J-45's...love em' or leave em?

[GeetarGoul]

I currently have a newer D-28 and was thinking a mahogany Gibson might be in my future. I like the used prices and the stock pickup.

Please share yer thoughts on the old and new ones.... :RoCkIn

[eric-d]

I love my '68 J-45...

http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/2353/dsc011738ph.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Gazza]

I haven't played a new or used Bozeman J-45 that I thought was worthy of the money they command. I did own a J-45 rosewood for awhile that was real nice but eventually traded it for a Martin, I don't miss it one bit.

[jimfog]

Love how they sound.......punchy, direct, to the point.

Unfortunately, I've never met one, new or vintage, where the intonation was decent, due to the short scale.

Bummer.......

-jim

[neve1073]

I have a 1948 J50 that is the best sounding steel string I've ever played. It gets used in the studio all the time. We also have a very fine collings d2h--but the j50 gets chosen almost everytime.

[THROBAK]

I love my 60's J-45 and J-50's. Completely different sound than a D-28. If you buy a vintage don't be put off by one with the adjustable bridge. They get a bad wrap but I think the adjustable bridges sound great also. I have one of the newer Montana J-45's it is nice but the vintage ones sound better. Of the newer J-45's I actually like my Epiphone Elitist J-45E the best. They are now discontinued but I bought mine off Ebay for $711.00 in like new condition. There was a new one on Ebay just last week. The newer J-45's don't have jumbo frets like the 60's J-45's and they are braced completely differently now also. If you want a new Gibson slope shoulder I would buy the advanced jumbo before the J-45.

[Dave Orban]

I'll take an early 50s J-45 any day over any Martin Dread...

[Ogre]

J45s vary a lot. It would be a good idea to play several and pick the best. They have a unique and charming sound. They are not "big" souding guitars like a good Martin. They are also not receptive to being played hard. That is, they don't give up the goods when you dig in. My fave Gibson acoustic is the Advanced Jumbo. It has the longer scale, bigger sound, but still retains the classic Gibson voice.

[mcdyas]

Gibson Montana has been turning out good work, but sound can vary from one to the other of the same model. I love my J45 RW. Check out the J-150 Rosewood before you decide.

[ricoh]

I have a 1960 J-45.......It had been well played before I got it. It has a absolutely remarkable tone. It is lightweight but needs new frets. Still sounds awesome. A good Gibson flattop is a thing of wonder!!!!
Recently I sampled 2 new J-45's, a new Advanced Jumbo and 2 new hummingbird's. First was the AJ. Sounded vey open and smooth with a nice high end as well. Next was the 1st HB. It sounded ok....then a hummingbird -w- gold HW. Wow......$2000.00 new and although I don't need another guitar the wheeels were turning!!!! I then played the J=45's
Very dull and dead sounding. Of course that was IMO only and those guitars. The other thing to keep in mind .....if you play them in the acoustic guitar room at a big box retail store as I did {GC}...then all those other guitars string's are vibrating slightly as well. Happy hunting!!!

[sanhozay]

I have a newish J45 and I think it's a great box. Chords chug along like an old freight train and it's a sweete acoustic guitar for smokey blues. Nowhere as articulate or strident as a Martin D28 or D18, which can be a damn good thing. I think the new ones are nice. My J45 needed a new saddle, a few frets filed and a truss tweak, so expect to curse if patronize your local internet dealer. But after that they settle in just fine.

:AOK

[Buffalosix]

I'm a big fan of the Bozeman Gibsons, and own two of them. Both initially required serious setup work (fret and saddle work), but it was well worth it in the end.

Neither of the ones I have now are mahoganys, though I had a mahog J-160E for a while, which had a fantastic unamplified sound. I still have a J-45 Rosewood, which is a great guitar - very even sound across the spectrum, but with the trademark Gibson thump in the bass. I also have a J-100 XTRA which is maple, and also has the classic Gibson trademark sound.

[Chris Rice]

I did a cleaning/setup on a mid-60's J-50 that was wonderful. It had had the bridge rebuilt (using brass!!) with individual string saddles. Very strange.

EDITED: To correct my J-45/J-50 mixup.:o

[sears]

I love my 1998 J-45. I put a thread (http://thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=116239) in soundclips featuring it. The strings are month-old Pyramid 12s with lots of performances on them.

As far as intonation, you have to get used to it. It intonates differently than a Martin and you have to train your hands to get those sweet thirds.

[glendrix]

I love my '68 J-45...

http://img447.imageshack.us/img447/2353/dsc011738ph.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


Hey I recognize you. I'm friends with your bass and drummer. Didn't know you were on here, shoulda guessed with your board though. I gotta check you guys out one of these days.

Back on topic, I love J-45's new or used...

[µ¿ z3®ø™]

those tryna compare gibsons to martins are of the apples and oranges variety.
if U're a singer/songwriter and finding that the martin's are too loud for Ur voice might find the perfect companion w/ a J45 or some other gibson flat top. they sometimes sound very odd on their own but many times compliment a voice in a very flattering way.
love my collings D2H but will never surrender my early bozeman SJ200 (perhaps built by collings?) because it dovetails w/ my voice PERFECTLY.

[colinm]

My father purchased his 1963 J-50 back when he was in college in the late 60's. It has been around the block and had a bit of work done to it... the adjustable bridge is gone and neck has been reset. It still is one of my favorite sounding acoustics. It does excel in any one particular area... volume, bass, treble, clarity, etc, but it does them all very well. I always thought of it as a very balanced guitar.

[antojado]

I've never played an actual J-45, but I've played guitars by other builders based on that style and I really like it. I currently own a Bourgeois Slope d that I got a good deal on. I really love the sound. It's a lot different than a Martin style dread like the D-28.

[Ogre]

Just for the record, Bill Collings never built guitars for Gibson.

[yryrky]

There are only two things in life I've GOT to have-- my '41 J35 and a library card. The J35 is the predecessor to the 45, and to my estimation, about the same guitar. I travel to play other 35's, and mine is the worst one I've played-- light, beautiful, well-balanced, with a feathery beautifully voiced sound that just works from the blues out. The others have all had bigger profile-necks, and wouldn't really work for me, which leads me to wonder about the much-speculated neck-mass=tone equation. I've rarely played a old cared-for 45 that didn't make me happy, and the best one I've ever played was actually a 50 that Mike's Music in Cincinnati had several years ago. I've played quite a few Bozeman guitars and they've all stunk except for one 50 that really kind of smoked. And my favorite all time quote on the subject goes something like this-- the quickest way to get in a fight with Doc Watson is to suggest that the D18 is a better guitar than the J35 (and Doc's one of the few guys around that I might be able to duke out)!

[Ogre]

I have played some Bozeman/Gibsons that were first-rate. Most of them were Advanced Jumbos. A good J45 is hard to beat!

[daddyo]

I played a used 2002 J45 Rosewood. It sounded absolutely fantastic. Rich and warm with solid lows and clear highs. Different than my Larrivee, not better but definately good. But the shop wanted $2200 CDN and the finish had been stained and ruined by spilled beer and the previous owner had stuck the numbers 5-2 with big mactac stickers on the top (the score where Canada beat the US for the hockey gold medal in the last Olympics).

[µ¿ z3®ø™]

and the finish had been stained and ruined by spilled beer and the previous owner had stuck the numbers 5-2 with big mactac stickers on the top (the score where Canada beat the US for the hockey gold medal in the last Olympics).

so U bought the guitar then?

[daddyo]

so U bought the guitar then?

No. I have a great Larrivee and my next big wad of guitar cash is buying a American Telecaster in natural ash. But that J 45 did sound wonderful.

[Mongoose]

Good Topic,

I have a 69 Square Shoulder, J45 With about 10 Repaired Cracks And about 5 Unrepaired Cracks (seriously if I take the guitar out in the Winter I open the Case Another crack appears) The Top is Sunken in The neck needs A reset. I have planning to sell it. But It still Sounds Great,and plays really good. I will pick it up to Take pictures of it to sell it. strum a chord And Say No I cant sell this.

And it is My understanding that square shoulder one are mostly dogs.:YinYang

[einstein]

southerner jumbos are an upscale j45 with inlays and choice wood. Mine sounds great and plays in tune. Hank williams sr can be seen playing his in his video theres a tear in my beer. Mine was made in 1938 and has a remarkable fingerboard. Very hard and figured. i put in big frets, real pearl, and an intonated brazillian bridge and a pickup inside.Also scalloped the braces and changed the plastic binding ( which dried up) to koa. A fingerpickers dream.

[Matts Tone]

I just purchased a Gibson J-45 earlier this week & was well impressed with the quality & tone of the guitar!!! I actually tried 3 J-45's before choosing mine BUT all the J-45's sounded excellent!!! I was surprised as I can be abit of a tone snob at times & was thinking about purchasing a Santa Cruz VJ (Santa Cruz's VJ is there take on the J-45).

BUT before I went to buy the Santa Cruz I thought I should check out the Gibson J-45 again, as last time I tried one was a few years back & that was a J-45 built in the early 90's. That particular guitar wasn't bad but the Gibson's I tried a few days back were a big improvement!!
So the new Gibson J-45 was just the tone I was seeking & realised that I didn't have to buy any boutique version to beat the original!!

I read somewhere that if you want the tone of the Gibson J-45 you must buy a Gibson J-45, I can now understand that statement as the boutique models are no doubt great but after playing the original well in my mind you can not get a better round shoulder guitar.

The Gibson J-45 is completely different to a Martin, as I own a Santa Cruz D Rosewood model (Santa Cruz's version of a vintage Martin D-28), as I'm sure most folks know that the Gibson J-45 has that dark acoustic crisp woody tone & the Santa Cruz D is brighter with great midrange & treble & a good bass tone!!

I couldn't choose which I prefur, they are both have their unique qualities which makes them cool as it depends what type of tone that I am wanting on a particular day as to what I play.

But to answer your question Gibson J-45 love em' :AOK !!

[GeetarGoul]

I too bought a new J-45 and could not be more pleased with the guitar. I have a D-18 that compliments this guitar well.

[reddgeetarzan]

First off- I agree 100% that the Gibson J series guitars and Martins are apples to oranges. I love them all and they both certainly have their own flavors volume and tone wise. Matter of the right tool for the job!!

My J-45 story is kinda interesting, so I figured I'd share my experience.

I went to my local music store who happens to be a Gibson and Martin dealer.....well, this particular day, Martin was displaying their 1,000,000th Martin made along with several other exquisite works of art. In addition to the "lookers", they brought along some players- a few of the Golden Era guitars with a hefty price tag to go along with them. As I wondered around the Martins, I looked in the back of the store in the corner of the acoustic section, and something just happened to catch my eye. Sitting all by itself was a used '90 Bozeman J-45 in natural- it almost seemed to me to be a refin, as the finish was SUPER thin- and most 45's are sunburst, although I know they did make some in natural as well.....after looking at it- compared to the Martins, she wasn't much to look at- I strummed a simple G chord-----BAAAAMMMM!!!!!!! I was HOOKED!!!!!! I bought the guitar on the spot!! It rang so beautifully- it was what I had been looking for- when a guitar is RIGHT....you KNOW it!!! It was kinda funny having all the Martin big whigs there with the pride of Martin guitars surrounding me, and I'm walking away with a used Gibson!!!!!

One thing I will also reiterate- it did need some setup work on the 12th fret, other than that, its been great. This is the guitar I'm gonna be strummin' on my front porch when I'm old and retired......

J-45's are THE singer/songwriter guitar- especially folk and blues...oh yeah baby!

:dude

[snarkle]

My J-45 is a 1962 Epiphone Texan...the same guitar with a better-looking headstock, IMO. (The very elegant SMALL Epi headstock, that is.) The string spacing is narrower than I like, but it's got a very open, detailed sound: great for fingerpicking and even better for Stones-style open-tuned strumming. In other words, it seems to respond equally well to a delicate approach or to being bashed around a bit...

I've never played a pre-1965 J-45, Southern Jumbo, or Texan that wasn't a great guitar, but if I was in the market today I'd check out the Epiphones and get a bit of a price break...

[scottiejohnson]

...

[LeftyGtar]

I never thought I would own a Gibson acoustic until I found a J-45 that amazed me a few years ago. It is now one of my favorite guitars & keeps sounding better. I think short scale guitars are more sensitive to new and/or different brands of strings. A S/S neck guitar with old strings, like you'll find in music stores, can sound very lifeless.