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J-45 Standard Vs Songwriter deluxe studio EC


Tam

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Hi Guys,

 

newbie here and a newbie with guitars.

 

Im looking at buying a guitar and narrowed it down to the two choices.

 

Which one would you choose and why? Im leaning towards the songwriter as its more appealing and it comes as a cutaway which i want. But i like the sweet bass sound and reputation of the J-45.

 

Because im new i obiviously don't know what a good guitar is like, but from what i know i'll be playing more of a fingerstyle/classical style as opposed to rock/jazz/blues.

 

Please give your thoughts.

 

Regards,

Tam

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Both fine guitars. You can't go wrong.

 

If I wanted a cutaway, I'd buy the Songwriter.

 

But, you should think about how much you would actually play above 12 to make use of the cutaway. Then spend time playing both to try and decide if you can live without the the sweet bass sound and reputation of the J-45, or if having the J-45 is going to make you miss a cutaway.

 

Good luck. [crying]

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Hi Tam, and welcome. Since your new to guitars, I'm curious what your criteria was for choosing these two specifically, and is this your first guitar, or are you already playing something? If so, what is it, and what do you like or not like about it?

 

Generally, I'm of the opinion that guitars with built in electronics are not a good buy. You pay a lot of cash for a system that may be out of date in a few years. Imho, better to add after market electronics if you need it. And, for beginners, or near beginners, it's liable to be a while before you use the electronics anyway, so why spend the money?

 

Pretty much the same for a cutaway. It ads to the cost of the guitar, and you only really need it if you playing way up on the upper frets a lot. Again, if your a beginner, that may take a while. So, of the two guitars you suggested, if it were me, I'd pick the standard J-45. I've had a J-45 (don't at the moment, but may well have one again), and my wife has a Songwriter Deluxe (Fishman ust, no cutaway), so I familiar with both. The SWD is a terrific sounding guitar, but for my money the J-45 is both more versatile and a more comfortable guitar to play. Ymmv of course.

 

All of that said, if this is a first guitar, you might want to take a look at the Epiphone Masterbilt line. Terrific guitars at very affordable prices. For a great and very affordable fingerstyle guitar I would also look at the Guild GAD OM-03R. 1 3/4 nut and 2 1/4 spacing at the saddle with a slim and fast neck, very nice.

 

Anyway, just some food for thought. Let us know what you get.

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Hi Tam,

 

Welcome to the forum. For just starting out, you are certainly looking at some beautiful upscale guitars. Seems to me you might want to look at a classical style line of guitars (nylon strings and all) if you plan to play classical music. That being said, both the J-45 and SWD are excellent choices and I found myself choosing between the two a few years ago. I was torn between the classic look of the J-45 (Rosewood) and the relative newcomer, SWD. I really liked both, and found both units easy to play. Their sounds weren't much different, and quite frankly, I felt the SWD had a more clear, full sound. Of course,the J-45 may have had older strings, or something, but in the end, since there wasn't much difference in their tone, it came down to price. The SWD was $300 cheaper and that was what sold me on it. As it turns out, I have no regrets. The people I play with all have Martins and I wouldn't trade the sweet tone of my SWD for anything of their guitars. So, either way, you'll be happy. I hope this is helpful. Happy shopping.

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I too had a similar choice when buying my first decent guitar. I didn't really know anything about Gibsons or good guitars in general I suppose, and I went for the Songwriter because it 'looked' more expensive than the J-45 (as it was my first proper guitar I wanted people to know it was expensive!). Anyway I was and still am very happy with it, although have now added a J-45 to keep it company.

 

As I've said a few times here I do actually like/play the J-45 more (the fact it is a TV might help, never played a standard) but whenever I play the Songwriter I fall in love again!

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Generally' date=' I'm of the opinion that guitars with built in electronics are not a good buy. You pay a lot of cash for a system that may be out of date in a few years. [/quote']

 

My '03 J-45 RW sounds great. I guess it doesn't know it has an outdated system.

 

I can reach all of the frets too.

 

[angry]

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My '03 J-45 RW sounds great. I guess it doesn't know it has an outdated system.

 

I can reach all of the frets too.

 

:-

 

That's nice that you can reach all the frets Murph :- . KInda a good thing if your going to play guitar. If I'm not mistaken (and I don't think I am, but please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), the EC he's looking at is the one with barn door electronics cut into the side. I never said it didn't or wouldn't sound good, just that it's an expense that a beginner doesn't need. Your J-45R (and again, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong), has an undersaddle ust. That's easily replaceable at some later date if you like. The barn door electronics, not so much. Again, I think it's best for a beginner who is not going to need much in the way of electronics (or a cut-away, for that matter) for some time to put the money into a good basic guitar. Just my opinion and all that.

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