CoolBassBill

Okay... Fitted the new bone saddle to the J-45 without any shims above or below the ribbon pick-up. What a great sound. This improved the #1 E string volume through the pick-up but the low E is still very quiet. Not sure where to go next. 😞

Well folks, I think I'm getting to the bottom of my varied pick up response issue. I bought a bone saddle blank and custom made it to fit my guitar including a nice snug fit into the saddle slot where the original was loose. Thanks Salfromchatham for your advise of checking out the ribbon. Unfortunately I did that after I made the new bone saddle. Under the ribbon I found a 0.020" shim which appeared a little wrinkled and some dark (rosewood?) sawdust. Does the factory send out guitars with shims under the ribbon? My next step is making another saddle and fitting it into the saddle base without the shim. I'll let y'all know how it turns out...

Thanks for the information Salfromchatham. I will definitely pull the saddle and check the ribbon placement and seat. I am also considering replacing the saddle with a tusq one as the one in it is fairly loose in the groove but I will have to order one up. We'll see if I can get at it on Saturday and I'll let you know if it helps.

Hi Folks, Last year I picked up my first Gibson guitar, a J-45 made around 2013. Love the guitar and the wonderful tone and volume with medium D'Addario strings. This guitar also has a factory pick-up with volume control. My experience with this pick-up is that the high and low E strings will produce very little volume compared to the four middle strings. I have checked the feather pick-up and original saddle and all is flat and smooth. My string height is about .100" or just under at the 12th fret. Has anyone else had this volume issue? Would a bone or tusk saddle make any difference?

Thanks for bringing me along side, folks. For my new friend sparquelito, in Northern Alabama... Attached is a picture of my new to me J-45. ...and, it actually got to above the freezing temperature today. 🙂 ...but it is forecast to be at 0 degrees Fahrenheit by Saturday night. I have put on some Phosphor Bronze D'Addario Mediums (.013-.056) which are a level heavier than the Elixir lights that I have been using.

First Gibson purchased used last year and love the rock solid tone. A little neck and saddle adjustment was necessary just to make it my own. I'll be tuning in here from time to time just to see how this forum runs but what I have seen so far is very good. Bill