This blonde followed me home! NGD

[Norml]

So far, I have basically just been playing low end imports. Up until now, the nicest guitar I had played/owned was a Recording King RNJ-26. It was an all solid (spruce/hog) 13 fret Gibson Nick Lucas copy (deep body L-00).

I have also struggled with shoulder injuries for years and was having a hard time playing anything deeper than 4" and larger than a 00. A few months ago I suffered another right shoulder injury at work. I thought for sure I would be playing parlors exclusively from that point on. Thank goodness it happened at work. I was finally able to get proper treatment/rehab and I can now play pretty much any guitar without pain. This led to a trip to a few shops and I finally broke down and played all the high end stuff. Martin, Taylor, Larrivee, Guild, Gibson and others.

The one I kept coming back to was the new Gibson J-35. My wife told me that every time I played it, I had this stupid grin on my face. It sounded right and it felt perfect so she came home.







I had to do something about the pick guard. The cheap, unbeveled L-00 fire stripe just doesn't look right on this guitar IMO. I went for the J-50 look and made a guard out of a sheet of celluloid.
My only other nitpick is the cheap case the new Gibson's come with. It's flimsy, one of the latches is loose when closed, and the handle is plastic. The Musicians Gear case I bought for another guitar was only $80 bucks and is a lot nicer but it does not have that heavenly aroma of wood sprayed with nitro.

[llew]

Congrats...really like the look of the new and improved pick guard!

[stepchildusmc]

so..am i to understand that you traded the wife in for the J35? that was a fantastic deal !!!!....... unless she made a great Chicken kiev.
i really really want to find a shop that has a J35 to try... i envy you.

[jdinco]

Looks like a Martin with that pick guard. LOL (just joking around) I'm partial to the tiger striped one, but since it's yours and not mine! I'm really glad it's the way you like and it looks fabulous! Enjoy.

[Tony Burns]

I played that model in a GC in Buffalo NY a few months back -
I think it was the best sounding guitar their -
that and the advanced Jumbo -congrats on a great guitar !

[StringFive]

very nice. congrats!

[Play2PraiseHim]

Looks great. Gibson hit a home run with this one. Enjoy it, and congratulations.

[Watasha]

Nice guitar, I hear a ton of good reviews on the J35. I'm wondering how long until they jack the price up on that one.

[rsfanforever]

Congratulations on a super nice looking Gibson! Have fun with it!

[Woodstock School Of Music]

Originally Posted by jdinco

Looks like a Martin with that pick guard. LOL

That's what I thought when I glanced at the first picture.

Enjoy Norml

[Norml]

Originally Posted by llew

Congrats...really like the look of the new and improved pick guard!

Thanks.

Originally Posted by stepchildusmc

so..am i to understand that you traded the wife in for the J35? that was a fantastic deal !!!!....... unless she made a great Chicken kiev.
i really really want to find a shop that has a J35 to try... i envy you.

They did not take spouses on trade. Would have been tempting if they did because the guitar is a better cook. If you get to play any 35's, hopefully there are a couple to choose from. Not because I came across any bad ones but the ones I played all had their own personality.

Originally Posted by jdinco

Looks like a Martin with that pick guard. LOL (just joking around) I'm partial to the tiger striped one, but since it's yours and not mine! I'm really glad it's the way you like and it looks fabulous! Enjoy.

Thanks

Congratulations!

[MrMartyr]

Originally Posted by Norml

It sounded right and it felt perfect so she came home.

I love happy endings. Congrats!

[Norml]

Originally Posted by MrMartyr

I love happy endings. Congrats!

My wife is already annoyed.

[The Growler]

Very nice! Congratulations! I like your pick guard. I'm not too crazy about that fire stripe either. Nice guitars though!