Why does Goodall still make jumbos?

[bkharmony]

Originally Posted by Oldguy64

But I have tested a few jumbos and have come to the conclusion that they aren't so much louder, but more balanced.
I was rather surprised at first, as I expected louder, more bass...just MORE.

My Goodall GC is notably louder than my J-200. Obviously not a direct comparison, but in fact, my J-200 is probably the quietest guitar I've ever owned. I was shocked when I first got it, and I slowly realized what you said; the added real estate isn't to make it louder, it's to give it richness and balance. It's the reason the traditional Maple J-200 doesn't really sound like "maple."

[ikravchik]

A disclaimer to those who are pointing out the financial merits of selling jumbos. My question is not about that. I will re-state it and do so slowly so that everyone can understand. I am not questioning whether it is financially profitable to make jumbos. Are you still with me?... Good. I am wondering why is James Goodall making big guitars (jumbo) that can't out perform his smaller guitars. Pheww... Ok, I hope that was not too hard.

[ikravchik]

Originally Posted by bkharmony

My Goodall GC is notably louder than my J-200. Obviously not a direct comparison, but in fact, my J-200 is probably the quietest guitar I've ever owned. I was shocked when I first got it, and I slowly realized what you said; the added real estate isn't to make it louder, it's to give it richness and balance. It's the reason the traditional Maple J-200 doesn't really sound like "maple."

Interesting point. I didn't think of it that way. I have tried several J-200 that surprised me by how quiet they were.

Although I had a Taylor 618e (2015, GO/Jumbo) and that thing was loud AND rich sounding.

[ikravchik]

Originally Posted by Oldguy64

It sounds like you were wooing "Marilyn Monroe" and got "stuck" with "Jayne Mansfield."
Cut from the same cloth, equally beautiful...but not what you ultimately wanted.

Nice analogy.

[GraceMusik]

Originally Posted by ikravchik

...I am wondering why is James Goodall making big guitars (jumbo) that can't out perform his smaller guitars...

Because apparently whatever definition you have of "out perform" that you claim is objective is not shared by everyone else. ...at least not across the spectrum of all the Goodall jumbos out there.

Not really sure what else to say unless you want me to say "because James Goodall is out of his mind" or "people are purposely choosing a guitar which they believe to be inferior," which I don't think you are wanting/expecting people to say, right?

[semolinapilcher]

Originally Posted by ikravchik

A disclaimer to those who are pointing out the financial merits of selling jumbos. My question is not about that. I will re-state it and do so slowly so that everyone can understand. I am not questioning whether it is financially profitable to make jumbos. Are you still with me?... Good. I am wondering why is James Goodall making big guitars (jumbo) that can't out perform his smaller guitars. Pheww... Ok, I hope that was not too hard.

Stop trolling. If you don't like jumbos, or larger Goodalls, then don't buy them.

[jim_pridx]

Originally Posted by Mr.super fox

You try one Jumbo
Koa
Hawaii made
= all Goodall Jumbo are bad

Hahahahaha!

Try Rosewood fort bragging jumbo and come back

Yeah, I don't know about the Hawaiian part, but I'll agree that judging one Goodall koa jumbo against all other Goodall jumbos is NOT a fair comparison. I'd also bet that if the OP tried out a jumbo built from rosewood and a nice spruce top that he'd be singing a different tune.

Funny, but I actually went through this scenario once. I purchased a mahogany CJ cutaway online that was a fantastic guitar in it's own right, but it didn't have the volume and lush overtones that Goodalls are typically known for. I didn't condemn CJs or Goodall guitars in any sense of the word.....quite the contrary. Instead, I looked around and ended up finding a Honduran rosewood CJ that did indeed have all those lush overtones with volume to boot, and I couldn't be happier.

My advice: get over it and move on, for there's plenty of great guitars out there that'll be much more to your liking. It might even be another Goodall jumbo!

[Glennwillow]

Jumbos or small jumbos can make great sounds. How a particular guitar sounds varies with all kinds of things too numerous to even list in a discussion like this. Some of my favorite sounds come from small jumbos, like my Olson SJ.

- Glenn

[bkharmony]

Originally Posted by ikravchik

A disclaimer to those who are pointing out the financial merits of selling jumbos. My question is not about that. I will re-state it and do so slowly so that everyone can understand. I am not questioning whether it is financially profitable to make jumbos. Are you still with me?... Good. I am wondering why is James Goodall making big guitars (jumbo) that can't out perform his smaller guitars. Pheww... Ok, I hope that was not too hard.

Wow. So much condescension. Not really necessary here.

But the answer remains the same... people want Jumbos. Financial considerations notwithstanding, some people prefer them. I used to love Jumbos - all I ever bought. Then I changed, and now I probably would never buy another.

As far as "out-performing," that's your subjective take, and clearly lots of folks disagree.

One last point; I would be willing to guess that jumbos are among the least popular model Goodall makes. But after all the years of development, why not continue to offer it? The business cost is already covered. There is no cost to make a guitar that someone wants.

Your question seems to boil down to "the Goodall jumbo is awful, so why make it?" And that's just plain wrong. The Goodall Jumbo is not awful. You just don't like it.

[robj144]

Originally Posted by ikravchik

Wait... no that's NOT how I define if a guitar sounds better or worse hahaha.

In all seriousness though, no, I was making a point that my observation was not subjective as another member has pointed out. The GC was considerably, better, louder, richer, tastier more dynamic and complex sounding. And everybody in the store noticed that too.

Ok, that makes more sense. But, someone asked something how one outperforms the other and you simply said the GC was louder. That's all. Nothing about dynamics, being richer, etc... How can I not make a conclusion that loudness was not your main if not only criteria?

[DanPanther]

Originally Posted by ikravchik

My thought exactly. The Universal one size should fit all.

Dan

[Mycroft]

Originally Posted by ikravchik

A disclaimer to those who are pointing out the financial merits of selling jumbos. My question is not about that. I will re-state it and do so slowly so that everyone can understand. I am not questioning whether it is financially profitable to make jumbos. Are you still with me?... Good. I am wondering why is James Goodall making big guitars (jumbo) that can't out perform his smaller guitars. Pheww... Ok, I hope that was not too hard.

Because... your... opinion... of... Goodall's... smaller... guitars... outperforming... his... larger... guitars... is... not... shared... by... everyone. Because... there... are... many... great... guitars... out... there, and... many... of... them... are... not... going... to... be... YOUR... great... guitar.

TW

(Personally I find Dreadnaughts fairly useless. Even the one's that I recognize as real good ones. Does that mean that anyone else should not want or like Dreads? Nope. Just not my personal cup of tea.)

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by ikravchik

A disclaimer to those who are pointing out the financial merits of selling jumbos. My question is not about that. I will re-state it and do so slowly so that everyone can understand. I am not questioning whether it is financially profitable to make jumbos. Are you still with me?... Good. I am wondering why is James Goodall making big guitars (jumbo) that can't out perform his smaller guitars. Pheww... Ok, I hope that was not too hard.

Once more,(slowly so you can understand)you can't lump all Goodall Jumbos together by assuming they all must sound like yours. They most assuredly don't. I don't associate Koa as a wood used in "cannons' such as you seem to want the guitar to be, as when you reference "out perform."

I went through several Goodalls and never found one that could match the Cocobolo Grand Concert that was my very first Goodall. I was fairly surprised but I never questioned why they continued making the other models. That seems very misguided to me.

[The Bard Rocks]

1) You are drawing conclusions from a sampling of one. Because that one doesn't do it for you doesn't necessarily mean another won't.

2) Others are doing the opposite: trying to force the conclusion they have drawn from other jumbos to an instrument they have not seen nor heard.

This stuff happens all the time, and it's not good science. We are apparently all amateurs & enthusiasts, not scientists.

[robj144]

If the only Golden State Warrior game you saw was last weekend's game against the Lakers, you would ask why is Steph Curry in the NBA?