chasAK

A locked and loaded HB, I like that! Not far from my bed is my 1943 GI 45. Unfortunately it's not a Gibson :( chasAK

I'm not familiar with the j29 but the Songwriter Deluxe is a sweet guitar! chasAK

Mine was a Kay electric with an amp built into the case.

tov meod, I'm sure it was a real honor for you to appear on his show. chasAK

The first thing that comes to my mind in the top picture is a reaction to the material on the stand.

I hear ya man, “If life is a bowl of cherries why am I always in the pits?” (A clever title to some book I never readJ) No offence or controversy intended to anyone, and certainly no desire to view this mess as trivial – I’m sure it is real! There is one Who is bigger than any of our problems: John 16:33 Sincerely & Prayerfully Charlie

When I bought my j45, I think in 2009 or 10 there was a Hummingbird TV and an AJ on the wall. The Hummingbird was the loudest of the three and sounded great. The j45 was quieter but also sound great. Being a man of little means the J45 went home with me, with no regrets! Charlie

The DR Sunbeams 12s are round cord and have less tension and a loser feels than the typical 12s. I have no idea how they sound on a 35.

I use Sunbeams 12s on my j45. They are very warm sounding and have longevity. I have tried 80/20s and find them not as warm sounding, though they have very good note clarity. To my ears the PBs have less clarity but more warmth and a rumbling bass (Tom's appropriate word is fuzzy). The highs are sweat and somewhat sparkling sounding verses trebly and piercing. The Sunbeams are round core and have a nice feel. The low E is a 54, but still has plenty of bass rumble. Another string that is very similar to the Sunbeams is Pyramid,Western Folk. They are PBs and sound very similar to the Sunbeams but with a little more note clarity. Around here they are about twice as expensive as the Sunbeams, but do sound good! My local shop does not carry them and I am satisfied with the Sunbeams. chasAK

Different picks make a difference as well.

My bridge plate looks great. It is an 08 j45. The bridge plate is solid wood. The mystery hole is plenty far away from the pin holes. There is very little tearing and splintering where the drill bit comes through. Some of the above pictures look scary! I don't know the process so I have not suggestions for the hole placement. The dull drill bits and too much force pushing them through is an easy fix. chasAK

BigKahune, thanks for the great information. Trvir, no fearof hijacking the tread, ask on. This is what I was looking for. I'm thinkingthe j45 standard is more of a 60s slim taper than anything else. I don't wantto bother to loosen all the strings to put my caliper on the neck at the 1stfret. What is everybody else's preferred neck, or does it matter to you? chasAK

Ol Fred, thanks for the encouragement,I am very happy with the playability of my j45. I was just wondering whatopinions others have. I know it has been inferred that a fat neck producesbetter tone. I have a hard time followingthat reasoning. I think your left hand (or for south paws right) dampens any significantaffect on tone. Also, as Zombywoof stated, the with is very important to playthe 1.725 with fit me fine but I would not want to go any smaller nor would I wantto go up to 2 inches. chasAK

What acoustic guitar has the best neck profile in youropinion? This assumes a good setup on the guitar. I tend to like the necks onTaylors, they are very playable for me. I have smallish hands and do not care for the baseball bat necks,but I guess one can get use to anything reasonable. I like the profile on myj45 mc. The j45 standards and TVs all seem to be similar. chasAK

The nut width changed some over those years, but I am notsure about the bracing or any of the other specs. The bracing and some of thes specs do change from model to model. chasAK

I changed the nut, saddle, and bridge pins on my 08 J45 MC. Here are the notable differences to my ears. 1. Increased volume 2. Improved note clarity 3. Greater sustain 4. A little brighter (When it was changed over I tried a new brand of strings which I have sense replaced – the add brightness may have been from the new strings) I would do it again in a heart beat!! chasAK

I replaced the nut, saddle, and bridge pins on my 08 j45 (MC). The nut and bridge were replaced with bone and the bridge pins with FWI, I just wanted bone or something harder that plastic (FWI is all the luthier uses for bridge pin, being in Alaska it is a nice AK touch). Here are my noticeable affects: 1. Much great sustain, 2. More note clarity, this was more noticeable in chord variations, 3. Louder, and 4. A bit brighter. The added brightness concerns me a bit, but I have received a couple of option (from this forum) to help with this. I agree that the benefits, especially the note clarity and sustain, outweigh the perceived add brightness. I am going to try different strings and, as bkharmony suggested in a response to an earlier post of mine, I am going to try some different picks. Concerning the picks, are the materials used in Blue Chip and Dunlop Totex a softer material, or what makes the tonal difference? And which would lend to a more mellow sound?