Why are there so few 12 Fret Gibson Jumbos?

[kmckenna45]

I've been wanting to buy a 12 Fret Gibson Jumbo for years (J-45, Southern Jumbo, Jackson Brown model, etc) for a decent price. It seems like they're all over $3,000. Why are they so rare and so expensive?

I can buy a J-45 for $1,500 - why is a 12 fret version of that twice as expensive?

[Dotneck]

I don't think they made as many 12 fret Jumbos. The Roy Smeck and Jackson Browne come to mind. For a couple years there was a 12 fret SJ.

A 12 fret jumbo is not a part of the regular Gibson lineup so they tend to be made as limited editions hence the premium price.

[Rosewood99]

Probably because there isn't as high a demand as there is for 14 fret guitars. I like 13 fret guitars but totally understand why there are so few. Its simply supply and demand.

[Birdbrain]

"Because it costs so much to pull the extra two frets out."

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by Dotneck

I don't think they made as many 12 fret Jumbos. The Roy Smeck and Jackson Browne come to mind. For a couple years there was a 12 fret SJ.

Right.

The way that I see it is that by the time Gibson started making their various jumbo models during the 1930’s, the guitar-playing public had mostly moved over to 14 fret model instruments. It’s easy to forget, but the Gibson Roy Smeck model was intended as a Hawaiian guitar, meant to be played on the lap with a steel bar, not upright and fretted like a regular guitar.

The J-45, the SJ-200 - both of those first came out as 14 fret guitars, not as 12 fretters.

Anyway, while Martin has always maintained some 12 fret guitar production, Gibson basically dropped it in the early 1930’s. Gibson’s sporadic resumption of 12 fret instrument construction has only taken place fitfully, and only as special limited edition models, never as part of their regular product line.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[62burst]

They are out there, but their numbers are small, compared to J-45 production. 'Forgot about the small (black) burst of the Southern Jumbo 12 fret until it was mentioned in this thread. I don't know how many were made, but the beautifully made Advanced Jumbo 12-frets (exclusive run made for Wildwood Guitars, CO?) were cool, too. More of a tobacco burst on those, for players into the long-scale, rosewood scene. The deep bodied walnut Jackson Browne acoustic (Model 1) and the Trans Amulet-equipped Model A's are out there, but beware the strangely flat neck carve, belying their 1.805 nut width. Then, as mentioned, the non-tapered bodies of the 'hog Stage DeLuxe and Stage DeLuxe Rosewood. My favorite, though, remains the J-45 12-Fret.

But while we're talking 12 fret Gibson rarity, Mr Hampton mentioned the SJ-200. Well, there was a very limited number of those made as 12 fretters, too. Here's the late-great Stan Jay of Mandolin Brothers demo'ing one they had in their shop. The only other YouTube of one of these is of the person who bought it. Hopefully, this gem is getting played:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYSbG3LbK_g

[Wade Hampton]

If there were any 12 fret SJ-200’s built during the initial production run before WWII, this is the first that I’ve heard of it.

But I’m not even remotely a scholar when it comes to Gibson guitars, so there’s a great deal that I don’t know!


whm

[62burst]

Right- not likely any in the era when the SJ-200 was originally made... I just figured the OP was looking for a contemporary 12 fret made by Gibson.

[phavriluk]

Because nobody bought any?

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by 62burst

Right- not likely any in the era when the SJ-200 was originally made... I just figured the OP was looking for a contemporary 12 fret made by Gibson.

Okay. I thought you were telling us about genuine pre-WWII 12 fret SJ-200’s, which the guitar in the video was not. It was exactly what I was talking about in my first post, a modern guitar made with a 12 fret neck join.

So my initial thesis stands - there aren’t many Gibson 12 fret jumbos made by the company because historically they never made any; these few that we see are modern day reimaginings.

The Gibson Roy Smeck model and its modern day Jackson Browne signature model reissue are outliers because that guitar was designed as a Hawaiian steel guitar, played laying on the lap with a Hawaiian “steel,” a metal bar used as a slide.


whm

[llew]

Wildwood Guitars in Colorado has had several CS built 12 fret Southern Jumbos in stock. I was trying to do a trade on one but they were only interested in a straight sale. And they gave me a decent price I just wanted to do a trade?