The Gibson SJ200 has left the building
I’m kind of sad to report I sold the Gibson SJ200. I thought it would be a lifetime purchase but in all honesty I never really bonded with this guitar. Beautiful, rich toned and lovely to play. And yet. It had a cold dark heart at its centre and never felt creative or inspiring. I’m not sure why but guitars are like people, you either really hit it off, or you just don’t.
So anyway I sold it to a nice guy here on the island and I’m sure he’ll either love it and keep it or he’ll sell it on as he’s a dealer in upmarket instruments. I didn’t really lose money on it so that’s good. I decided to buy a Taylor GS Mini-e and opted for the Mahogany top as it’s more shuffly and percussive than the more popular Spruce top version. They also do a Koa model which personally I’d rather play a Woolworth’s guitar than that, it’s really boxy and like a cheap Dobro. I think they also do a new version that’s called Walnut but not quite sure what you get for that.
What complicated things was that the Mahogany top model was discontinued in 2016 so they’ve all but disappeared from new and second hand markets. I managed to find one, after a lot of searching, on the USA eBay, in Indiana. Initially the seller had it marked for collection only, then he opted to change to international shipping but that was only after I suggested shipping it to my friend Clif in Malibu. But Clif’s address wasn’t Paypal verified so he didn’t want to do that. Then he tried printing shipping labels from Paypal (to ship direct to Malta) and that wouldn’t work so he refunded my payment and told me he couldn’t ship it. Then, after I begged pleased and offered sexual favours (kidding) he tried again. We got it working. He went to a whole lot of trouble to ship it to me, so I’m super grateful for that. And now it’s on its way. I am so excited. I never bought a guitar online before, without playing it, so it is a risk. But, I can have it set up if it’s a beast, so we’ll see. I reckon this little dinky thing will be much more suited to our by turns dry, hot and humid climate.
PS. I recently bought a flat in the UK (another post on that) but I’m much more excited about the guitar than the flat. Weird.
