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I was initially looking for the Gibson CJ-165 plan - but Todd was kind enough to point out that there is VERY little difference between it and the Olson SJ plan.

Does anyone have one of these they want to part with?

Actually - what I'm really looking for right now is just a vector based file of the outline of the guitar that I can "play with" in Adobe Illustrator. I'd like to tweak the shape a little bit and this would make things much easier.

Can anyone help me?

Thanks!

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Paul,
You should ask Jim! I dont know him personaly, but from everyone I hear, it is a great guy! I bet he'd be happy to help and you would have the very best source for info on it

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

The body shape of an Olson SJ is vastly different than that of a Gibson CJ-165. The CJ-165 is a smaller bouted tight wasited version of the J-200 shape the Olson SJ is an enlarged OM shape more or less. Much looser, gradual waist transition than Gibson. Also the Gibson lower bout is more of a rounded shape than the Olson SJ which proportionally is very much like and OM in shape but larger.




The SJ-200 body (same body as on the CJ-165) is very simulare to my SJ plans in the Library of Plans. but a 1/2" narower.

Paul, I'll PM you sometime tonight.

Thanks James!

On a related note - based on Lance's comments I looked up Jim Olson's web site and dialed the number expecting to get a recording or someone other than Jim.

Low and behold Jim answers the phone. Turns out I've interrupted him while he is in the process of spraying 27 guitars. I can't tell you how wonderfully kind he was on the phone.... and how embarrassed I felt at stopping his work.

I told him of the class build my son and I just did with Kevin Gallagher - and he inquired about Kevin's shoulder and told me of his similar surgery 8 years ago.

We discussed his SJ shape and he told me it was basically a J-200 scaled down to a 15" lower bout.

He was wonderful to talk to - and I kept thinking to myself "get off the phone, you're bothering him" - but he NEVER acted that way at all! He was a gem!

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I guess it depends what you mean by is basically. I have a good friend with an Olson SJ and is far from a S-200 shape unless Jim has redesigned the shape and I guess that is possible. The waist radius and transition is far different from a Gibson J-200 Now the bout sizes and body depth are very close And that may be what he means. But since you are going to modify anyway this is all semantics anyway.

Ok curiosity cot to me and i found a dead straight on photo of both and did a tracing and scale it up to where both had a 15" bout as per specs. As I stated before ther is a pretty good differernce in these two body shape and lengths.



Gibson CJ-165 in red
Olson SJ in blue

The Olson SJ is not any larger than an OM shape. In fact it is almost identical in size to an OM but it is more curvy than an OM is and it is deeper than an OM is. I know Bruce Dickey has a tracing of an Olson SJ and Paul Davis (Patriot Guitars) has it and Paul has made me acrylic templetes of the Olson SJ on his CNC machine.

Yes, Jim Olson is one of the most kind & generous luthiers I've ever talked with.

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Olson is 19 1/2" body length and the Gibson is 18 1/2" body length. Both have the same lower bout width but the Olson is shaped like a Martin OM with a flat between the lower bout halves and the Gibson is a continious blended arc in the lower bout. The gibson has a much smaller upper bout and tighter waist. with all due respect to Mr. Olson, In my books the are not close to each other other than lower bout width.

That's fine and dany Michael, but you said the Olson SJ was bigger than an OM, that's all I'm disputing. It is the closest SJ in basic dimensions to an OM as there is out there (I think). It's just more curvey than an OM is (better in my eyes).

Anyway, they are a fine guitar and Jim is a fine human being, I think we can agree on that for sure

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"There's really no wrong way, as long as the results are what's desired." Charles Fox

"We have to constantly remind ourselves what we're doing....No Luthier is putting a man on the moon!" Harry Fleishman

"Generosity is always different in the eye of the person who didn't receive anything, but who wanted some." Waddy Thomson

Just a tad in length, a OmM is 19 3/8" long.

Bruce Dickey has or at least, had, a nice detailed tracing of an Olson SJ cutaway...he was kind enough to send me a copy several years ago and it's so elegant I hung it on my shop wall! (One day I'll build it Bruce!)... Jar him up and he may be able to help you out!

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