Gibson F-25 folksinger

[dannygutters]

Has anyone played or owned one of these? they have like a classical body and a wide neck and some funky big pickguards. I think i've seen jeff with one before. Anyway, I may have an opportunity to pick one up (early 60s), so looking for thoughts. It looks like it would be good for fingerpicking kinds of things and maybe like a nick lucas?

 

http://www.nancy-g.com/g-jpeg/f25n1.jpg

[jff]

I have not tried one of these, but the dual pickguards would seem to suggest that it is not primarily intended to be a finger-picker guitar.

[Twisted Acres]

Lucky enough to have played one of them (it had a couple of bee stickers on the scratchplates [which are decals, not actual plastic by the way]), and the neck is very bulky on them, not as tough as, say, a classical nylon-string, but you definitely notice the difference after a few songs.

[a.miller]

the neck is very bulky on them

I think I remember hearing that it's a 2" nut width

[dannygutters]

yeah that seems odd to me why there would be these huge pick guards on something with such a wide neck that you're probably going to be picking on. Did you ever see that guitar carter stanley used to play? It had a huge pickguard, covered pretty much the whole face.

[FourStrongWinds]

i think the pickgaurds are there more cos they look really cool, i love these guitars, never played one mind

 

i guess if they were designed for folk singers, in the 60s, they may have thought they would need to beat the hell out of them in coffee houses without mics or pickups etc

[anthony]

I heard that sound/play nice - once you get used to the crazy big necks/nuts.

 

FJN (Folk Singer Jumbo) Flattop

Available: 1963 to 1967

Collectibility Rating: D-

Because it's square-shoulder, 2" wide nut, braced for classical style strings, there aren't a lot of collectors interested in this model.

 

1963 FJN specs:

16.25" wide, square shoulder dreadnought, mahogany back and sides, bridge with upper belly and straight mounted saddle, double white pickguards, multiple bound top, bound fingerboard with double parallelogram inlays, crown peghead ornamentation, pearl "gibson" logo, natural top finish, deep red finish on back and sides.

1967 FJN discontinued.

 

http://www.provide.net/~cfh/gibson6.html

 

I still want one! (GAS is a nasty beast!)

[rileykill]

I'm pretty sure these can take steel strings ... I played one a few months ago. The neck was 2" as mentioned but it sounded pretty nice. There are also the Gibson C models which are true classicals. Sometimes you can find one for $200 - $300 since "classical players" don't really favor them. They're cool ... I think Tweedy might have one in the IATTBYH movie.

[anthony]

Here is JT w/ one:

 

[anthony]

Pat playing one:

[tft3323]

There's also a magazine ad for D'Addario strings in which Jeff is holding one. I often see it in Acoustic Guitar magazine. These are on eBay fairly often, and I have always considered trying to get one. It seems to me they were produced for a fairly short period of time (something like '63-'72 or thereabouts.) I want to say they usually sell for $800 - $1200 depending on the vintage. They definitely have a cool vibe with the double white pickguards.

[UrbanJesus]

I just got one of these about a month ago and have NEVER been happier with a guitar purchase. Of course the wide neck is perfect for my style of playing. The tone is incredibly warm, and I had an L.R. Baggs M1A installed and the thing sounds incredible. Ive even thought of looking for a second one to have for a backup, but I cant justify that yet.

 

These guitars were originally designed for Flamenco guitar players (so they say) - hence the pickguard on each side. But it is a damn cool guitar.

 

The only thing you have to be careful of is the intonation, especially on the earlier models, because the bridge was originally designed completely flat. This causes intonation problems down the neck with steel strings, so you may have to adjust or shave the bridge or whatever to compensate (if this hasnt been done already).

 

And of course there is a dreadnought shape model of these I believe that is called the F-JN?

[tft3323]

Good review UrbanJesus. What year did you get, and which early models (pre-?) might present the issues with the bridge? Also, do you use it more for finger picking, rythm, flat picking? Thanks.

[UrbanJesus]

Good review UrbanJesus. What year did you get, and which early models (pre-?) might present the issues with the bridge? Also, do you use it more for finger picking, rythm, flat picking? Thanks.

 

I only say the "early models" in my review because in my own research of this guitar, they state that the original design had flat bridges. I do not know if this was fixed in later models. The one I purchased is a '68, and while the bridge is not flat, I have reason to believe it was adjusted, cause I do have a very very slight intonation problem with the low e-string (really it just requires some slight fine tuning every time I use a capo, etc. - which isnt an uncommon thing).

 

My style is generally rhythm and finger-picking. Even when I do strum I generally just use my thumg on the low strings and might add a little upward chop with my pointer, middle and ring finger.

 

I cant say I would recommend this guitar for any hardcore strumming. I find it very uncomfortable for that purpose and would rather play my old Martin DCX1E if and when I have to strum something more upbeat and fast.

 

Then again Ive only had it a month, so maybe Im still getting used to it.