fortyearspickn

I use a formulae of Beeswax, Blue Lizard UV lotion, Green Tea and dew collected from rosebuds during nautical twilight. I apply it with an organic unicorn tail and buff it with a slightly used pair of Fredericks of Hollywood panties. Then I shellac it with a motorcycle chain to apply mojo.

Pre-Congrats! Sometimes, faced with difficult decisions, I try to imagine myself a few years down the road asking myself "Do you regret having made that decision?" Sort of adds, artificially, the element of perspective. 20/20 Hindsight Lite ! Don't tell my other 2 guitars - but my J-45 will be the one they pry from my cold, dead hands !

Egoideal, Jed and other commenters have raised good points. I would let Gibson do what they believe is best at this point. It is unlikely the tuners are bent - the holes are crooked or oversized and/or there is something wrong with that piece of wood. Maybe a whole new headpiece? A whole new neck? a whole new guitar? I'd let them know you really love the guitar but not go too far in pressuring them to keep it intact aka 'apply a bandaid''. This is disappointing, for sure, but rare. Hang in there.

Mutha, the severity of the lockdown is a function of the place you live. Sounds like you're in Ireland? Here, they first floated the idea as a 'Shelter In Place' in San Fransisco, California. Then, it just grew. Now, those same places are trying to go back to mandatory masks. My wife is an RN. I've worked with hundreds of nurses over the years. You'd better expect a tough crowd ! If there will be beer bottles present, you might want a Covid Inspired Plexiglass Shield ! G'Luck!!

All's well that ends well. Holy Grail Amps may be more rare than HG guitars ! Congrats J ! (Thanks for closing the loop on this odyssey !

Being in an unventilated shed for years in North Carolina, coupled with the damage and glazing of the finish you describe, suggest: You should not try stringing it up no matter how many steps down, you should not worry about the impact on value if refinished, you should not worry about insuring it and, as has been noted above, only a luthier can salvage it. NOT a 'guitar technician'. The neck may be screwed up as well, and all these things have to be 'brought up to code' before strings, re-finishing and insurance questions can be addressed. And those can be best addressed by a luthier who has addressed the bigger issues. G'Luck.

WFang - Yeah. I get a kick out of folks who make references to their location, without disclosing it. I get a bigger kick, literally, out of the new Coke product that, like this thread, combines cola and caffeine. If I weren't boycotting Coke, I'd probably buy a case a month. Instead of 2 cans a month. My favorite 'brand' of coffee is IHOP. I'm not sure where you can find it, or if they have a special way of making it (we use to put a pinch of salt in the aluminum 30 cup coffee maker, and never wash it) but IHOP's coffee always seems twice as good as any I have found anywhere.

Hah ! Real Estate !!! Our next door neighbors, lived here 3 years - selling due to divorce. Realtors use to say the best deals were homes being sold due to "Death & Divorce". They bought for $425 and just sold, in 3 days, for $595. $20K more than they were asking. I'm afraid we're going to see another real estate bubble burst, like we did when Fannie and Sallie blew up. I don't think roller coaster rides on our guitars will have any impact - but the Real Estate Market (where retiring baby boomers have a lot of their 'life savings' tied up) dropping like a rock could have a domino effect. I guess I'll go play the fiddle. I mean guitar.

Very few around. None for awhile on the Guitar Center web site for USED. I would guess, if supply and demand affects them, prices will be going up a good bit. Like it is for GAS. (Pun intended.)

Yeah. When I took my unscientific survey - I also excluded Leftys . There is a $3900 125th Anniversary H'Bird as well as the $4300 Historic J45- the ones on there a day ago were studios, Progressives, avant-guards, Cut outs, not Hogs, etc. I was merely trying to point out the scarcity of traditional ones. At this time there are really only 2. For example, there are no SJ200s. My observation was, as was pointed out this am in another thread, there is a scarcity overall, based on looking at the most recognized and respected Gibsons over the past several decades. Guitar Center being national, big, etc. - as I said, unscientific. But - at the end of the day, with todays recent addition of a $1700 standard J45 'picture coming' - if you are trying to find a used 'iconic' one - as many here prefer to buy 'slightly used' - you will have a difficult time. I would assume GC understands this and is doing less discounting than they had in the past. As the other thread stated - it's a Sellers Market. Inflation, or whatever you want to call it.

Yeah. I was excluding the 'progressive', studio, etc. Just trying to gauge what the level of availability is for the meat and potatoes like you got. Not the outliers. To get a feel for how available they are overall. Thanks.

Occasionally I like to look at the Guitar Center web site section that shows USED 6 string acoustics to see what's available, especially in the Gibsons. Today there are only 37 used Gibson acoustics. And only 7 are what I would call 'Bread & Butter". The rest are arch tops, progressive, studio, or over 60 years old. etc. Further - there are basically zero J45/50s, Hummingbirds or SJ1 or 200s that are typical of what someone would be looking for as 'representative of the breed'. Certainly this is just one sample of what might be available in the used guitar market - but I wonder if it reflects the market overall. Are people holding on to their guitars more - or have more and more people found other ways to sell them ?

Congrats. Nothing wrong with floor models. Enjoy !

Sounds like you planned it all, you devil !

GC does not have Luthiers. They have Guitar Techs. I'd guess more than half their expertise is on Electronic Guitars. Your GC Tech may think your J45 'sounds fine' because his frame of reference is $300 guitars made in a third world country. Or he may have been backed up changing strings for people who don't know which way to turn the tuning post. If I were you - I would return it before too much time goes by. If you bring it somewhere else, or go past whatever GC says their 'no questions asked' period is - you'll be on your own. Tell them to call you when they get in another J45, J50 or Southern Jumbo - that your ears aren't pulling the wool over your eyes. You should not have to travel hundreds of miles and leave your guitar places overnight when it is BRAND SPANKING NEW ! G'Luck.

I still drink out of the garden hose.

Dave, maybe you can make a headstock sized one for Sgt.Pepper that says "MARTIN" to put on his new J45.

I wouldn't leave capos or tuners on until the nitro cures, dries, hardens or whatever... OR sand it down. If you've not had this 'stickiness' issue with other guitars, it is clearly the new nitro. Let it age as JInder suggested for a year or so. Gibson Polish with a flannel cloth will be safe. Or, just a couple of drops on water on the cloth and some elbow grease. I assume you'll have the same issue with your forearm and the lower bout unless you wear long sleeves. G'Luck.

CQL, Like people, guitars can get fragile and finicky as they age. I'd caution against trying to see if the Truss Rod turns at all. It is the nut that turns, of course, not the rod - and one full turn which is 360 degrees, would most likely damage the neck. I would guess that "5 minutes" would be infinitesimal - impossible to discern, you'd likely be unable to turn it at least 1/8th of a turn. If the nut/rod hasn't been touched in 75 years - chances are it's 'stuck' (possible rust and corrosion) and you'd want a luthier to tease it. It would serve no purpose for you to find out if it is stuck or not and the risk of causing costly, possibly irreversible harm outweighs your getting that info. Like the Hippocratic Oath says - "First, Do No Harm". And as Shakespeare said "Get thee to a Luthier." (OK, nunnery, but same thing.)

I've only pre-ordered an instrument (banjo) once from GC. I got paperwork confirming/receipting my downpayment. Not sure why you wouldn't have gotten some confirmation of your 'reservation' from one of the 2 GCs. Did you ask for something better than a verbal assurance?

Congrats! And you Can look forward to your new J45 'opening up' and sounding better for at least the next year !

BEST POST OF THE YEAR !!! 🎯

JT - That clip was fantastic. Amazing job providing the highlights in just 3 minutes - of years of work. Grudging respect to NBC for running this. Equally bowled over by Ms. Minch. THANKS !

... and so it goes.

I'll be here all week folks. Don't forget to try the Free Buffet. Steer clear of the Sushi after 4pm.