J45 2005 Historic Collection headstock logo

[Botta]

Hi, i am new to this forum, my name is François... from France.

I am interested by a J45 Historic Collection to sell on a website (second hand).

The seller pics show a guitar in good cosmetic conditions, however, there is no the yellow/blue "historic collection" logo behind the headstock.

I would like to know if i can trust the red label in the hole, where the mention "historic collection" is written, or this is the sign that this is a fake.

What about this headstock logo ? Is it a sticker (in that case we can remove it) or is it Printed ?

Did all the 2005 j45 historic collection had this headstock logoor not necessarily ?

I hope i am clear in my request.

Best regards.

François

[j45nick]

Generally speaking, you go by the information on the orange label on the inside of the guitar. If you want to post a link to photos of the guitar, including the label inside, we can have a look to see if it seems OK. The label on the back of the neck just below the headstock is, I believe, a decal. The presence or absence of that label doesn't mean much, since they seem to be applied to some guitars, but not others of the same specification or series of guitars.

 

Welcome, and good luck. There is nothing like a good J45, whether vintage or modern.

[blindboygrunt]

I am no expert here all I can say is mine is a 2005 historic and it has the blue and yellow label on the back of the headstock , it’s my least favourite part of the guitar , which I otherwise adore .

Never thought about the ugly decal being evidence of a genuine item , so now I’m a little glad it’s there I guess .. it’s not a sticker. Perhaps an expert could remove it but I’m not capable of the risk

 

There’s an orange label inside the guitar too

 

Hope it works out for you and the guitar is as good as mine is

[Botta]

Thank you Guys for your quick replies, and help.

For the in-hole orange label, I will check the "historic collection" mention, when I will meet the seller. During our yesterday’s phone call, he told me the mention historic collection was written.

Here are few pics.

[j45nick]

That's a gorgeous guitar. Very much the look of a late-1940's through 1954 J45. Nothing I see looks incorrect for what the guitar is represented to be.

 

None of these "historic" or "vintage" models is an exact replica of guitars from a specific year, but they re-create the look and feel of vintage guitars.

 

When you play it for the first time, remember that strings make a huge impact on the tone of the guitar, so ask what strings are on it, and how old they are.

[Botta]

Another pic.

[Botta]

That's a gorgeous guitar. Very much the look of a late-1940's through 1954 J45. Nothing I see looks incorrect for what the guitar is represented to be.

 

None of these "historic" or "vintage" models is an exact replica of guitars from a specific year, but they re-create the look and feel of vintage guitars.

 

When you play it for the first time, remember that strings make a huge impact on the tone of the guitar, so ask what strings are on it, and how old they are.

 

 

Thank you J45Nick, in fact the strings are 12/54. I don’t know yet if they are used or new, but I will pay attention to this detail (which is not just a detail).

[j45nick]

Thank you J45Nick, in fact the strings are 12/54. I don’t know yet if they are used or new, but I will pay attention to this detail (which is not just a detail).

 

12's are the right gauge strings for the guitar, but the material of the string (PB versus 80/20 bronze, for example) makes a huge difference. What I'm trying to say is that if you are disappointed with the guitar for any reason when you first play it, the strings or the setup (saddle, nut, neck relief) could be the problem. These are easily remedied by a competent guitar technician.

[Botta]

12's are the right gauge strings for the guitar, but the material of the string (PB versus 80/20 bronze, for example) makes a huge difference. What I'm trying to say is that if you are disappointed with the guitar for any reason when you first play it, the strings or the setup (saddle, nut, neck relief) could be the problem. These are easily remedied by a competent guitar technician.

 

Thank you for the advices 😉.

[rustystrings]

First of all - you MUST go play this guitar. I have one I bought new in 2007, and it remains my favorite guitar of all time, and I've owned lots of new, used and vintage guitars and played even more.

 

There were apparently 670 J-45 Historic Collection guitars made for Guitar Center in 2005 or thereabouts. They are more vintage-esque or vintage-ish than recreations of historic instruments. The J-45HC was essentially the plain old, standard version, generic J-45 as Gibson made them that year, but with a "Historic Collection" decal on the back of the headstock. They had Sitka spruce tops, EIRW bridge and fingerboard, Tusq nut and saddle, Gotoh Kluson-clone tuners, Fishman Matrix Natural pickup, 20-fret fingerboard that covers part of the rosette, which in turn is (along with the soundhole) closer to the neck because of Ren Ferguson's change of the bracing angle to 98 from 103 degrees or so, and a badly-placed pickguard that covers another quarter of the rosette - if you gently peel it off with a skinny flatpick and/or dental floss, clean it with naptha and reinstall it with the double-sided 3M pickguard film it will line up correctly just outside the rosette like the old ones.

 

Mine has a nut width that is 1.704-in (43.2816 mm) according to my Harbor Freight digital calipers. The neck carve matches my memory of my 1960 LG-2, which remains the only guitar I ever let go of that I really miss. I used to say that the tone is ENOUGH like my memory of my long-gone 1950 J-45 to satisfy me, but then I got to play that '50 J-45 again a couple of years ago and realized - I like the HC BETTER. More flexible, breathier, just a nicer sounding and playing guitar. The Fishman Matrix Natural pickup sounds pretty good plugged in when played with bare fingers, which eliminates the piezo quack.

 

I played mine with the stock Gibson Masterbuilt Phosphor Bronze strings until Gibson went to different, skinnier gauged G and D strings sometime around say, 2010? Then I went to John Pearse Phosphor Bronze 600L .012-.053 strings before switching over to John Pearse Pure Nickel Wound 960L .012-.054. The Nickels have a more consistent sound and I hear less "zing" of a new string and more of what my ear and brain interpret as air and wood tones. My perception is that the nickel strings, being less dense than bronze of either 80/20 or phosphor varieties, have a little less tension and everything moves a little more freely. I will note that I pretty much play without picks of any sort, relying on fingertips and nails.

[Botta]

First of all - you MUST go play this guitar. I have one I bought new in 2007, and it remains my favorite guitar of all time, and I've owned lots of new, used and vintage guitars and played even more.

 

There were apparently 670 J-45 Historic Collection guitars made for Guitar Center in 2005 or thereabouts. They are more vintage-esque or vintage-ish than recreations of historic instruments. The J-45HC was essentially the plain old, standard version, generic J-45 as Gibson made them that year, but with a "Historic Collection" decal on the back of the headstock. They had Sitka spruce tops, EIRW bridge and fingerboard, Tusq nut and saddle, Gotoh Kluson-clone tuners, Fishman Matrix Natural pickup, 20-fret fingerboard that covers part of the rosette, which in turn is (along with the soundhole) closer to the neck because of Ren Ferguson's change of the bracing angle to 98 from 103 degrees or so, and a badly-placed pickguard that covers another quarter of the rosette - if you gently peel it off with a skinny flatpick and/or dental floss, clean it with naptha and reinstall it with the double-sided 3M pickguard film it will line up correctly just outside the rosette like the old ones.

 

Mine has a nut width that is 1.704-in (43.2816 mm) according to my Harbor Freight digital calipers. The neck carve matches my memory of my 1960 LG-2, which remains the only guitar I ever let go of that I really miss. I used to say that the tone is ENOUGH like my memory of my long-gone 1950 J-45 to satisfy me, but then I got to play that '50 J-45 again a couple of years ago and realized - I like the HC BETTER. More flexible, breathier, just a nicer sounding and playing guitar. The Fishman Matrix Natural pickup sounds pretty good plugged in when played with bare fingers, which eliminates the piezo quack.

 

I played mine with the stock Gibson Masterbuilt Phosphor Bronze strings until Gibson went to different, skinnier gauged G and D strings sometime around say, 2010? Then I went to John Pearse Phosphor Bronze 600L .012-.053 strings before switching over to John Pearse Pure Nickel Wound 960L .012-.054. The Nickels have a more consistent sound and I hear less "zing" of a new string and more of what my ear and brain interpret as air and wood tones. My perception is that the nickel strings, being less dense than bronze of either 80/20 or phosphor varieties, have a little less tension and everything moves a little more freely. I will note that I pretty much play without picks of any sort, relying on fingertips and nails.

 

Great, 😄

Thank you very much.

[Leonard McCoy]

A word of caution from someone who just bought a Fender Strat with a crooked neck (bi-flex truss rod):

 

Check whether the neck is straight. Check whether the truss rod can still be adjusted and that it isn't maxed out.