The Santa Cruz Guitar Company was founded in 1976 as one of the first ’boutique’ builders, and the versatile OM Orchestra Model has always been popular.
Like a Southern Jumbo, the Gibson Northern Jumbo features a slope-shouldered dreadnought body, with a Sitka Spruce top and Mahogany for the back, sides and neck. The fingerboard and bridge are Rosewood, with Mother of Pearl used for the inlays. A Firestripe type pickguard was stock. The top has a sunburst finish, on some promotional materials referred to as ‘Maple BUrst’, and the body has a dark tint. The rear of the headstock carries a decal of a Maple Leaf and ‘Limited Edition’ below. The truss rod cover is engraved ‘NORTHERN JUMBO’. As typical of Gibson acoustics of the period, an L R Baggs pickup system is discreetly installed, and the tuners are Grover Roto-Matics with nickel finish.
The Slope Shouldered Dreadnought appeared early in the development of the steel string guitar, and the Collings CJ-35 is an expression of just how good this design can be when built by a master.
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Here’s a new, old stock Taylor 614ce from 2015, featuring spectacular flame maple back and sides, with full warranties and at a significant discount. This guitar has been in storage and in its case since its arrival here, and is fully unplayed aside from us handling it while putting together this listing.
The J-50 appeared in 1942 as a ‘higher grade’ version of the J-45 and the Gibson J-50 Koa is a slight variation, with Sitka Spruce top and Hawaiian Koa for the back and sides, and an Ebony fingerboard and bridge.
The primary difference between the J-45 and the J-50 is the use of visually higher graded woods, allowing the J-45’s sunburst to be replaced with the J-50’s natural top.
This example Guild F5CE dates to 1996, and is in overall good condition. It has been used as intended, so there is expected play wear, but that’s a testament to how useful it is. The original chrome Grover Roto-Matics have been replaced with Gold plated Roto-Matics, but otherwise it is in original condition.
