nuemes
Be Here Now
Curious if you've had experience with a Gibson J45 and what you think of it compared to other acoustics in the $1500 range.
Gibson J45
- Thread starter nuemes
- Start date
Milnoque
Resident Curmudgeon
I'm a big fan of the J-45. I consider the older ones as good as any dreadnaughts ever made. There was a serious drop-off in quality in the Sixties and Seventies. They are now making some very fine guitars in Montana. Unfortunately they are notorious for lack of quality control. If you are considering a new J-45, only do so after trying it out and looking it over. There can be serious finish flaws or sloppy fretwork etc.. On the other hand a GOOD example of the new J-45 is a very good guitar indeed.
Flamin Lip
New member
Used to only play Martin and pooh poohed all of the Gibbies, but I was young and dumb. There are some great vintage ones out there, and some of the new ones kill too, but I have also ran into a few that were a bit stiff feeling, so play before ya buy.
ch2os7
New member
J45
I've had a J45 for over 40 years. (got it when I was 12) It was rough looking when I got it (former owner was abusive) but it sounds sooo nice and plays just as nice. I also own a Martin, Washburn and Takamine but the old gipper is still my friend.
There are some vintage J45's out there at decent prices unless you're just looking to buy new.
I've had a J45 for over 40 years. (got it when I was 12) It was rough looking when I got it (former owner was abusive) but it sounds sooo nice and plays just as nice. I also own a Martin, Washburn and Takamine but the old gipper is still my friend.
There are some vintage J45's out there at decent prices unless you're just looking to buy new.
Light
New member
When they are great, they can't be beat, but they aren't always great. Make sure you play it before you buy, and if you get one of the ones with the Plastic bridges (at least, I think they did those things on the J-45s - those bridges are the single worst idea Gibson ever had, and that is saying a whole fuck of a lot), get it replaced with a real bridge. Even George Gruhn will tell you that it won't hurt the vintage value of the instrument. Oh, same thing if it has any of the adjustable bridges. It will be worth just as much or more, and sound about 1000% better if you get the bridge replaced with a regular old pocketed saddle bridge.
The scary thing to me is that the crappy ceramic saddles that came with those things are going for like $100 on ebay these days. I've got a box of like 100 of them (at least) in the shop. One of these days, I'm gonna have to start selling them off (one at a time, I don't want to flood the market and drive down the price, you know).
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
The scary thing to me is that the crappy ceramic saddles that came with those things are going for like $100 on ebay these days. I've got a box of like 100 of them (at least) in the shop. One of these days, I'm gonna have to start selling them off (one at a time, I don't want to flood the market and drive down the price, you know).
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
frshwtrbob
New member
J-45's are the "tits"
That's what my old pal Tim Kummer from kummersvintageguitars.com said to me when I asked him what he considered to be a great instrument and that's what I got, being lucky enough to find a minty '47 J-45 at 1/2 the present day price back in '03. A real individual personality soundwise is what its got, not to mention a chunky round neck that just sits perfect in your palm all nite long and action like butter with a not so jumbo body that's light as a feather. Killer looks to boot. Now if it could only cook...
That's what my old pal Tim Kummer from kummersvintageguitars.com said to me when I asked him what he considered to be a great instrument and that's what I got, being lucky enough to find a minty '47 J-45 at 1/2 the present day price back in '03. A real individual personality soundwise is what its got, not to mention a chunky round neck that just sits perfect in your palm all nite long and action like butter with a not so jumbo body that's light as a feather. Killer looks to boot. Now if it could only cook...
pohaku
New member
I have a 1966 J-45 with the adjustable bridge/saddle. Despite the bridge, it plays and sounds great. Less boomy than a comparable Martin like a D-28. The neck on mine is rather small, unlike the thicker necks on the earlier banner head stock models. Works for me as I have small hands, but might not be for everyone. Unless you are particularly enamored with the Martin sound (or playing blue grass), I find the J-45 (and the matching natural finish J-50) to be a more even and smooth sounding guitar (and I do own a very nice D-28). Makes it easier to record IMHO.
I may have to schlep it over to Light's shop sometime and have a real bridge/saddle installed.
The smaller student model B-25 is also worth checking out. These, unfortunately were the ones with the plastic bridge and adjustable saddle. Definitely get the bridge and saddle replaced on these. Most need it as the plastic bridge warps with age. Great sounding little guitar. A bit bigger than parlour size and quite loud. One of my favorite guitars.
I may have to schlep it over to Light's shop sometime and have a real bridge/saddle installed.
The smaller student model B-25 is also worth checking out. These, unfortunately were the ones with the plastic bridge and adjustable saddle. Definitely get the bridge and saddle replaced on these. Most need it as the plastic bridge warps with age. Great sounding little guitar. A bit bigger than parlour size and quite loud. One of my favorite guitars.
Light
New member
While I still stand by that advice (this thread is over 2 years old, you know), I have to admit that idiots who don't know WTF they are talking about have changed the value part of that. Some clueless dumb fucks have decided that originality is the only thing, never mind if they original design was, by far, the stupidest design decision EVER made by a major guitar manufacturer and resulted in a guitar that lacked, well, every good thing about guitars. As much as I still tell people to get a real bridge and saddle, I have to advise that it will decrease the value of the guitar.
People seem to have decided that all old guitars were great just as they were, and don't seem to notice that the reason the GREAT old guitars have become so valuable is because they are GREAT, not just because they are old.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Milnoque
Resident Curmudgeon
There are folks that think those adjustable bridge Gibsons from the sixties are the best sounding guitars ever made. They go on forums and argue the relative merits of the ceramic inserts over the rosewood ones. It takes all kinds...
Remember there are people who think Ovation is the best brand of guitars.
philboyd studge
New member
I had a '64 that I bought from Elderly around 1978 that still had the adjustable bridge which I had replaced with a rosewood/bone saddle insert. I can't remember if World of Strings or Mark Rosenthal did it but the fit was great and I retained the original bridge with the capability of changing back if need be. To be honest, the improvement wasn't as much as I expected....not nearly as much as it was for my '64 B-45-12, but that J-45 sounded really good as it was. Sadly, both Gibsons, along with many other instruments were stolen in 86.
Currently I have a J-45 Rosewood that I like a lot. I rarely buy any guitar new and even more rarely from GC but this thing just jumped off the wall in 2005. I pretty much left it alone with the factory setup and dressed the frets a bit but just got it back a week ago from Jim Foote at Music Works for some fine tuning and man I gotta say it's perfection now.
I'm suprised no one has brought up the issue that these are short scale guitars and though I like the J-45 as an alternative to the rest of my steel stringed acoustics (which are all 25 1/2"), they can be a turn off for some...or just the ticket for others.
frshwtrbob
New member
pohaku
New member
Light, so what is the possibility of doing a reversible insert? The bridge on mine is rosewood. It has the typical adjustable ceramic saddle. Is there a reasonable way to retain the bridge with a drop in wood/bone saddle thus allowing the adjustable saddle to be reinstalled if the guitar is ever sold? Just a thought. There ought to be a market for something like that.
The bridge and saddle on my B-25 were replaced before I bought it (probably the plastic bridge warped necessitating the replacement) and I subsequently had a bone saddle installed. Sounds great. It would be nice to have a bone saddle in my J-45 as well if it was possible without trashing the market value. The thing has appreciated like crazy since I bought it - certainly outstripped my 401K.
Light
New member
Light, so what is the possibility of doing a reversible insert? The bridge on mine is rosewood. It has the typical adjustable ceramic saddle. Is there a reasonable way to retain the bridge with a drop in wood/bone saddle thus allowing the adjustable saddle to be reinstalled if the guitar is ever sold? Just a thought. There ought to be a market for something like that.
Not really practical. I'm afraid that there are structural problems with that, as there isn't much wood in front of the saddle on most of those things. A lot of the support for the adjustable ones is from the hardware, and a lot of the problems are related to that hardware.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Milnoque
Resident Curmudgeon
Light, so what is the possibility of doing a reversible insert? The bridge on mine is rosewood. It has the typical adjustable ceramic saddle. Is there a reasonable way to retain the bridge with a drop in wood/bone saddle thus allowing the adjustable saddle to be reinstalled if the guitar is ever sold? Just a thought. There ought to be a market for something like that.
I have seen guitars that have had this done successfully. It doesn't improve the sound as much as you might think.
There were a number of design changes besides the adjustable bridge that came with guitars of this vintage. Many of the structural members were made more robust than necessary as well. They all worked together to limit the resonance the earlier instruments had. As I said earlier, there are many people who admire the muffled percussive nature of these instruments. If you're happy with the tone of your guitar I recommend you leave well enough alone.
philboyd studge
New member
It's been awhile but as I recall adjustable bridge Gibsons had undersized bridge plates and that could contribute to the top bellying or warping they have been known for. If you happened to have one with a flat top there's a chance you could get away with yanking the screws of the adjustable saddle and having an insert made. It really should be the call of a well qualified repairman. Also, if it has been played a lot, the holes for the strings are likely enlarged on the bridge plate and allowing the ball ends to ride up higher in the bridge, which won't help warping issues either.
bongolation
New member
Whatever you do, avoid the "J-45 Deluxe" from the '70s, broadly recognized as the worst guitar Gibson ever made, to this day -- which is really saying something, given the garbage that they get away with shipping.
The "Deluxe" was Norlin's attempt to make the J-45 for about half the production cost by using cheaper materials, simpler design and new technology. It was a disaster.
The ultimate cynicism was to call this vastly downgraded abortion "Deluxe" to fool the rubes.
There are some breathtaking examples in Erlewine's book on Gibson acoustics. There aren't many still around as they tended to self-destruct in a few years. I have one I got for a couple of hundred used in around '82 that is now unplayable and not worth fixing.
Firewood.
The "Deluxe" was Norlin's attempt to make the J-45 for about half the production cost by using cheaper materials, simpler design and new technology. It was a disaster.
The ultimate cynicism was to call this vastly downgraded abortion "Deluxe" to fool the rubes.
There are some breathtaking examples in Erlewine's book on Gibson acoustics. There aren't many still around as they tended to self-destruct in a few years. I have one I got for a couple of hundred used in around '82 that is now unplayable and not worth fixing.
Firewood.
nuemes
Be Here Now
Funny how these threads can live so long.
I ended up getting a new J45 on sale in 2007 after playing every other Martin, Gibson & Takamine + others in the store. The J45 just had the vibe I wanted.
It's mellow like one of the best parlor guitars I've ever played (despite not being a parlor guitar) and records beautifully balanced.
I literally feel like I'll never have a need for another acoustic guitar which, when it comes to music gear, is a total miracle around these parts.
I ended up getting a new J45 on sale in 2007 after playing every other Martin, Gibson & Takamine + others in the store. The J45 just had the vibe I wanted.
It's mellow like one of the best parlor guitars I've ever played (despite not being a parlor guitar) and records beautifully balanced.
I literally feel like I'll never have a need for another acoustic guitar which, when it comes to music gear, is a total miracle around these parts.