Jumbo Guitars questions

[RussGlenn]

Hi i was at maestro and tried an EJ -1 I kinda like it.
can you guys give me a run down on the pros and cons about a jumbo guitar?
besides maestro where else got good jumbo guitars.
heard jumbos are good for strumming but not good for plucking. is this true? why?

thx hope to hear from you guys soon

Russ

 

[gjtaylor]

u're a super fan of maestro man !
hahaha. did u go everyday ?
i've already recommended u some guitars on the other thread of yours.
Yamaha CPX series is a Jumbo ~

Jumbo guitars are designed to be loud and bassy.
some people dont like to use Jumbo for picking but some feel that it sounds better as it's bassy.
it's all up to u abt how u feel and how much u like the sound of the Jumbo u're choosing.
in addition, the types of wood used to make the Jumbo would affect the sound of the guitar as well.

Mahogany back and sides = fast response and bright

Maple back and sides = tight bright tone and good sustain

Rosewood back and sides = warm bassy tone with sluggish response but really good sustain

Sitka spruce top = Bright tight sound that will play in and loosen up and become more warm as you play the guitar.

Cedar top = warm and mellow

Englman = half way between sitka and cedar

hope it helps u a little.

 

[RussGlenn]

haha well been exploring for a good guitar. dont wanna purchase something then regreting it later on. well just wanna know about jumbos. like the sound compared to normal acoustics.. haha dunno why i really like the bassy feel and the warmness of the sond so just wanna know more about it

 

[gjtaylor]

they're not normal acoustics lah, there're different types of acoustic like the dreadnoughts.

if u like the booming sound u can consider a dreadnought style acoustic guitar as well.
it's smaller in size of course.

but a Jumbo offers a more balanced sound than a dreadnought and definitely louder and will have more high ends.

hope this helps u a little more.

 

[Hangman]

I agree with gjtaylor.

Just my 5 cent worth i felt that you should make the tonewood your primary consideration rather than the shape.

No doubt the shape can affect the volume and tone of your guitar but the main characteristic is given by the wood.

However once you have decided on the tone u like then u choose the shape based on the style u play and all these depends on whether u want more sustain, volume, reverb these kinda stuff.

End of the day it boils down to you grabbing a guitar and doing what u want to do with it and see if it can meet your expectation ^^

 

[EugeneSmasher]

In my opinion, generally you get a bassier and louder sound from jumbos, but the tone is mainly from the woods used. A mahogany-backed dreadnought might sound bassier than a maple-backed jumbo.

Its all about the woods used, but you can be sure that a jumbo has stronger volume and more emphasis on the mid-range though the woods used affect the level of emphasis on bass, treble and mids. I tried a CPX and found it incredibly well-balanced.

Another thing is the pickup, but it only affects the plugged-in sound.

 

[EugeneSmasher]

End of the day it boils down to you grabbing a guitar and doing what u want to do with it and see if it can meet your expectation ^^

+100! Totally agreed. Its all subjective taste here, some like me prefer smaller-bodied guitars, while others swear by jumbos and dreadnoughts.