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I am doing three J-35 style Jumbo/Dreads right now and emailed John a couple of questions and thought I would put it to the group as well. John sent me a sketch drawing of the bracing pattern & bridge placement with the various scale length points. My questions are

1. What size was the soundhole in the original J-35?

2. Does anyone have a drawing or know what the placement of the soundhole, or measurements down from the top of the upper bout to the top of the hole was for a secondary verification on the originals?

Thanks

Mike

I know this doesn't help you directly.... but you should grab a copy of the book Fabulous Flattops. It is a history of many of the Gibson models. It is excellent ... I don't know how well it specs out the J35 but it had a lot of very specific info like this for the AJ which I have been doing research on.

I have the book @ my office... if you don't get the answer by tomorrow I will look it up for you.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

I have that book as well. I looked up your question about the J-35's soundhole diameter. It lists the diameter for Square & Sloped-Shouldered Dreads at 3 15/16". Silimlar to the Dove, due to it's Maple constuction, but less expensive, the author describes the J-35 as a somewhat obscure square-shouldered model, being that it was only made for a two-year period, and they are relatively rare.

Most were finished in 'Cherry Sunburst". Long scaled at 25 1/2" w/ a maple neck, backs & sides. The tops & backs were constructed w/ a slight arch for greater strength and response. Often mistaken for a J-40 & J-50 from the double-X period, or for the cheaper J-30.

Hope this helps Mike. I tried not to plagiarize the author too too much!

Mike,

Reading further into the book, I realized that there were two different periods when Gibson issued the J-35. What I detailed in the the above post was the latter square-shouldered J-35, made in 1985. You were probably referring to the 1st production run. A sloped-shouldered, called the Jumbo 35, or the 1937 J-35. Costing only $35 at the time, it was intended to be a less expensive version of the Advanced Jumbo Model. It was produced from 1936 till mid-'42.

The soundhole diameter originally started out at 3 3/4", but was then increased to 4".

The depths of sides were:
depth of sides at rear:    4 13/16"
depth of sides at front:   3 13/16"
average depthe of sides:   4.31"

Scale: 24 3/4" w/ a V-neck, but later rounding out.

They started out w/o scalloped bracing, but scalloping was later added. The original 3-tone bars, was also later changed to, 2 tone bars. They were Adi-topped! At first, they were finished w/ a beautiful Sunburst finish ('36 -'38), but changed to a natural finish in '39. But w/ Gibson, this varied! This might of been Gibson's first experimentation w/ a Cherry SB finish.

Sounds like a rare model that had excellent tone!
Totals: 2,477

Sorry for the confusion.

Isn't that a great book???? I wish I could find something like that for Martin's.

... this guitar was suppossed to be nice. However, the holy grail for old Gibson jumbos was the AJ... (or at least it was according to the folks that wrote this book).

So, if you are building new, you might want to take a look at the AJ specs.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Thanks Brock and RichB,

You are correct, I am working with the older original version from the 1930's which has a really nice rounded shape and looks like a cross between a Jumbo and Dread. I will have to get that book for sure, I am ordering the J-200 mold/pattern next. I have been on the Martin styles for a few years and am really enjoying this change.

Thanks for all the info, it answered my questions and I can proceed from there.

Thanks again,

Mike
White Oak, Texas

Brock, as I understand, the OLF with the assistance of MichaelP is soon coming out with the AJ plans? I will definetly be in line for a set of those.

Mike

Mike...

I dug up a little more info on the the '37 Jumbo 35 w/ some great jpegs for referencing:
http://www.provide.net/~cfh/j35.html

Thanks Rich, nice bit of info and photos.

I had read that these early J-35's had great sound quality. I don't see many of these originals around nor have I seen many builders using this design. I really like the shape and after just bending sides for 3 and getting the top and back plates ready to go I like it even better. I am using WRC on one and Bearclaw Sitka Spruce on the other two. My B&S woods are Ambrosia Maple, Curley Cherry and Ribbon Sapele. I am waiting on a some supplies to arrive and hope to get all three boxes closed and post some pics in the next week or two.

Again, thanks for searching around and sharing with me these sites and information, very much appreciated.

Mike
White Oak, Texas

nor have I seen many builders using this design.

Many do(myself included). It's the same slope shoulder shape and basic design as the later J-45/J-50.Mario38993.6067361111