Question regarding neck on my Gibson J-45 Standard

[StevenW]

I bought this guitar used a few weeks ago. The set up wasn't great for me. The neck was too straight (not much relief at all) and the strings a bit too low on the treble side. I always use light gauge phosphor bronze, 12-54, no matter which acoustic.

 

Anyway, I loosened the truss rod nut maybe 1/4 turn and it did put some relief in the neck. Loosened it just a bit further and the nut was loose enough that it could be turned with the fingers, and not much more relief showed. I could probably actually play the guitar with light gauge strings without the truss rod nut being installed and the strings wouldn't be high due to too much curve in the neck.

 

This means the neck is plenty stiff, which is good, correct? But it also means this neck could handle mediums gauge strings with no problem. The main concern would be if mediums would pull the top up too much.

 

I ordered a new Tusq saddle exactly like the original, and I'll try to shave the bottom so the treble side has just a hair more height than the original. I believe this would make it just right with lights. But if I switched to mediums, the guitar might settle in to a good set up without doing much else except a change of gauge. Am I thinking correctly there? I really don't know if I would like mediums however. I used them regularly long ago on a Martin, then tried a set of lights, and I liked the difference. Easier to play of course, and it may have made the guitar sparkle a bit more.

[jedzep]

I think the top will be OK with mediums as long a your bridgeplate is intact. Suggest you snug up the truss rod nut by hand to the point where there's resistance, then throw on the mediums before you mess with the saddle.

[zombywoof]

A neck should be as stiff as possible. The vast majority of new guitars, including your Gibson, are built so they can handle several string gauges with no problem at all. I am not a fan of light gauge strings period but do find them a necessary evil on some of older guitars that are extremely lightly built or have no neck reinforcement. Even then I prefer to go with medium lights and tune down a bit.