Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

J-45 2014


Heck Wilson

Recommended Posts

Hey I was wondering if I should change out the nut on my new Gibson J-45. It is currently at the local luthier for a proper set up. I was thinking about changing the nut and saddle to real bone as well. I also might take out the electronics to make it a true acoustic and maybe use a Bill Lawrence sound hole pickup for live shows. Any thoughts? Does everyone seem to like the new J-45s with everything from the factory?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey I was wondering if I should change out the nut on my new Gibson J-45. It is currently at the local luthier for a proper set up. I was thinking about changing the nut and saddle to real bone as well. I also might take out the electronics to make it a true acoustic and maybe use a Bill Lawrence sound hole pickup for live shows. Any thoughts? Does everyone seem to like the new J-45s with everything from the factory?

 

Hi. I don't have a J-45, but I do have a 2013 Gibson Hummingbird with tusq nut and saddle and electronics.....I changed to a bone saddle from Colossi...and definitely did NOT like the bone sound..much too deep, much less sweet, not nearly as sonic in tone to me....and I went back to the original tusq saddle. I have also kept the factory original electronics. ....In short, my personal advice is not to mess with a good thing. The Gibson tusq saddles and nuts seem to have cleaner tone and they amplify perfectly without any trouble at all. The bone and the tusq are both fine for your guitar...the difference is in the sound and tone, as they both very often produce a different tonal foot print from each other, I prefer the tusq. ....but in the end it would be your own decision as which tonal foot print you prefer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regarding the nut in particular the only possible difference you would hear would be with open strings which, of course, really comes into play if you like to play in open tunings. I do tend to swap out the ebony nut that was common on many guitars at one time because they always seem to muffle the sound. I find the same thing with rosewood saddles. But I have never really cared what the replacement is made of. My repair guy does use bone as his default material so the guitars that have been with him have it. But I have encountered no noticable benefit to using bone over tusq or hard plastic and visa versa.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I removed the pickup from my j45 figuring I wasn’t gonna plug it in anyways. I bought the no-jack endpin from stewmac but it didn’t quite cover up the hole left from the pickup so be aware of that. Also the velcro inside the guitar was screwed AND glued in there so it takes some time and effort to get it off if you are planning on doing that. Anyways, I put the pickup back in so I can use a strap but I will probably order an oversized endpin from Bob Colossi in the long run. I will swap out the nut someday I guess, but it works fine as of now, setup and string height is spot on. The saddle however I would very much recommend you swapping out, it made quite the difference on my j45.

 

All the best,

 

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The other guys, I think, covered the nuts and bolts rather well - well enough especially if one reads between the lines.

 

Just a bit of my philosophy on such things here...

 

Every one of my flattops, large or small, since the early '70s has been an AE. I bought two Ovations that were the first "real" AE guitars on the market.

 

I did it for two reasons.

 

First was that I was playing "out" in some huge weather variations and I'd hoped the fiberglass body would be less likely to weather damage. I was correct.

 

Second, I did it because I was playing "acoustic" stuff both with a lot of "old time" performances with fiddlers, and "either or" stuff in saloons - a house band at the time I got the steel and nylon versions. I had plenty of rhythm chording whumpf for acoustic or miked old time, and could make the guitar work in saloons doing anything from country of the era and older, as well as some light "acoustic rock" as audiences might be interested in hearing/dancing to.

 

Bottom line is that except for some purists whom I respect for their guitar lives, I think that for most of us the option to plug in makes very, very good sense even if one believes "playing out" is unlikely. It's surprising how often a "come and jam" ends up with a need to either plug in or go miked - and that's for folks whose pickin' mostly is maxed out with strumming root chords.

 

I have a rancher friend who's rather well known for his own and others' cowboy poetry/songs in the region. He hauls his own PA and... since the 1950s well before his ranch had electricity, he was playing a Gibbie CF100e he'd been playing since it came out in the '50s. Mag soundhole pup, holes in the top for controls... the whole bit.

 

Why, especially since his ranch didn't have electricity for, as I recall, doggone nearly another 20 years? (Yeah, it's way out there in Montana)?

 

Because it worked for him. It still works well at cowboy music festivals, dances, weddings and whatever else arises where there's a bit of pickin' and a crowd that doesn't fit into the average home's living room. Oh - he found a non-electric version of the old '50s guitar and did add a Fishman soundhole pup. One never knows which he'll haul to a gig.

 

Oh - and I'll never forget a guy who was hired as a tame cowboy picker/singer who showed up with an acoustic-only guitar for a gig in a 500-seat theater. No matter what he did, or the sound crew did, the guitar just didn't make it no matter what he did around his mikes, and he didn't seem all that professional on stage when stuff didn't work for him and that got him a bit frustrated.

 

m

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do not use the electronics but left them in my j45. I don't think it would have an effect on the tone. I did change out the nut and saddle to bone. Every guitar is different and every one's ears and tastes are different. Here was what I thought were the noticeable differences.

 

1. Increased volume, 2. Improved note clarity, 3. Greater sustain, & 4. A bit brighter

 

I did not care for the new brightness and experimented with various strings and have settled on a sound I like. I use DR Sunbeams 12s. I would do it again. The saddle is easy to replace if you don't like the bone saddle. The only thing I possibly do different is not change out the bridge pin to FWI. I did it as an Alaska touch.

 

chasAK

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 2014 J-45 was perfect. However, since I had it in for a set up, I had the saddle changed to bone. I left the nut factory black as it won't make any difference. I would have left the saddle alone but since the factory saddle would have had to be modified to lower the action it was just as easy to have a bone saddle installed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I too changed the saddle to bone, but left the nut black on my 2010 J-45 Std. and would say, - Try the same.

Some people don't like the black tusq - I'm not among them and have several blacks (one other tusq/one horn).

However if the black appearance bugs you, go white, no choice.

 

But Wilson - here's the serious #1 Q when it comes to those 45's : Will or won't you accept the pick-guard position as it is.

That's the real ball-cracker in this crowd, be prepared.

 

;-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to change mine to bone, but I changed the battery and the strings and it is still as bought.... Bone pins excepted.

 

Sounds great, acoustically and electrically through a nice preamp, so somebody had to have thought the same at the design and build stage in the factory, well somebody came up with combinations.

 

 

BluesKing777.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a 2005 j-45 which came with tusq nut and saddle. Changed the saddle long time ago to bone and I like it much better than the tusq saddle. To me the tusq kind of enhances the overall tone of the guitar, its like the same sound on steroids. Bone sounds much more balanced to me. The guitar sounds so good, I don't see a point in enhancing its potential that way. But I guess its a matter of personal preference.

I had the nut changed recently, more for cosmetic reasons, cause the original white tusq nut had developed a kind of brown ugly looking stain to it.

If that changed the sound its beyond my perception.

 

Bottom line: Try a bone saddle and see if you like it. Don't expect to much of a sound difference from changing the nut.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a 2012 with a black nut.Always been happy with the way it sounds so haven't changed anything.Often get positive comments on the recorded sound from others too.

I admit to curiosity on what a bone saddle might do.But not motivated enough to try the change.

Thought about changing the Rotomatics for white buttons...but again just a passing thought.

But I can see why people make changes.Some are tinkerers..others not so much.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not a fan of the black nut , but it wouldnt stop me being interested in a guitar and I'm open to the notion that there's no need to worry about string grippage/slippage with these black uns.

 

I changed my saddle for pretty much the same reason as littlejohnnys dirty nut. And got a miniscule change by going to bone. Or did I? Might have been the new strings that inevitably go on after a new saddle....

 

I have a pal who has brass pins on his martin ... He thinks it makes a difference ...I tell him he's deluded.

 

Your changes aren't costly and you can easily put the old stuff back if you notice a terrible change ... Easy done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to change mine to bone, but I changed the battery and the strings and it is still as bought.... Bone pins excepted.

 

Sounds great, acoustically and electrically through a nice preamp, so somebody had to have thought the same at the design and build stage in the factory, well somebody came up with combinations.

 

 

BluesKing777.

 

Yeah I was definitely thinking about changing the pins. Do you like the Baggs ParaDI to go with the Baggs Element pickup? The Element is active so I thought it might be overkill to use a preamp pedal. I'm usually not a fan of active electronics in electric guitars but it's probably different with acoustics. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not a fan of the black nut , but it wouldnt stop me being interested in a guitar and I'm open to the notion that there's no need to worry about string grippage/slippage with these black uns.

 

I changed my saddle for pretty much the same reason as littlejohnnys dirty nut. And got a miniscule change by going to bone. Or did I? Might have been the new strings that inevitably go on after a new saddle....

 

I have a pal who has brass pins on his martin ... He thinks it makes a difference ...I tell him he's deluded.

 

Your changes aren't costly and you can easily put the old stuff back if you notice a terrible change ... Easy done.

 

Yeah I think of I'm going to keep as is for now and then maybe make some changes down the road. I just can't wait to play it because it was pretty unplayable with the factory set up. Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...