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One more probably stupid question...

I noticed on my J200 that (if the light is just right) that you can just see the top joint in the finish. Is this normal? There are no cracks or anything and RH/temp are right. It seems like on all my Gibsons the finish is pretty thin and somewhat uneven and didnt know if it was something to be concerned about or just a poor finish job? I would post a picture but I can't get it to show up in a photo.

One other question. About to start my first build and was wondering what anybody thought of rosewood or mahogany back and sides on a jumbo guitar?

It's pretty common to be able to find the joint on the top, especially if you know how to look for it. I don't think there's anything to worry about. Or are you saying it's the finish that you see the joint in, not the top...? If this were the case, then that would be interesting for the finish to crack, right along the joint and be straight as the joint seem is. Do you think it's in the finish....? or are you just seeing where the two halves are joined together?

Lots of Mahogany and Rosewood jumbo's around. And actually, I think a rosewood Jumbo with a cedar top would be great

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It's in the finish, but its not a crack. It's like the the finish just has a seam in it where the top joint is. But there's no cracks or loose bracing or anything. Almost like the finish "pooled" at the seam and didnt get sanded down or something yet it's still smooth (no ridge or anything). I wish I knew how to describe it better or could get it to show up in a picture. The best way I could explain it is how the grain starts to show in the finish when humidity is off (washboard effect) but just on the seam.

The finish has sunk at the joint line .. it happens. It only needs to be a thou deep for you to see a line, but in most cases, its fine, thats just the way it is.

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I'm building a Honduras mahogany jumbo with a WRC top right now. It'll be a month or so before it's done, but I can certainly let ya know then how it comes out. The box has a pretty amazing sound when you tap where the bridge will be place. It's quite a nice loud boom!