1929GibsonD-18E

Pretty amazing, sadly already purchased by someone else. I’d only played modern J45 standards up until I tried that one. Definitely a warmer tone, age definitely seems to change the tone of an acoustic guitar for the better. I really liked it, although I could see that the top had begun to warp a little with the front of the bridge starting to angle slightly down. I was surprised at how familiar the tone was to me, definitely in the same sonic ballpark as a modern J45, just aged like a fine wine. Great experience!

Saw this picture of Doc Watson today with his strap button in an unusual place:

Best guitar never made.

I’ve read this a few places online now, that there was a period of time, maybe 60’s or 70’s when the cool thing to do was to actually ream the tuner holes larger on your beautiful Gibson acoustic guitars, in order to install Grover Rotomatics of all things. Amazing as now so many people want the vintage look and are attempting to do the opposite. Please tell me any stories/history you may have to share from this period. When did this come about and why? Why Rotomatics? How long did this craze last? Why do Gibson use them today?

What is your favourite?

I am more of an electric guitar player so I like clean access to the upper positions (#2 giving you much cleaner access than #5). I also wish to use straplocks and, again, position #2 would be better suited than #5. Many people online have said that straplocks like Schaller are not possible in position #5. I am going to triple check any straplocks I may wish to use will fit before drilling. I want to use #5 as it seems to be the most universally accepted/loved position, but I think the closest that might work for me is #4. Murph said it’s common sense #2 is more problematic, but I know very very little about guitar construction, so I personally don’t understand fully what makes it so. If I knew more I could likely make a better risk assessment. All of this makes me think about just tying the strap to the headstock, but I’ve never needed to do that with any other guitar I’ve ever owned. Guess I just want to think this through thoroughly before drilling into my favourite guitar.

Discussion has been great so far, but I realised that I still haven’t gotten sufficient answers for my original question, which was, is there any greater risk to drilling #2 as opposed to #5. Some people have said online that when you are drilling into the heel (#2) your are drilling into the ‘end-grain’, and that you have a greater risk of splitting the wood when screwing in the strap button screw. Is this true? Or, if it is true, is the risk significantly greater to do damage in this position?

I emailed them the other day and they said PB. They’re definitely the Gibson strings, 12-53. Try both. I thought I’d prefer 80/20’s but I ended up liking PB better.

Strange that Gibson themselves seem to never install in position 4, the only examples I could see of factory Gibsons were in position 2 or 5. Have Gibson ever factory installed in position 4?

Position 4 is looking very natural - does it get in the way while playing?

What do you all think of position 4 on a flatter style Gibson heel, rather than position 5? Position 5 seems more suited to a Martin guitar than a Gibson, as Martin has the thinner, pointier neck heel.

Hi all, I have a 2014 Gibson J-45 Standard that I wish to install a strap button in. Most people online recommend the lower treble position on the heel (position 5 in the attached photo), but I would prefer either position 1 or 2. I had to go open the case to check, but the other acoustic guitar I own (which I have played live for over 1000 shows) has had a strap button in the base of the heel (position 2) this whole time. Sooo many people online have said that the guitar gets 'tippy' in that position, with a tendency to lean forward. All I can say is that it was such a non-issue for me that I literally never even noticed or thought about it in over a decade of weekly live playing. Anyway, so I prefer the heel position, but the J-45 is also my pride and joy and I am definitely more cautious drilling into this than I would be anything else as I love this guitar and don't want to break it. So the long and the short of it is: I want to place my strap button either in position 1 or 2, but I want to do so with a reasonable level of safety. What would you recommend? Thanks! 🙂