Guitar shopping today

Andy79

tried out a few today and decided to share some thoughts 
J45 standard. It was a good one! Loud punchy growling mids. Very nice. Tortoise shell neck binding (?) very cool

J45 studio. Walnut back and sides. Natural finish. Better than the standard! For me it had a tad more attack

Martin D18. Classic Martin. Nothing more to say. Neck profile not for me, too thin

Martin D28. Wow. Bigger brighter sound than the 18. Not my sound but what a guitar 

Faith legacy Mars. Only £200 cheaper than the 45 studio but a world of difference in the wrong direction. A bit thin. Lacked bass

Sigma SG45. Played soft to middle hard it’s definitely a J45 contender. Maybe, dare I say, better. Strummed hard it just kinda gives up though. Super impressed with it

Blueridge slope shoulder. Not as good as the Sigma. Twice the price 

Ashbury vs National Resophonic wood Reso. National had it hands down. What a guitar. I’ve never played one but it’s straight onto the bucket list. 

The real surprise. 
I tried a J35 a while back and was unimpressed 
A/Bd against a J35 Collectors which I think the only difference is Adirondack top
the Adi transformed it to something really really good. It added volume complexity punch bass n all. Very cool

What I took from all this. 
Budget builders are competing directly with the cheap end Gibson’s apart from when really pushed. 
Martins remain superb
Nationals could very well be worth the huge price tag and go buy a Sigma SG45

Moe_Zambeek

Was the J45 a 2018/19 model?

Andy79

I believe it was yes. I don’t remember the earlier ones having tort neck binding but I could be wrong.