NGD: Gibson Dove

SixStringSage · April 2

I'm feeling like the cat that got the cream here.

The short story: this guitar was pre-owned, but probably only with the previous owner for a few months. Purchased from Anderton's for 2/3 of the price of a new one, but in mint condition aside from a few barely-visible marks on the back.

The slightly longer story: last July I was in Anderton's and they had one Dove in stock. It was this colour and I said it was the nicest acoustic I'd ever played. I was back in Anderton's last month and their new Dove was underwhelming. Back in there yesterday and I played this one and their other new one, and this had much more going on — my wife says it sounds like multiple guitars being played at once. It seems to produce a huge array of frequencies. It sounds sublime with a capo on as well as being downtuned too. Anyway, this guitar was made in May 2023 and traded in December 2023, meaning there's a very decent chance it's the same guitar that I played in July. I can't be 100% sure, but I may ask Anderton's if they have a serial number record of the previous sale.

Time for some pics: https://imgur.com/a/0nyo5I7

ICBM · April 2

Very nice. A good one of these is amazing, but they're very variable. I've got the older model with the white label and no 'Dove' truss rod cover, with a natural top. I've played two more of them, neither even close to as good as mine.

Mine came with the 'D' key Rotomatics, but I've replaced them with keystones like yours, it suits the guitar far better - they're also slightly lighter and I genuinely think the guitar sounded better after I swapped them! (I kept the same strings.)

stickyfiddle · April 2

Lovely

A good Dove is a huge sounding instrument. Sounds like you founds a good one

deejayen · April 2

I played one a few months back, and really liked it. I much preferred it to the SJ-200's I've tried.

I ended up buying an old Guild maple jumbo instead (I couldn't justify the Dove, but it's definitely a guitar I'd seek out if I were buying another acoustic in the future).

SixStringSage · April 2

ICBM said:

Very nice. A good one of these is amazing, but they're very variable. I've got the older model with the white label and no 'Dove' truss rod cover, with a natural top. I've played two more of them, neither even close to as good as mine.

Mine came with the 'D' key Rotomatics, but I've replaced them with keystones like yours, it suits the guitar far better - they're also slightly lighter and I genuinely think the guitar sounded better after I swapped them! (I kept the same strings.)

I have played 3 of them now, including this. This one and the first one were probably equally good, but the other one wasn’t. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it wasn’t as resonant or lively and I would have chosen the Songwriter over it. It surprises me that they aren’t more popular though, both the Dove and Songwriter seem to be something of a secret when they’re fantastic models.

stickyfiddle said:

Lovely

A good Dove is a huge sounding instrument. Sounds like you founds a good one

I think so too! There’s so much going on in the tone, it’s quite spectacular.

deejayen said:

I played one a few months back, and really liked it. I much preferred it to the SJ-200's I've tried.

I ended up buying an old Guild maple jumbo instead (I couldn't justify the Dove, but it's definitely a guitar I'd seek out if I were buying another acoustic in the future).

Yeah justifying the price isn’t easy, it’s certainly expensive. I managed it because I’m expecting a significant rebate from my previous tax bill, coupled with this one being £1400 cheaper than buying it brand new (despite it basically being brand new itself). Plus, being next to the £5,000 Hummingbird on the wall helped too!

grayn · April 3

Visually it's a real beauty. Seems it's sonically even better. Congrats.

builttospill · April 3

SixStringSage said:

I'm feeling like the cat that got the cream here.

The short story: this guitar was pre-owned, but probably only with the previous owner for a few months. Purchased from Anderton's for 2/3 of the price of a new one, but in mint condition aside from a few barely-visible marks on the back.

The slightly longer story: last July I was in Anderton's and they had one Dove in stock. It was this colour and I said it was the nicest acoustic I'd ever played. I was back in Anderton's last month and their new Dove was underwhelming. Back in there yesterday and I played this one and their other new one, and this had much more going on — my wife says it sounds like multiple guitars being played at once. It seems to produce a huge array of frequencies. It sounds sublime with a capo on as well as being downtuned too. Anyway, this guitar was made in May 2023 and traded in December 2023, meaning there's a very decent chance it's the same guitar that I played in July. I can't be 100% sure, but I may ask Anderton's if they have a serial number record of the previous sale.

Time for some pics: https://imgur.com/a/0nyo5I7

That’s an absolutely gorgeous guitar, many congratulations! I’m a recent Gibson acoustic convert, I purchased my hummingbird last year after trying several at different stores.

SixStringSage · April 3

builttospill said:

That’s an absolutely gorgeous guitar, many congratulations! I’m a recent Gibson acoustic convert, I purchased my hummingbird last year after trying several at different stores.

thank you, and congratulations on yours too! I hope you love it. Gibson acoustics have the perfect tone to my ears, and the Hummingbird is a fantastic model.

Tannin · April 3

That's a great result and a lovely guitar. I'm a bit jealous.

I particularly resonate to your tale of meeting a good 'un, regretting letting it slip through your fingers, and then meeting it again.

Mostly, we look back and regret the special ones we didn't buy. I think you make a very important point about buying another one "the same" which often isn't really the same at all. So happy ending.

I have still never played - or even seen! - a Dove. I don't care for pretty much all the other Gibson acoustics - short scales just don't do it for me, never mind the crazy pricing - but with a 647mm scale and a maple back, the Dove has all the ingredients I like and everybody here says they are great.

All the best with yours!

SixStringSage · April 5

Tannin said:

That's a great result and a lovely guitar. I'm a bit jealous.

I particularly resonate to your tale of meeting a good 'un, regretting letting it slip through your fingers, and then meeting it again.

Mostly, we look back and regret the special ones we didn't buy. I think you make a very important point about buying another one "the same" which often isn't really the same at all. So happy ending.

I have still never played - or even seen! - a Dove. I don't care for pretty much all the other Gibson acoustics - short scales just don't do it for me, never mind the crazy pricing - but with a 647mm scale and a maple back, the Dove has all the ingredients I like and everybody here says they are great.

All the best with yours!

Thank you! I actually asked the shop if they could tell if it was theirs last year and they said they don't have the serial number as being one they've sold before so probably isn't theirs, but I'll be damned if it's not identical in what made that one special. I guess that makes me twice as lucky, that I found one equally good to the one that originally impressed me.

Have you tried a Songwriter before? It's different to the Dove in that it's rosewood instead of maple, but it's a long scale and absolutely wonderful. If it was a choice between the other Dove in the shop and their SW, I'd have taken the SW home. Plus they're significantly cheaper!

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NGD: Gibson Dove

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