Thinking about getting a Gibson J45... any advice?

Dave_Mc

Evilmags said:

Try a Lowden or if you feel flush, contact Abe Wechter. 

Hang on a second, Lowdens aren't if you feel flush?

richardhomer

I must admit, I've never got on with Lowdens - even though one of my favourite acoustic players (Richard Thompson) plays one.

I think I'm just too accustomed to the sound of Amercan guitars - whenever I play one I just can't seem to produce a tone that makes me think 'I want this'.

I'm perfectly prepared to believe that is down to me, rather than the guitar. 

geminitiger

I have one for sale for £1200 J45 2016 standard,inc Gibson case etc,just about to post it

JJW1

I tried a J45 and didn't like it and ended up buying a Taylor. The Gibson felt very stiff and sounded dull, although my mate who is a Gibson fan said that you need to live with a Gibson acoustic for a while.

geminitiger

I think it's a very personal thing,ive had a Taylor and personally whilst a decent guitar it had no soul whereas I find the opposite with the Gibson's I've owned,i don't think there is a middle ground at least for me

JJW1

It's as you said...it's very personal. I had always wanted a J45 but didn't like it when I played it.

ICBM

geminitiger said:

I think it's a very personal thing,ive had a Taylor and personally whilst a decent guitar it had no soul whereas I find the opposite with the Gibson's I've owned,i don't think there is a middle ground at least for me

Same here. I bought a Taylor electro because I needed one for a band I was in, and it was the best *electro* acoustic I could find. It was simply a good tool though - it had no more character than my Boss multi-FX.

I've played about twenty J-45s I think... a couple of "is this really a Gibson?" dogs, a dozen average ones, half a dozen good ones, and one which is the best acoustic guitar I've ever heard. And which I sold... shoot me now.

geminitiger

ICBM said:

geminitiger said:

I think it's a very personal thing,ive had a Taylor and personally whilst a decent guitar it had no soul whereas I find the opposite with the Gibson's I've owned,i don't think there is a middle ground at least for me

Same here. I bought a Taylor electro because I needed one for a band I was in, and it was the best *electro* acoustic I could find. It was simply a good tool though - it had no more character than my Boss multi-FX.

I've played about twenty J-45s I think... a couple of "is this really a Gibson?" dogs, a dozen average ones, half a dozen good ones, and one which is the best acoustic guitar I've ever heard. And which I sold... shoot me now.

Bang lol

kenriley

J45 true vintage owner here. 
Its a fantastic guitar and I love it. 

Records perfectly. I fitted a KK trinity for live (use in ears) and it cuts through incredibly.  

Mahogany back and sides and what is for me the secret weapon - the Adirondac top. Bright, lively, rich and it just keeps getting better. 

If you're a folky picker, I'm not sure a J45 is right for you, but for all other acoustic needs, I can't recommend the TV highly enough

Lewy

kenriley said:

J45 true vintage owner here. 
Its a fantastic guitar and I love it. 

Records perfectly. I fitted a KK trinity for live (use in ears) and it cuts through incredibly.  

Mahogany back and sides and what is for me the secret weapon - the Adirondac top. Bright, lively, rich and it just keeps getting better. 

If you're a folky picker, I'm not sure a J45 is right for you, but for all other acoustic needs, I can't recommend the TV highly enough

How did you get on with the transducer element of the Trinity on the very small bridge plate? I have a pure mini in my J45 TV and was faced with the choice of either having one of the transducers fully on the bridge plate but not positioned directly under the saddle, or having it directly under the saddle and partially hanging off the plate. I went with the latter and it sounds fine but curious to see how you have it installed.

Strat_a_tat_tat

Thanks for all the comments and advice... very useful.

So... I made several trips to various shops and tried about 20 or so Gibson short scale acoustics (Hummingbirds, Country Western... but mostly J45s). Every time I played a mahogany Standard J45 and a rosewood Custom J45... I preferred the sound of the rosewood. Whenever I compared 2016 Std J45s with 2016 Vintage models... the Vintage models sounded a bit better (and were much lighter in weight).

Also tried a Ltd Edn flame walnut back and sides with an Adi top... that really didn't work for me.

Then, tried another 2016 Vintage model (the 4th J45 Vintage I'd tried)... and that was it. Difference between all others was like night and day. It sang... it's price ticket broke the bank... but it came home with me. After years of mainly having rosewood... I now understand what a good mahogany guitar brings to the table. Great bass... but it's clear and it doesn't overpower. Really balanced sound.

I'd assumed the Vintage model was mainly about a few period correct appointments (logo and machine heads) and an Adi top... I hadn't checked out the specs - as I was choosing based on tone and playability etc. When I finally looked at the specs, the Std and the Vintage are very different animals.

It's got bronze 12s on it at the mo... but, based on what I learnt in the other thread about strings, I'll try some phosphor bronze on it at some point.

Thanks again.

CloudNine

Congrats! They are great guitars. Mahogany has consistently been my favourite for a while.

Pic's!

Strat_a_tat_tat

CloudNine said:

Congrats! They are great guitars. Mahogany has consistently been my favourite for a while.

Pic's!

Thanks. No pics yet... as I'm technologically challenged. Meanwhile, it's this wee beastie http://www.gibson.com/Products/Acoustic-Instruments/2016/J-45-Vintage.aspx

Sadly, it doesn't have a pickup - so that's the next decision.

Dave_Mc

Nice score I didn't get as far as trying the True Vintage version

Strat_a_tat_tat

Dave_Mc said:

Nice score I didn't get as far as trying the True Vintage version

Thanks.

I think the True Vintage has been replaced by the Vintage.

Last time I looked, I think GuitarGuitar still had a True Vintage in stock - and it was about £300 less than the Vintage. I think there may be some spec differences - but I'm not sure.

That said, I try not to get too hung up on specs. On paper, the Walnut b & s model with an Adi top should have sounded better than it did.

Dave_Mc

^ Yeah definitely.

And yeah I didn't realise they'd changed the name, this was a few months back when I was in the shop and the 2017 models hadn't been announced yet.

Lewy

The new 2016 Vintage has a torrefied top whereas the TV doesn't.

Strat_a_tat_tat

Dave_Mc said:

^ Yeah definitely.

And yeah I didn't realise they'd changed the name, this was a few months back when I was in the shop and the 2017 models hadn't been announced yet.

Yeah, I think they changed the name towards the end of 2015. My guitar was made in late 2015... but it's a 2016 J45 Vintage. I think that's the correct-ish name... not that it matters much... the main thing is it puts a smile on my face! :-)

Strat_a_tat_tat

Lewy said:

The new 2016 Vintage has a torrefied top whereas the TV doesn't.

Yeah... good point... I thought there was some kind of difference... but couldn't recall.

Dave_Mc

Oh Ok, I didn't realise it changed as long ago as that. Maybe the true vintage I saw (but didn't try) was a 2015 model... Thanks for the info.