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

Strat_a_tat_tat

I know quality can vary on Gibson electrics... but I'm guessing the variation across their acoustics could be even more marked.

Any advice on how to find a decent J45?

Are the new ones any good?

Ideally, I want one with a pickup already fitted.

Any views on mahogany back versus rosewood back?  I have to say, of the very few I've tried, I've found the rosewood ones sound a bit better to my ear.

Thanks for your help.

xsheq

Go out and play em. Buy the one you fall in love with. 

Winny_Pooh

I like the mahogany models. Be sure to try in person

ICBM

The modern ones come with pickups (LR Baggs unless they've changed) fitted, and not only are they any good, they're probably the best they've made since the 1960s.

Plat all the ones you can find both new and used, and buy the one that really impresses you - they vary enormously, and you'll play a lot which don't. Don't buy just the best one you can find if you don't find a great one yet.

Strat_a_tat_tat

@ICBM thanks for the info. I didn't realise Gibson had raised their game so much on the recent acoustics.

How recent does it have to be to fall into the 'best since 60s' class?  Reason I ask is... some shops have some NOS from 2013, 2014 etc. So I'm wondering... in your experience, when did the J45 turn around and improve in recent times?

Any love for rosewood back and side versions?

earwighoney

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

@ICBM thanks for the info. I didn't realise Gibson had raised their game so much on the recent acoustics.

How recent does it have to be to fall into the 'best since 60s' class?  Reason I ask is... some shops have some NOS from 2013, 2014 etc. So I'm wondering... in your experience, when did the J45 turn around and improve in recent times?

Any love for rosewood back and side versions?

I'd lean towards Mahogany.  FWIW, I believe Mahogany has been part of the classic mid range growl of the J45.  

Gibson acoustic quality isn't as variable as it is for the electrics but it is definitely worth trying before buying for Gibsons as it is for most acoustic guitars, that applies to Martin as well.   

NOS 2013, 2014 is nothing to worry about; in this decade at least all the new ones I've tried have largely been excellent.

stickyfiddle

I tried a bunch of J45s, Hummingbirds and Doves in 2014. All were nicely built guitars, the Hunmingbirds all sounded a bit dull, and a Dove was the winner but a walnut J45 was probably my favourite sounding of everything. If only it hadn't been such a dull brown colour 

BigLicks67

As stated above try a few due to the inconsistencies in Gibson QC, but I've always liked the warm sound you get out of a J45, I've never tried a rosewood version, but the mahogany ones I've played have sounded good to me. Rosewood should be a step up tonally but that's not always the case.

Dave_Mc

Out of the acoustics I've tried (which is not many, I'm an electric player) I liked the J45 the best. Really nice warm tone. I haven't tried the rosewood version, though. I actually suspect, though (based on other guitars, obviously) that I might prefer mahogany back and sides. Though I could change my mind the next time I try some acoustics.

The J45 was a 2016 model... I could be wrong but based on the few other slightly older Gibson acoustics I've tried I think the 2016s might have the edge. Apart from anything else the oiling etc. that they do to the fingerboard now seems to make them feel a fair bit nicer to play, at least IMO.

ICBM

The ones from the Montana factory - which I think started in the late 90s - are the good ones. I have two, coincidentally both from 2008, which are literally among the best acoustics I've ever played... or I wouldn't have bought them! I didn't even expect my 'perfect' acoustics to be Gibsons - I've generally preferred Martins - but they are.

I don't think the 'model year' nonsense applies to the acoustics as much... hopefully I'm not wrong.

polotska

The Gibson acoustic factory in Montana actually dates to 1989—they bought Flatiron Mandolin, bringing in Ren Ferguson to relaunch the acoustic lineup. Ferguson left Gibson some years back, first going to Guild/Fender, then to Cordoba when they bought the Guild name from Fender.

I definitely wouldn’t buy a Gibson acoustic without playing it first. Some years ago I went looking for a J45, but every one I tried was dull and thuddy and demonstrated crude workmanship. (These were all modern J45s from Montana, not vintage ones.)

Maybe the J45 just isn’t for me, though I love the way they sound when other people play them. I ended up buying a used Martin HD-28 sight unseen, and it sounded spectacular and was faultlessly made. I actually like the current D-18 (revamped in 2012, which brought back scalloped bracing and an ebony fingerboard) even more than the HD-28.

songman

I got a new 2016 J45 standard. Tested it against a Vintage and two other J45's from before 2015. My 2016 model came out on top by a wide margin. Deep bass, nicely separated notes, non-stringent highs, balanced. I do not think this is indicative of all 2016 models but in my case that was the clear winner. I am certain there are many good ones in other years of construction too, otherwise it would not have become such a popular guitar. It really is a wonderful guitar certainly if you are a singer-songwriter. So go and listen to as many as you can.

Lewy

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

Any views on mahogany back versus rosewood back?  I have to say, of the very few I've tried, I've found the rosewood ones sound a bit better to my ear.

For me, mahogany is the classic J45 sound that I was after when I went looking for mine. I like the dry, fundamental and direct sound. 

Then again, the best sounding J45 I've ever heard was Russ Barenberg's old one and that's got maple laminate back and sides so it doesn't do to be too rigid in one's preferences I guess.

I ended up with a J45 True Vintage which has some nice upgrade features...Adirondack top and braces, hide glue construction.

It sounds fantastic but in true Gibson style it looks a right mess inside and the "vintage style" tuners were virtually unusable....big picture - fantastic guitar. Attention to detail...nil points.

Strat_a_tat_tat

Wow... there's a lot of love for J45s.

Thanks for all the advice.

CloudNine

I went through a period of buying all kinds of high end acoustics, with every wood combo known to man, b&s of R/W, Madi, Brazilian, Cocobolo, Koa, all sorts. I reckon my top 5 favourite guitars out of the lot, were all Mahogany back & sides, and I have settled with a J45 which is Adi/Mahogany.

A J45 should defo be Mahogany imo. Unless it's very old and Maple.

stuartryanmusic

Just to second what everyone else has said the current Gibbo acoustics are incredible although you still have to do a fair amount of trying. Well worth looking for a J35 Collector's Edition, I bought one last year and it is an incredible guitar - Mahogany back and sides, Adirondack Spruce top and an LR Baggs pick installed, crazy value for money in my opinion. I use my J35 for most of the recordings I do for Guitar Techniques magazine amongst other things and it just does 'that' sound perfectly. I've tried it against really high spec Martins and it blows them away in terms of volume and clarity. By point of reference my concert guitar is a Circa 000 which is about as good as it gets but the Gibson easily holds its own against that instrument. Good luck with the hunt!

Evilmags

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

ICBM

Evilmags said:

Try a Lowden

But expect not to like it, if you like Gibsons.

A long time ago I had a '61 J45 and an early Lowden O10. The Lowden had a factory-fitted pickup system, and the Gibson was old and fragile enough that fitting one would have been a bad idea even if I'd really felt comfortable about gigging it, which I probably wouldn't have. So when I needed money in a hurry, and I was in a band where I needed an electro-acoustic - I sold the Gibson.

That remains one of the stupidest decisions I've ever made.

I did not get on with the Lowden at all, so a short time later, I bought a Hondo Everly Brothers copy - just a cheap Japanese plywood guitar - and that actually sounded better to me, for what I wanted it for. Really… so I fitted it with a pickup and sold the Lowden, which is what I should have done in the first place.

I've never played another one I liked either. No reflection on their build quality, I just don't like them.

I've never played another Gibson as good as that J45 either, not even my two modern ones.

CloudNine

Totally agree with ICBM. I recently sold a Lowden F50, Redwood/Koa and kept a J45 instead. I have owned a few Lowdens and this was a very very good example tonally, and about as high spec as you can get. But the Gibson destroyed it as a singer/songwriter/strummer type instrument, but was also just as good in it's own way as a finger picker.

I like Lowdens, but find it very odd when people post in threads where people are interested in J45's/Martins and say 'try a Lowden'. Great guitars, but it is unhelpful advice in my view. If someone is looking for a J45, there is a pretty strong chance they are wanting a versatile acoustic, which they can bang out some songs with that great thumping bass and also will finger pick nicely too. You can adjust your playing on a Lowden to get it to do certain things, but they are not natural strummers like a good J45.

And before anyone posts here and says their Lowden 'is a great strummer etc., just as good as a J45', very happy for you, but my extensive experience of playing many of each tells me different.

I think Evilmags post is really just to inform us that he has a Lowden and an Abe Wechter.

stickyfiddle

I don't understand the obsession with Lowden. They're nice, but they're also nothing like a D28, or a J45 or a Dove or Hummingbird.  It's no different to people asking advice on strats being told to buy a Tele - it's not like Teles aren't great, but if you want a strat it's not helpful.

Lewy

stickyfiddle said:

I don't understand the obsession with Lowden. They're nice, but they're also nothing like a D28, or a J45 or a Dove or Hummingbird.  It's no different to people asking advice on strats being told to buy a Tele - it's not like Teles aren't great, but if you want a strat it's not helpful.

Indeed. If was advice to check out the Atkin Forty Three, or Bourgeois Slope D, Collings CJ or similar then it would at least be in the same ballpark (albeit not the same price bracket).