The King of the Flat Tops Has Competition | SJ-200 Maple vs. Rosewood

[@enigmabletchley6936]

These guitars are awesome. The maple is the best and the finish is exquisite. I bought one of the first Bozeman Montana SJ200s back in the early 90s and if I told you how little I paid for it you'd be crying into the soundhole.

[@opidonorman8833]

Lol😂

[@missingremote4388]

Probably 2899.⁰⁰

[@LightsandMotion]

great video. I can't decide which one to get!

[@rebelliousraven]

Do you two give guitar lessons? Do you want to? 😂 I loop demo portions of your videos just to hear you both play. Always ((love)) hearing you guys.

[@ScottDavies-p8g]

That maple one is an Original, not a Standard. Appointments like the bone nut are authentic from the 50s whereas the Standards have more modern and durable parts like the TUSQ nut. I have that exact Original and it’s my most precious possession. Really great video as always gents !

[@LegsON]

TUSQ is not more durable, at all.

[@marktestoni6483]

I am like Cooper I prefer the maple but I prefer the cherry sunburst. I would gladly accept the rosewood but my money, maple would be the choice. You guys are great!

[@fredviancos2948]

Maple sounded awesome!

[@beautifulguitars3158]

Absolutely 💯 indeed

[@bobborrowdale]

Loved the deep maple tones!!

[@gair1944]

Maple for the win. It sounds sweeter in this comparison to my ears.

[@texhaines9957]

One of each! Boze-wood from Bozeman. Sound-wise, I like the Rosewood. The neck profiles are of question as Gibson has not been consistent in description or cut. I really have to try before I buy.

[@stanlee-eq7lu]

True. However I think the sound of each played by different people will produce different sounds. Play each through a recorder and play back. IMO, that's the selling point. But from hearing both, I'd take the rosewood model.

[@steveide2062]

After searching for many years, I finally got my SJ200. I had a choice between the standard and one from Gibson’s custom shop. The custom was a blond 1957 reissue with a thermal treated sika spruce top, as well as the maple back and sides. They also used nitrocellulose for the coating instead of a lacquer. After going back and forth between the two, I chose the custom. If was an extremely difficult decision as they both sounded awesome in different ways. The biggest difference was the sustain and resonance of each string on the custom was more defined/ very clean. It wasn’t as big sounding (bassey) as the standard, but very balanced. I believe that the thermally treated top attributes to all that. Having done a lot of recording over the years in studio’s, including my own, I knew this guitar would be a dream to record because you wouldn’t need to do much EQ in the mix. I recently did some recording with it and was right. It sounded very natural in the mikes. It’s definitely a strummer’s dream, and now my favorite guitar between my Martin and Taylor.

[@martinburke-x4i]

the maple sounds so much cleaner to my ears, sweet guitar!

[@jamieclinard5807]

They both sounded awesome and look killer! No doubt the king!!

[@ZionForman]

maple

[@JoseSalas-wn7im]

You can’t lose with either one. Thanks.

[@anthonyb2334]

Excellent guitars. I’ve always been a maple fan and I’ve played two of these jumbos. I love them, but just too big for me. I wish they didn’t feel that way to me but so it goes. Thank you again

[@carlrickards6708]

I prefer the maple

[@joshhamaker5581]

The maple one is from the original series, so it has bone nut and saddle, vtc pickup, tulip button tuners, and 4 bar pearl on the bridge. If you had the standard maple, it would have Grover rotomatic tuners, tusq nut and saddle, outlined pick guard, anthem pickup, and 2 bar pearl on the bridge. Which is just like the rosewood model.

[@jimwing.2178]

Pete Townshend is my favorite acoustic guitar player. Part of the reason for that is Pete plays SJ-200 Maple. When Cooper played the Maple, it reminded me of Townshend. I love that tone! Pete strums the SJ-200, of course, but he also fingerpicks it masterfully.

[@pseudonym4034]

The "Standard" is still the standard. Maple has a better projection, which is probably why Gibson used it back in the days when you couldn't have a pickup to get a louder tone.

[@sgholt]

Does it have more mid range?

[@LegsON]

Well the maple model is "Original"...

[@pseudonym4034]

@@LegsON 1:14 Let Cooper and Chris know. ;)

[@modern.day.meditations]

There is no "Standard" in this video. The maple one is an "Original".

[@modern.day.meditations]

@@sgholt Yes it does, with different picks.

[@uvp5000]

Gibson ends up making some interesting choices. Adding the extra pearl inlay on the bridge to the Maple instrument makes the break-angle from the saddle to the bridge pins different. A steeper break-angle from the saddle to the pins, in theory, transfers more string vibration to the top. If I could afford both, I'd purchase both.

[@CameraLaw]

Listened twice. Both times I leaned toward the Rosewood model even though I own and love a maple Taylor 614.

[@CompoundInterest-SG]

It’s funny, for the SJ200 I prefer the maple, but for the F55 I prefer the rosewood. I guess it’s because the Gibson tends to have a bit of a dry tone, so maple helps giving it some more clarity and liveliness. The Guild however already has a plenty clear and bright top end in the rosewood version, while in the maple version it ends up going a bit overboard on the brightness and it becomes a bit jangly. I guess there’s a reason why rosewood is considered “stardard” for the F55, and maple is for the SJ200.

[@hughnguyen1772]

Great insight. I too have F55 rosewood and SJ200 maple for the same reasons as you put it.

[@mryt090909]

SJ-200 😵‍💫

[@mryt090909]

Check out the so-200 autumn burst maple with spruce top but burst, very nice

[@TommySG1]

Hey Guys, Love your breakdowns! I’m actually wondering if the ( or at least some ) are simply just the website not being updated properly heh, that website is a bit hoagie to me at times with its information. I’d love to own an SJ-200 and if I pulled the trigger on one it would have to be the maple version with the darker boarder or some call it vintage burst I suppose. I think that mustache bridge also looks nicer too but that’s preference too. Great comparison, thank you. 🤙

[@toastertoaststoast]

I don’t know if this is a crazy take but I think Gibson makes the best sounding acoustics. I prefer them much more than Taylor or Martin

[@donsaxon1169]

I've been playing semi professionaly for 50 years, and I agree. Though, there are some luthiers out there who make some outstanding guitars. Bruce Petros. Kevin Kopp, Lowden, Santa Cruz are some of my favorite. Especially the Petros guitars....

[@MilkAndSpaghetti]

Will you guys please do a video on the custom shop 1952 J-185

[@samright4661]

People can talk trash about Gibson but they make beautiful guitars

[@stanlee-eq7lu]

Both are spectacular. But I lean to the Rosewood model.

[@mariodriessen9740]

Apart from the tuners I prefer every detail that went to the Maple one. And I’m not even so sure about those tuners. Aesthetically I like both types of tuners, but I have those Imperials on my White Falcon and these things are sooooooo smooth!!! Anyway, I’ve always wanted an SJ-200. I don’t think I have anything left that I would want to sell… 🤔

[@bigbusdriver4782]

Ok, this question is not related to this particular video but….My son is 13yrs old, he plays guitar, I do not. He has a Martin D12 road series, it has been a fantastic guitar, he mostly flat picks and plays bluegrass music. I had promised him that if he reached a certain level of playing I would buy him a nicer guitar. He is advancing incredibly fast and works at it all the time. My question is, which would you recommend as the best choice for his bluegrass music? a D-18 or a D-28HD…side note he does sing lead when he plays he is not just an instrumentalist. It’s a surprise and he really likes both guitars. Any recommendations?

[@Michael-bm8hi]

Rosewood on a SJ200 is a dead end road. I know there were pre war times 200s with RW. But it’s gotta be maple for this guitar which plays quieter as one may think. And in regard to the finish: take an all-natural. I played four SJs before I got mine and it seems to me that Gibson makes a better top selection for their flat tops when the end being all-natural. Btw it is the same with my J185 - a guitar I play far often than the SJ.

[@modern.day.meditations]

Don't confuse the "Standard" with the "Original" - both maple. You have an Original here. The Standard has Grover golden tuners and only 2 inlays in the mustache bridge. The Original has 4 inlays and these bone-like tuners.

[@randydean23]

Personally I became enamored with the rose wood back and sides when I heard y'all demo that pre war spec'd advanced jumbo. It's the nicest sounding acoustic guitar I've ever heard on a video. But I admit that I was a little bit let down with that tonewood pairing in this scenario. Did you guys demo those Epiphone master built acoustics with the rosewood back and sides and spruce top from a few years back??

[@LegsON]

Excellente? No, they weren't reviewed here.

[@robertson26]

Rosewood a bit muddy on low end. Maple winner in SJ battle.

[@LegsON]

I have an adi-rosewood copy and the sitka-maple one, the first one is scooped and very bassy/muddy with rather underwhelming treble, and the latter is clearer chimier and fuller.

[@pouyatorkiyan3258]

Nice 👍

[@s.gharavi1614]

I have the rosewood and mine has way, way more range than the one played here. I have a maple J-185 and it sounds very full in comparison.

[@rickstrandberg6398]

If your'e going for seals and krofts get rosewood country mapo

[@TheRezus35]

maple all the way

[@rabbadatz]

John McLaughlin is playing a SJ200 since decades. He is no strummer though :-)

[@Anton-ji4td]

Would have been nice to hear finger picking as well.

[@6thwatergateplumber]

Maple, Maple, Maple. Sweet as my syrup.

[@Valen-D]

Rosewood no doubt.

[@RoquetteAttaquer]

Obviously Rosewood

[@1967markk]

maple is the daddy

[@jason_learns]

Do these balloons blow up into funny shapes? Not unless you think ROUND is funny. - Raising Arizona

[@roughcutguitars]

1.724 vs 1.725 IS a fractional amount. That fraction is 1/1000. Pick one piece of hair out of your scalp (unless you're clinging to whatever you've got left); THAT'S LITERALLY 1/1000. That's not "a difference". It's a typo, or an 'out' for Production. Oh, Gibson - you loveable knuckleheads. (And cue the Blogosphere blow-up.)

[@tommy2u]

Just pet it and see.. she purrs like a kitten. :D

[@abates226]

The maple sounds chimey to me. Not my preference.

[@erou_al_munciisocialiste7665]

Maple great sounds on duble six guitar.