Large and In Charge: the Takamine Jumbo

October 22, 2018 23:28

The jumbo shape is a grand guitar that invokes boldness and unapologetic Americana. The largest of all the shapes that Takamine makes, the jumbo offers a ton of complex and interesting tones. It has very rich, round bottom end that's apparent regardless of how light you strum... and when you strum on the lighter side, it’s a very glossy, chimey sound that lends itself to modern worship music and fast, glossy strumming (think "Pinball Wizard"). As you dig in hard, a very pronounced midrange voice leaps out.

This is a shape that rarely runs out of gas, but it definitely has “gears”. Traditionally, jumbos are often made with spruce tops and maple back and sides, like Takamine’s P6JC, and GJ72CE. Takamine also makes a great cedar/sapele version in the P1JC, a warm, syrupy sounding jumbo. We also make more boomy models out of spruce/rosewood like the P5JC and the P7JC.

Pro Series P6JC (Gloss Brown Sunburst)

G Series GJ72CE (Gloss Natural)

Pro Series P1JC (Gloss Natural)

Pro Series P5JC (Gloss Natural)

Pro Series P7JC (Gloss Natural)

One cool thing about the jumbo shape is that it handles lots of strum energy. This bodes very well in Takamine’s jumbo 12-strings like the P6JC-12 and the GJ72CE-12 models. Finally, a surprising side of the jumbos: their large body cavity and round bottom end make them Ideal candidates for Takamine’s acoustic-electric bass guitars, such as the PB5, GB30CE, or GB72CE.