Cougar
Enlightened Member
Yeah, I just picked one of these up! I don't expect this is too treasonous here in Guildville to have been seduced by a Gibson 12-string, once they got their 12-string act together. I'd eyed the Songwriters for a while, but of course they're ridiculously expensive. This was listed as used (not stamped used!), so I paid much less than a new one. Nevertheless, it's a 2018. I can't imagine anyone returning it after buying it brand new, but maybe that's the story. It was up on reverb (briefly) by Chicago Music Exchange. They were great. I got prompt reponses to my emails, their guy answered my questions, dealt reasonably, that was it, I'll take it.
So it actually arrived two days early with UPS. (Of course, they're the ones who set the original delivery date, so who knows.) Still, the truck had apparently been out all day and finally got to me around 6 pm. The box was hot, but cooled down fairly quickly once I got it inside. CME has their own box that suggests waiting 24 hours. It also has a Shockwatch Monitored Shipment device that turns red if the package is bumped too hard, apparently. It was red.
I wasn't too worried about that. The box was still in good shape. So I had waited for the delivery, which is bad enough, and now I'm waiting for the box/guitar to acclimatize. This is worse! :sulkiness:
It was getting late. I left it in the box overnight. Opened this morning. Flawless. FLAW-LESS. A super superior "rosewood" burst, and the abalone rosette is just killer. This is a 2018 Limited Edition Rosewood Burst Songwriter Deluxe 12-String. (Limited Edition means they put a "Limited" on the truss rod cover, otherwise it's a Songwriter Deluxe Studio, I believe, which is just fine with me.) After checking her over for any tiny flaw, finding none, I tuned her up. I must say, the JF30-12 sounds a little fuller, richer. But of course it does, it's a jumbo. The Songwriter's a 16"-lower-bout square-shoulder dread. It's got a 12-string tone of its own. It is definitely a keeper. Somehow my camera makes the burst color redder than it is. It's more like the photo in the linked GC ad. Anyway, here are some pics. It really happened!
So it actually arrived two days early with UPS. (Of course, they're the ones who set the original delivery date, so who knows.) Still, the truck had apparently been out all day and finally got to me around 6 pm. The box was hot, but cooled down fairly quickly once I got it inside. CME has their own box that suggests waiting 24 hours. It also has a Shockwatch Monitored Shipment device that turns red if the package is bumped too hard, apparently. It was red.
I wasn't too worried about that. The box was still in good shape. So I had waited for the delivery, which is bad enough, and now I'm waiting for the box/guitar to acclimatize. This is worse! :sulkiness:
It was getting late. I left it in the box overnight. Opened this morning. Flawless. FLAW-LESS. A super superior "rosewood" burst, and the abalone rosette is just killer. This is a 2018 Limited Edition Rosewood Burst Songwriter Deluxe 12-String. (Limited Edition means they put a "Limited" on the truss rod cover, otherwise it's a Songwriter Deluxe Studio, I believe, which is just fine with me.) After checking her over for any tiny flaw, finding none, I tuned her up. I must say, the JF30-12 sounds a little fuller, richer. But of course it does, it's a jumbo. The Songwriter's a 16"-lower-bout square-shoulder dread. It's got a 12-string tone of its own. It is definitely a keeper. Somehow my camera makes the burst color redder than it is. It's more like the photo in the linked GC ad. Anyway, here are some pics. It really happened!