mojoworking Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Here's my latest acquisition. It's a 1964 J45 (left) seen here with my Epiphone Texan from the same year. When I first opened the case I momentarily thought it was a J50 because the cherry sunburst finish has faded so much. It originally had a plastic bridge, but this had deteriorated and the guitar became unplayable. So it has been replaced with an ebony one hand-made by my local guitar repair guy who did a great job. It's showing a fair amount of wear, but still sounds great. Gibson only fitted the much-hated plastic bridges for around a year in 1963/64 (the Texan pictured also has one) and I still have the old plastic bridge if anyone would care to see a close-up of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliasphobias Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Oh,I like that! I am a big fan of those cherry 'bursts (and currently don't have one, uh oh). So many variations. I am always surprised by how many people replace the black plastic with ebony. To match the plastic? I'm not saying that there is a right or wrong, just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 Oh,I like that! I am a big fan of those cherry 'bursts (and currently don't have one, uh oh). So many variations. I am always surprised by how many people replace the black plastic with ebony. To match the plastic? I'm not saying that there is a right or wrong, just curious. I didn't request an ebony replacement, the luthier just went ahead and did it. I suppose I was expecting a rosewood one, but I guess he felt he had to match the plastic one. I wish he'd taken pictures during the modification. I was curious to see if any of the original colour was showing under the bridge. Here's the original 1964 J45 plastic bridge showing both sides. Not Gibson's best idea I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 What a pair.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 That sounded bad. I meant those two guitars..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 I meant those two guitars..... Sure you did, Murph. Amazing looking faded iced tea burst on the J-45, MojoWorking. I think the vibe of this sort of finish may explain some of the appeal of the sunburst on Hummingbirds such as R Hank's new figured mahogany addition : Great photo of the seldom-seen back of the infamous plastic bridge. Nice pickguard, too. Of course, we'd love to hear it. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 I'm surprised you didn't swap out the adj saddle for fixed. Maybe next time, and you could get your rosewood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 I'm surprised you didn't swap out the adj saddle for fixed. Maybe next time, and you could get your rosewood. I was torn on that. The luthier asked if I wanted a fixed bridge, but I wanted to keep it as near to original as possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 It's a beauty. I didn't know round shoulder was available in '64. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 It's a beauty. I didn't know round shoulder was available in '64. Enjoy! Thanks. Weren't all J45s round shoulder until the square shoulder version was introduced in 1969 (anther bad move by Gibson) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jalex Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 Cool looking J-45 enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Seeing the J45 and the Texan side-by-side together there really emphasises the difference in scale length. It's clear that the bridge is lower down (ie further away from the soundhole) on the Texan than the J45. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Nice pair there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Here's my latest acquisition. It's a 1964 J45 (left) seen here with my Epiphone Texan from the same year. When I first opened the case I momentarily thought it was a J50 because the cherry sunburst finish has faded so much. It originally had a plastic bridge, but this had deteriorated and the guitar became unplayable. So it has been replaced with an ebony one hand-made by my local guitar repair guy who did a great job. It's showing a fair amount of wear, but still sounds great. Gibson only fitted the much-hated plastic bridges for around a year in 1963/64 (the Texan pictured also has one) and I still have the old plastic bridge if anyone would care to see a close-up of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Nice guitars ! I also like the faded cherry burst finish. In 64 Gibson started using the funky pickguard material, yours has the much more desirable last of the good ones ! My opinion, I know you were trying to keep it original looking but you should have had the bridge made of Brazilian rosewood, like they were in that time period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Nice guitars ! I also like the faded cherry burst finish. In 64 Gibson started using the funky pickguard material, yours has the much more desirable last of the good ones ! My opinion, I know you were trying to keep it original looking but you should have had the bridge made of Brazilian rosewood, like they were in that time period. Thanks fp. In retrospect I probably should have got a rosewood bridge, but the luthier was concerned to make it look like the original black bridge, which is why he went for ebony. Right or wrong I insisted on retaining the adjustable bridge too. Looking online, most of the 1964 J45s I've found have black bridge pins, so I guess these are original to the guitar, too? I also prefer thinner pickguards generally on flattops. I've got a new-ish J15 and the pickguard seems about a quarter of an inch* thick, which looks all wrong to me. *possibly an exaggeration Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 1/4" pick guard? That's not a pick guard - it's a Fender ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 Beautiful guitar. I have a 2006 Custom Shop 1964 J-45 Reissue faded cherry sunburst in my collection that looks identical (with a wood, not plastic, adj bridge). The only difference is a CS designation on the back of the headstock to identify its not the real deal like yours. Awesome guitar you've acquired! QM aka Jazzman Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 I heartily approve, especially since yours has the thinner guard. Back in the day (😁) Guy Clark did a couple of those ebony replacement bridges, and the sound was amazing! His were fixed saddle, though, and I'm really curious how yours sounds with the adjustable intact. Personally, I like the adjustables a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Beautiful guitar. I have a 2006 Custom Shop 1964 J-45 Reissue faded cherry sunburst in my collection that looks identical (with a wood, not plastic, adj bridge). The only difference is a CS designation on the back of the headstock to identify its not the real deal like yours. Awesome guitar you've acquired! QM aka Jazzman Jeff Thanks Jeff. I'd love to see a picture of your CS J45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 What an adorable couple - I dig the sight to the full. And enjoy the fact that you decided to let the adjustable saddle remain. Gettin' to be a bigger and bigger fan of those here. The 2 ceramic saddled cherry 1964 J-45's I've encountered both sounded stellar. It might be something I'm after. Can't help asking - is it possible we could hear these two in a short but serious A/B (same strings etc.), , , would be a hit. Whaouw, , , they're cool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted July 24, 2017 Share Posted July 24, 2017 Thanks Jeff. I'd love to see a picture of your CS J45 Here are some photos. One is a front view (on my couch), one is a close up of the back of the neck showing the CS logo. Edit: Sorry that the photos didn't load vertical. But, you should get the gist. QM aka Jazzman Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 What an adorable couple - I dig the sight to the full. And enjoy the fact that you decided to let the adjustable saddle remain. Gettin' to be a bigger and bigger fan of those here. The 2 ceramic saddled cherry 1964 J-45's I've encountered both sounded stellar. It might be something I'm after. Can't help asking - is it possible we could hear these two in a short but serious A/B (same strings etc.), , , would be a hit. Whaouw, , , they're cool Thanks. I grew up watching/listening to Donovan, John Renbourn, Ralph McTell and the other UK folk guys who all played 60s J45s/J50s with adjustable bridges, so I'm kind of fond of them and they seem perfectly normal to me. I can't hear any difference to the fixed saddle J45s, although I know a lot of folks would disagree. I'll look into getting some sound samples recorded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojoworking Posted July 24, 2017 Author Share Posted July 24, 2017 Here are some photos. One is a front view (on my couch), one is a close up of the back of the neck showing the CS logo. Edit: Sorry that the photos didn't load vertical. But you should get the gist. QM aka Jazzman Jeff Thanks Jeff, that looks great. We just don't see those limited CS runs here in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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