I like Gibson Guitars.

Derick, here's my theory. I'm not sure if it's sound, and perhaps others can chip in on whether they think I am right.

The problem with Gibson is that they are quite heavily braced. They are typically "over built" - It means you need a really great top to make them sound great. And we all know that great tops are becoming scarcer.

So I think they are inconsistent, because with the scarcity of resources, it's becoming harder and harder to replicate the typical Gibson sound.

I think this because I recently compared a J45 true vintage with an adi top and a standard J45. The true vintage was far better, but double the price. The J45 standard did not wow me at all. However, a few years back I played a J45 "banner" which had a sitka top, and was amazing in tone. It had a terrible neck though. Typical baseball bat.

I have also played a new Epiphone SJ200 which I far preferred to a 1992 Gibson SJ200.

So I don't know - They seem hit and miss to me. I would love a great Gibson, but I'm scared I'll over spend on what I think is a great Gibson, and actually is terrible. If I went for one, I would compare it to death until I was sure.

Jim,

Thanks for your take on your guitars.
 It would be nice to know what you think of the new Gibson's, hope they are still great guitars. 😀

This is the number one opinion I hear about Gibsons.  I've tried a few.  Didn't like any of them except one; that one really sounded super sweet though.   Still, it was used and for the price it was going for, still was not super impressed cuz although it sounded sweet, it did not sound like almost 3 grand worth of sweet (price was 2800.00 bucks.  No pickup. lol    ).

Gibson is coming out with a studio series for 2019.

They have a J-45 and Hummingbird in the series.

The J-45 Walnut Burst has my attention...