Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

j45nick

All Access
  • Posts

    12,693
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    12

j45nick last won the day on May 20 2020

j45nick had the most liked content!

Reputation

546 Excellent

1 Follower

About j45nick

  • Birthday 01/22/1947

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    South Florida
  • Interests
    Guitars. Music. Building stuff. Sailing. Politics. Fine wine. My wife. (not necessarily in that order)

Recent Profile Visitors

31,001 profile views
  1. SJ in that period (1970-71) would be square shoulder body, not round shoulder as shown in the original post. SJ-SJN went square rather than round 1963 or so. Also, SJ models always had some form of block fretboard inlay, rather than dots.
  2. The pickguard is definitely not original. No way, no how. A 1967 J-45 would have had a batwing pickguard. Some later square-body Js used a Martin-style pickguard similar in shape to the one on your guitar, but yours isn't even positioned properly. It is rotated out at the bottom, maybe to clear the bridge. A '67 J-45 would almost certainly have had a cherryburst top finish, and typically,--but not always--dark cherry stain on the back and sides, rather than the dark walnut that we normally associate with the J-45. The red dye Gibson used to stain guitars in the period was very stable, and often completely faded away, leaving what looks like a blond finish. Think of Donovan's J-45. Look inside the soundhole at the underside of the top immediately around the soundhole, using a small mirror and a light. It is fairly common for there to be overspray that might indicate the original top color.
  3. I would leave the bracing alone and concentrate on a good setup and a bit of string experimentation. Modifying the bracing is not reversible. Everything else--pins, saddle, nut, strings, even the set-up--can be fiddled with to your heart's content without long-term harm to the guitar. You may want to ignore online suggestions that could significantly and permanently impact on the value and character of your guitar.
  4. When I was a junior in college (1967) my roommate had a D-18 with Rotomatics. I had a rather sad, worn 1950 J-45 with the original Klusons, which I had a lot of trouble with because I had no idea how to clean and lubricate them to make them work better. With their plastic buttons, they also looked cheap next to those shiny Rotomatics. The Rotomatics also never slipped the way the Klusons did. Fortunately, I didn't have money to replace the Klusons with Rotomatics. A couple of years later I was having some work done on the guitar, and I asked the guy what it would cost to switch to Rotomatics. I still couldn't spend that much on tuners, since I was also getting the first hard case the guitar had ever had. So they guy said if I wanted to replace the Klusons, he could install a set of Grover Sta-Tite 97s for about half the cost of the Rotomatics. I went for the Sta-Tites, and they are still on the guitar today. They actually look pretty good on the guitar, which is the one in my avatar here. I promise you the funny-looking headstock is actually a 1950 J-45 underneath the ebony and ivory binding (made from old piano keys), and the fancy abalone inlay. (The fretboard actually has even fancier abalone inlay.) Thank Dog I didn't have the money for the Rotomatics back then! Wish I had those original Klusons back. My other 1950 J-45 is absolutely original, including the Klusons. I bought it because it was a one-owner, really fine version of the guitar I bought back in 1966. So I have two 1950 J-45s, built no more than a couple of months apart, but with very different life stories. I've rejuvenated a whole lot of Klusons since then, but I've never owned a Rotomatic. Nothing wrong with them, but they're not for me.
  5. If you want to learn how to really listen to and analyze popular music, it's hard to beat Rick Beato. His enthusiasm is infectious.
  6. What a talent. What a loss to us all. But we still have his music, forever.
  7. Consider starting with the naphtha, which is a cleaner/solvent that is reasonably safe on nitrocellulose lacquer, provided you don't really soak your rags with it. You cannot use Virtuoso on bare wood like a fretboard, and you should keep it away from any dings in the lacquer surfaces. The Virtuoso cleaner leaves a white reside that is almost impossible to remove from dings or lacquer crazing. I use soft white cotton rags for this type of cleaning to prevent scratches in the lacquer. You do have to exercise reasonable care, and keep throwing rags away as they get dirty. This method will not help with the inside of the guitar. The bare wood there may have absorbed a lot of smoke, but with luck, most of it will be on the outside. If the guitar case smells, air it out for a week or so, but it you close it up with a smelly guitar in it, the case lining is likely to absorb the smell, and you're back to square one.
  8. I bought a 1947 L-7 a few years ago that stunk of tobacco. I mean, really stunk. I had to throw away the original padded gig bag. My wife wouldn't have it in the house. Took the strings off, wiped the whole thing down with naphtha. Scraped all the residue of the fretboard with a razor blade, then wiped that down again. Kept cleaning everything until the rags came out clean. Then cleaned the whole thing with Virtuoso cleaner. Let it air for two weeks on a stand, then polished the body with Virtuoso polish. Oiled the fretboard. It all worked out pretty well, but I was extraordinarily thorough in my cleaning.
  9. I suspect that is buffing compound residue, but it's hard to know without a first-hand inspection. That tends to end up on inside corners if the person doing the work isn't really conscientious. I have three modern Gibsons, and all three are cosmetically excellent. Maybe I got lucky. All three are also high-end models.
  10. Since you haven't gotten a suitable response, go back to your original plan.
  11. ^This. The OP lives in central Florida. From that list of Gibson Service Centers, there are several that should be within an hour or so drive from his location. I would call to verify opening hours, and tell them you would like them to look at the guitar. Put the guitar in the car, and drive to seem them, rather than going back and forth online or by telephone. Describing a problem is one thing. Showing them the problem is another matter entirely. And remember, honey catches more flies than vinegar.
  12. There may or may not have been. Gibson is not necessarily consistent in this. If you did not get one, assume it doesn't exist. As a rule, Gibson does not issue a new COA to a subsequent owner.
  13. We really need photos of this problem to comment intelligently on it. As far as I'm concerned, no photos, no problem.
  14. That's more like it. I have seen too many issues with bridgeplates on new or nearly-new Gibsons to cut them much slack on this particular problem. What you got was clearly the result of drilling the pin holes with no backing caul, which we have seen time and time again. It really is not an acceptable practice. At the very least, you are likely to get tear-out around the pin holes, which accentuates wear virtually every time you change the strings.
×
×
  • Create New...