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Gibson J-35 Discontinued ...Your thoughts


The G

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Sad to hear Gibson has discontinued this model.

The craftsmanship on mine is fabulous. Beautifully silked spruce top and gorgeous mahogany back and sides. Great looking rosewood used on the neck and

bridge . And ....awesome sound and projection ( Subjective I know)

So my theory is they priced the instrument too low in their product line and weren’t making enough markup. [glare]

What are your thoughts?

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I think they kind of flooded the market with those.. every store Ive been in up here has at least 3 on the racks.. there a great sounding guitar... they dont even sell for that much money... I paid a grand for mine.. and I like it..

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Well Darn I wanted to pick one up some day. I have to consider getting used one which is ok but would have rather had a new one. I always liked the look and sound of the 35.

 

 

The next time you see it in a Gibson catalog.. it will be a 3 G guitar..

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I think like all good things it had to go at some point.

I bet the reason the J 15 is still around is because it’s all north american tonewoods.

 

Don Ruffato has stated multiple times that walnut is the way to go to keep pricing down for the end consumer. Mahogany and Rosewood are already getting harder to find.Maybe Gibson wants to save their mahogany for J 45’s and Hummingbirds.

 

 

 

 

JC

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I think like all good things it had to go at some point.

I bet the reason the J 15 is still around is because it’s all north american tonewoods.

 

Don Ruffato has stated multiple times that walnut is the way to go to keep pricing down for the end consumer. Mahogany and Rosewood are already getting harder to find.Maybe Gibson wants to save their mahogany for J 45’s and Hummingbirds.

 

 

 

 

JC

 

There is definitely a move by many manufacturers to use sustainable woods in many of their guitars.

Edited by The G
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I think like all good things it had to go at some point.

I bet the reason the J 15 is still around is because it’s all north american tonewoods.

 

Don Ruffato has stated multiple times that walnut is the way to go to keep pricing down for the end consumer. Mahogany and Rosewood are already getting harder to find.Maybe Gibson wants to save their mahogany for J 45’s and Hummingbirds.

 

 

 

 

JC

 

I thought the J-15 had been axed, at least I haven't found it on their new website. There's very little difference between a J-15 and a J-45 Studio so there wouldn't be a lot of point in making both.

 

 

 

Ian

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I thought the J-15 had been axed, at least I haven't found it on their new website. There's very little difference between a J-15 and a J-45 Studio so there wouldn't be a lot of point in making both.

 

The J-15 is SELLING....

 

Also, it's quirky enough to be interesting, maple neck, skunk stripe, walnut fretboard. But with J-45 specs. Heck, I bought one and it's AWESOME!

 

Sustainable woods is the future of guitars whether we like it or not. These kids coming up have been brainwashed. Get over it.

 

They think Socialism is a good thing too. Even though it's never worked out like that. Ever.

 

There is a magic number, and if they sell THAT NUMBER, they will be built. If that goal isn't reached, poof....

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As the old saying goes, all things must end.....production of the J35 included. I'm very happy with mine. More articulate than the J45 Vintage, brighter and louder, I've been switching between the two while working this new cover tune and there is a distinct difference in their voices. Like the original run of 35s, perhaps in 100 years these will be treasured as a rare Gibson model.

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The J-15 is SELLING....

 

Also, it's quirky enough to be interesting, maple neck, skunk stripe, walnut fretboard. But with J-45 specs. Heck, I bought one and it's AWESOME!

 

Sustainable woods is the future of guitars whether we like it or not. These kids coming up have been brainwashed. Get over it.

 

They think Socialism is a good thing too. Even though it's never worked out like that. Ever.

 

There is a magic number, and if they sell THAT NUMBER, they will be built. If that goal isn't reached, poof....

 

Murph, did you try a J35 when you bought the J15? Just wondering why one over the other. I haven't seen either.

Edited by livemusic
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The J-15 is SELLING....

 

Also, it's quirky enough to be interesting, maple neck, skunk stripe, walnut fretboard. But with J-45 specs. Heck, I bought one and it's AWESOME!

 

Sustainable woods is the future of guitars whether we like it or not. These kids coming up have been brainwashed. Get over it.

 

They think Socialism is a good thing too. Even though it's never worked out like that. Ever.

 

There is a magic number, and if they sell THAT NUMBER, they will be built. If that goal isn't reached, poof....

interesting that socialism got a capital...

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I thought the J-15 had been axed, at least I haven't found it on their new website. There's very little difference between a J-15 and a J-45 Studio so there wouldn't be a lot of point in making both.

 

 

 

Ian

 

Ian,

 

Here you go:

 

https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/ACC3YP77/J-15-Antique-Natural-2019

 

They are different enough to produce them both.

 

The fretboard radius on the J 15 is 12 inches vs 16 inches on the G 45’s. The neck on the J 15 is 2 piece maple whereas on the G 45’s it’s something else (they haven’t put up full specs yet but from the namm videos it’s clear to not be maple)

 

J 15 comes with the normal style lacquer finish vs a satin style feel on the G 45’s .

 

The J 15 comes with a LR Bagg’s Element vs a Fishman Sonitone.

 

 

 

The funny thing is people are already hating on the new generation models 😂😂😂😂

 

They’re saying they look cheap ... No matter what Gibson tries to do it’s always going to be trashed by the people who can’t afford the classics.

 

 

To me it looks to have features of a student model and if I were 16 and had $1000 to buy an acoustic this summer I’d play one to see if I liked it beforw judging .

 

 

 

 

 

JC

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I've spent much of my lifetime turning large stacks of endangered tropical hardwoods into a few good things plus large piles of worthless sawdust. Probably won't stop at my age. I understand the sustainable woods approach to guitars, but still prefer the classics: mahogany, spruce, maple, rosewood, and ebony. At least maple is sustainable, and Mr. Taylor is trying to do the same for ebony. It is entirely possible to plantation-grow all these woods, but it takes a very long-term approach that our thirst for instant gratification renders difficult. Teak has been plantation-grown for years.

 

Just call me a threat to the planet.

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I never liked the "newer" J35's. I played several, and owned one for a hot minute. Too bright for my taste. I think the combination of the bracing pattern used (same as the AJ I think) with the short scale neck and mahogany back and sides just didnt work for me. Now, my AJ with the same bracing pattern, long scale neck and rosewood back and sides is a beast. I also have a J45 Standard that I love, and felt like the J35 was just a weaker, thinner sounding and less complex sound compared to the J45.

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Ian,

 

Here you go:

 

https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/ACC3YP77/J-15-Antique-Natural-2019

 

They are different enough to produce them both.

 

The fretboard radius on the J 15 is 12 inches vs 16 inches on the G 45’s. The neck on the J 15 is 2 piece maple whereas on the G 45’s it’s something else (they haven’t put up full specs yet but from the namm videos it’s clear to not be maple)

 

J 15 comes with the normal style lacquer finish vs a satin style feel on the G 45’s .

 

The J 15 comes with a LR Bagg’s Element vs a Fishman Sonitone.

 

 

 

The funny thing is people are already hating on the new generation models 😂😂😂😂

 

They’re saying they look cheap ... No matter what Gibson tries to do it’s always going to be trashed by the people who can’t afford the classics.

 

 

To me it looks to have features of a student model and if I were 16 and had $1000 to buy an acoustic this summer I’d play one to see if I liked it beforw judging .

 

 

 

 

 

JC

 

Thanks for that JC, I think the J-15's are great guitars. When I got mine I was torn between it and a J-45, ideally I'd have had both, it's not that one was better than the other, they were just different. To be honest the j-35 just wasn't in the same League, but It's each to their own I guess!

 

 

Regards,

Ian

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I don't know the first thing about running a guitar company, but I DO know my J-35 is a great guitar, especially given it's price. I've had it since the summer of '16 and have gigged with it on two continents and it's always come through.

 

I know Gibson was trying to keep expenses down, but I would've loved some aging toner on top and a simple white silkscreen script logo on the headstock, ala the original '35s. Those are just cosmetic gripes, though. In terms of build quality, finish, playability and, most critically, sound, it's a wonderful guitar.

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Murph, did you try a J35 when you bought the J15? Just wondering why one over the other. I haven't seen either.

 

I might have, I played several guitars during that period.

 

The J-15 had fantastic action, good volume and great tone. I was intrigued by the Walnut, I've always liked Walnut. I've owned a Walnut SG for decades.

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Maybe it will be like the J-50? It comes and goes every so often. The modern classic version was around until 2014 IIRC. And after that (2016?) they did some kind of limited run "antique natural" that was quite expensive.

 

I played a J-15 and J-35 a few years ago and thought they were pretty nice, although the maple neck on the J-15 and striped pickguard on the J-35 looked weird to me. ;) They both reminded me of my 2008 J-50 though, so I'm not very interested.

Edited by Boyd
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I never liked the "newer" J35's. I played several, and owned one for a hot minute. Too bright for my taste. I think the combination of the bracing pattern used (same as the AJ I think) with the short scale neck and mahogany back and sides just didnt work for me. Now, my AJ with the same bracing pattern, long scale neck and rosewood back and sides is a beast. I also have a J45 Standard that I love, and felt like the J35 was just a weaker, thinner sounding and less complex sound compared to the J45.

 

That's basically the same as my experience. As much as I liked my J35 for flatpicking, I couldn't get past how thin it would sound when strummed and ended up selling it.

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Very sad that the "new" J35 series has been stopped. I found a 2015 modell for a very reasonable price last year when I was looking for a SJ200. The workmanship of the J35 is very good, very nive mahogany back/sides, good top, the "old looking" Tuners and the logo on the headstock. A simple guitar, no decoration, just ready to be played.

 

I could compare two J35s in this shop and decided for one which was totally new, not even hanging on the wall of the showroom. I was surprised by the mighty low end and I love using it for playing Blues - the low E-string pushes the sound. The neck is much thicker than the necks of all other Gibson or Martin acoustics I have, but it works good for me. Maybe there are Gibsons sounding more filigree, but this can be done by other guitars, the J35 is loud and a little rough.

 

The L.R.Baggs VTC makes it easy to use it for gigs and this works good, too.

 

In my opionion the Standard J35s offered a very good price-performance ratio which could attract musicians not looking at Gibson acoustics because of the Prices. On the other hand - there are many other guitars in the Price range of the J35.

 

I am glad to have one and will take care - maybe people will talk about it in 30 years ... [rolleyes] ... talking about the good old times.

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