Accidentally bought a J45…

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I went out for a few hours to play guitars yesterday, no intention of buying anything as there’s nothing I want or need. Until I played this J45… 

Previously when I’ve played them I’ve found them too warm, but this one is the liveliest one I’ve played. It has a good range from warm to bright, extremely responsive to dynamics and being strummed with a pick it is gloriously rich and surprisingly bright.

It leaves me with a dilemma though. If I keep it, I’ll have to sell my beloved J15 to cover some of the price. As I’ve mentioned in posts over the years, that J15 is an absolute treasure so will be very hard to part with. Fresh strings will be going on both tonight for a fair comparison.

J15 is the natural finish on the left, J45 in the vintage sunburst on the right.

https://imgur.com/a/Xm12jYw
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Comments

  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 22268
    Nice happy accident  :)  Can you say how the two guitars differ?
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  • Nice happy accident  :)  Can you say how the two guitars differ?
    So far, the 45 has a richness to it that the 15 lacks. But, I put 11s onto the J-15 a while ago and remember instantly noticing the tone had thinned out, so I put a fresh set of 12s on it tonight. I have another set arriving tomorrow so I’ll put those onto the J-45 and be able to do a fair comparison then. 

    I think the 45 has a ‘sweetness’ to the tone if that makes sense, and the low end is more present. But that could again be due to the heavier strings and that the J-15 has 80/20 strings on which I find brighter than phosphor.
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 6431
    Accidents will happen. :)  Odd to own two so very similar guitars. Be interesting to see how this relationship develops.

    (What relationship? Aren't you selling one? Nope. Why would you do that when you still have a spare half-liver and a perfectly good kidney lying around?)


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  • Tannin said:
    Accidents will happen. :)  Odd to own two so very similar guitars. Be interesting to see how this relationship develops.

    (What relationship? Aren't you selling one? Nope. Why would you do that when you still have a spare half-liver and a perfectly good kidney lying around?)


    You’re right, the reason I’ve never bought a J-45 before is none of them pleased me like my 15 does. This one, though, seems special. When they both have fresh strings it will either blow the 15 out of the water and earn its spot with me, or it won’t and I’ll return it.

    The bigger concern is both of them being brilliant and different enough to justify keeping…
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  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 22268
    Tannin said:
    Accidents will happen. :)  Odd to own two so very similar guitars. Be interesting to see how this relationship develops.

    (What relationship? Aren't you selling one? Nope. Why would you do that when you still have a spare half-liver and a perfectly good kidney lying around?)


    You’re right, the reason I’ve never bought a J-45 before is none of them pleased me like my 15 does. This one, though, seems special. When they both have fresh strings it will either blow the 15 out of the water and earn its spot with me, or it won’t and I’ll return it.

    The bigger concern is both of them being brilliant and different enough to justify keeping
    Is entirely the correct response  ;)
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  • SoupmanSoupman Frets: 274
    Just from the photo, the J45 is a stunner aesthetically.
    It's all about the sound & feel though isn't it?
    I'm glad it's not me having to decide between the two!
    Good luck.  :)

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  • Soupman said:
    Just from the photo, the J45 is a stunner aesthetically.
    It's all about the sound & feel though isn't it?
    I'm glad it's not me having to decide between the two!
    Good luck.  :)

    Thank you! It sounds and plays as good as it looks!
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  • TeyeplayerTeyeplayer Frets: 3600
    You definitely need both. It’ll cover alternate tunings, a live back up and the ying and yang of finishes. 
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  • You definitely need both. It’ll cover alternate tunings, a live back up and the ying and yang of finishes. 
    It could be an opportunity to experiment with open tunings, I’ve never really done it before. 
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 6431
    You definitely need both. It’ll cover alternate tunings, a live back up and the ying and yang of finishes. 
    It could be an opportunity to experiment with open tunings, I’ve never really done it before. 
    Beware! There be dragons!

    At last count I had 9 guitars (7 standard six strings and 2 baritones) and I STILL haven't got around to trying open tunings.

    Probably I need a few more guitars.


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  • Tannin said:
    You definitely need both. It’ll cover alternate tunings, a live back up and the ying and yang of finishes. 
    It could be an opportunity to experiment with open tunings, I’ve never really done it before. 
    Beware! There be dragons!

    At last count I had 9 guitars (7 standard six strings and 2 baritones) and I STILL haven't got around to trying open tunings.

    Probably I need a few more guitars.


    I’m at a dozen, down from 15, and still haven’t  =)
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  • TeyeplayerTeyeplayer Frets: 3600
    Tannin said:

    Probably I need a few more guitars.

    Always the correct answer. You may recall a few months ago i posted that my dear wife had said we were “at capacity”. I’ve managed to get two more in since then. ;)
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  • CountryDaveCountryDave Frets: 908
    Concert pitch
    E flat

    there you go, sorted the problem for you.
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  • Concert pitch
    E flat

    there you go, sorted the problem for you.
    This is exactly what I do with my Les Pauls, it’s a good idea 
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  • thebreezethebreeze Frets: 2871
    Concert pitch
    E flat

    there you go, sorted the problem for you.
    Sorry to be slow here Dave, what are you saying?….that if you tune them differently they’ll sound similar?  Does tuning down half a semitone make a J45 sound darker?
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  • thebreeze said:
    Concert pitch
    E flat

    there you go, sorted the problem for you.
    Sorry to be slow here Dave, what are you saying?….that if you tune them differently they’ll sound similar?  Does tuning down half a semitone make a J45 sound darker?
    I interpreted it as advise to have one guitar in standard tuning and another in E flat so they're earmarked for different things
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  • thebreezethebreeze Frets: 2871
    thebreeze said:
    Concert pitch
    E flat

    there you go, sorted the problem for you.
    Sorry to be slow here Dave, what are you saying?….that if you tune them differently they’ll sound similar?  Does tuning down half a semitone make a J45 sound darker?
    I interpreted it as advise to have one guitar in standard tuning and another in E flat so they're earmarked for different things
    Ah yes, get it now.
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  • TanninTannin Frets: 6431
    This is as opposed to the traditional method of just having a single guitar with the low E tuned to A=440, the A string in A=452, the D in A=432, the G in A= 428, the B in A=447 and the high E in A=436?

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  • HaychHaych Frets: 7075
    Love my J-45, it's a cracking guitar.  I'm finding I'm playing a lot more in drop D on it these days and love the sound it makes.

    It also comes alive in a different way with a capo, too.  I don't really have a bad thing to say about it.

    It doesn't seem to like 80/20 strings nearly as much as PBs but I haven't tried many after the first set of 80/20 I tried.

    Congratulations on the serendipitous confluence.  Hope you enjoy it for a long time to come.

    There is no 'H' in Aych, you know that don't you? ~ Wife

    Turns out there is an H in Haych! ~ Sporky

    Bit of trading feedback here.

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  • CountryDaveCountryDave Frets: 908
    thebreeze said:
    Concert pitch
    E flat

    there you go, sorted the problem for you.
    Sorry to be slow here Dave, what are you saying?….that if you tune them differently they’ll sound similar?  Does tuning down half a semitone make a J45 sound darker?
    I interpreted it as advise to have one guitar in standard tuning and another in E flat so they're earmarked for different things
    Yup.
    An excuse to keep both.  ;)
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