Accidentally bought a J45…

JezWynd

Completely understandable purchase. Well done.

hollywoodrox

Well if you’re going to Accidently buy a guitar you could do worse than a J45 . What a beauty 
  Here’s the Pic but it’s on the 2nd page now 

richman6100

@SixStringSage Two very fine looking guitars. That J45 is an absolute beauty and, if it plays and sounds as good as it looks, you've done very well indeed.

Must be a tough decision to decide between them, so take the easy route and keep 'em both.  :-)

iaingb

Love your two Gibsons, I can understand your dilemma,but my take on it is you only live once,and if your wallet can take the strain,keep the two of them, these J-15’s are a the best kept secret of Gibson acoustics,I bought one when they first came out,I love slope - shouldered acoustics anyway,and I was a sucker for this one,especially given the grain pattern of the Walnut back,which was outstanding,but  I sold it on later ( foolishly) to fund a Guild I wanted,hey ho..

SixStringSage

Tannin said:

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?

Yes, instead of tuning to EADGBE, you would tune to D# G# C# F# A# D# — each string is just tuned one semitone lower. Your tuner almost certainly has a setting for it.

Haych said:

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.

Thank you! I agree about the capo, it sounds superb and surprisingly crisp. I have ordered John Pearse Phosphor Bronze and 80/20 so will be trying both of those on it.

SixStringSage

iaingb said:

Love your two Gibsons, I can understand your dilemma,but my take on it is you only live once,and if your wallet can take the strain,keep the two of them, these J-15’s are a the best kept secret of Gibson acoustics,I bought one when they first came out,I love slope - shouldered acoustics anyway,and I was a sucker for this one,especially given the grain pattern of the Walnut back,which was outstanding,but  I sold it on later ( foolishly) to fund a Guild I wanted,hey ho..

The 15s really were Gibson's best secret, it's a shame that they aren't making them — obviously the J-45 Studio is close but it ditches the maple neck and walnut board, so not identical. 

You're right about the walnut grain, it's gorgeous. I also like the abalone around the sound hole too.

I think on paper, the J-45 is the better sounding of the two guitars. There are more overtones and richness. The J-15 in comparison is more focused on the upper mids, and has more of a "fundamental sound" — but I suspect this would be superior for recording because the guitar is producing a much more contained sound, instead of bleeding into other ranges. Both the J-45 and my Dove have huge, rich sounds (my wife describes the Dove in particular as sounding like multiple guitars being played at once).

Tannin

SixStringSage said:

Tannin said:

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?

Yes, instead of tuning to EADGBE, you would tune to D# G# C# F# A# D# — each string is just tuned one semitone lower. Your tuner almost certainly has a setting for it.

Woosh!

SixStringSage

Tannin said:

SixStringSage said:

Tannin said:

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?

Yes, instead of tuning to EADGBE, you would tune to D# G# C# F# A# D# — each string is just tuned one semitone lower. Your tuner almost certainly has a setting for it.

Woosh!

What tuner do you use? 

MartinB

SixStringSage said:

The 15s really were Gibson's best secret, it's a shame that they aren't making them — obviously the J-45 Studio is close but it ditches the maple neck and walnut board, so not identical. 

You're right about the walnut grain, it's gorgeous. I also like the abalone around the sound hole too.

I think on paper, the J-45 is the better sounding of the two guitars. There are more overtones and richness. The J-15 in comparison is more focused on the upper mids, and has more of a "fundamental sound" — but I suspect this would be superior for recording because the guitar is producing a much more contained sound, instead of bleeding into other ranges. Both the J-45 and my Dove have huge, rich sounds (my wife describes the Dove in particular as sounding like multiple guitars being played at once).

I wonder if the walnut has something to do with that "fundamental" sound? It's one of the things that stood out to me about my G45 Standard (the 2020 non soundport model), which is also walnut back/sides but very slightly shallower depth. I feel like it has almost a little of the character of an archtop - harmonically simple but clear and with some punch.

SixStringSage

MartinB said:

SixStringSage said:

The 15s really were Gibson's best secret, it's a shame that they aren't making them — obviously the J-45 Studio is close but it ditches the maple neck and walnut board, so not identical. 

You're right about the walnut grain, it's gorgeous. I also like the abalone around the sound hole too.

I think on paper, the J-45 is the better sounding of the two guitars. There are more overtones and richness. The J-15 in comparison is more focused on the upper mids, and has more of a "fundamental sound" — but I suspect this would be superior for recording because the guitar is producing a much more contained sound, instead of bleeding into other ranges. Both the J-45 and my Dove have huge, rich sounds (my wife describes the Dove in particular as sounding like multiple guitars being played at once).

I wonder if the walnut has something to do with that "fundamental" sound? It's one of the things that stood out to me about my G45 Standard (the 2020 non soundport model), which is also walnut back/sides but very slightly shallower depth. I feel like it has almost a little of the character of an archtop - harmonically simple but clear and with some punch.

That's an interesting thought. I haven't played any others to be able to form an opinion, I'd be interested to try the J-45 Studio to compare it although that has a different neck and fretboard. 

builttospill

SixStringSage said:

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

Many congrats on your purchase they do look so classy imho and you have described the J-45 very well, I purchased a new J-45 standard in the summer from guitar village, played quite a few before that and wasn’t impressed, but this one sang, it’s so resonant and very easy to play I’ve not even had it set up properly but I’m now I’m reluctant to let anyone mess with it.

SixStringSage

builttospill said:

SixStringSage said:

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

Many congrats on your purchase they do look so classy imho and you have described the J-45 very well, I purchased a new J-45 standard in the summer from guitar village, played quite a few before that and wasn’t impressed, but this one sang, it’s so resonant and very easy to play I’ve not even had it set up properly but I’m now I’m reluctant to let anyone mess with it.

This one is so resonant too. I can feel it against my chest when I play, it's glorious. Currently testing out different strings on it to see which works best. I don't think it needs a setup either, the action is low and comfortable, neck relief is good, tuning is solid

guitarjack66

Tannin said:

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?

I find meddling with the guitar's pitch rather than changing it's tuning can be helpful too. Some of the biggest songs in rock/pop have been made this way. We need to follow our own ear and learn to be happier with that. I'm only just picking this up slowly now after half a decade and I still have a long way to go. If we all had the exact same musical ear then I doubt so much great music would ever have been made.

Tannin

And again woosh!

guitarjack66

Tannin said:

And again woosh!

I'm not sure what the woosh is for? I simply posted a bit of an addendum to yours which is why I quoted it.

Tannin

Ahhh ... jokes are never the same when you have to explain them.

My post was simply a set of make-your-guitar-sound-woefully-out-of-tune frequencies.

ICBM

Tannin said:

My post was simply a set of make-your-guitar-sound-woefully-out-of-tune frequencies.

It would have been even better as a set of 12 different pitches .

guitarjack66

Tannin said:

Ahhh ... jokes are never the same when you have to explain them.

My post was simply a set of make-your-guitar-sound-woefully-out-of-tune frequencies.

I'm not sharp enough to understand. A bit flat if you like.

Tannin

^ Well played sir!