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
Comments
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.)
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
A good Dove is a huge sounding instrument. Sounds like you founds a good one
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.
I think so too! There’s so much going on in the tone, it’s quite spectacular.
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!
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!
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!