very pleased with my Guild.
RBSinTo

 

[JF-30]

I handed in my Gibson card after Mark Agnessi was forced to make the infamous "Play Authentic" video.

 

[RBSinTo]

Roughly one month has elapsed since I bought this guitar, and had the repairs made, and since then I have played it a great deal. The strings which bothered me at first are now just fine, and the action which I also wanted to play with, no longer seems to need it.
In terms of the sound, its tone seems to be quite similar to that of my j-45 Gibson, being very bright, while its volume is much greater.
I am extremely happy with the Guild in all respects, and so I find myself playing the Gibson less frequently.
I consider that the guitar gods were smiling down on me the day I discovered the ad for the Guild.
RBSinTo