j45nick

Check out the new banner LG-2 with toasted Adi top. That one should get your attention.

I believe they have those, too. Go on the Gibson website. They have a bunch of different T-shirts.

The other thing that Sweetwater is listing as a new model is a 1942 Banner J-45. Not quite Legend specs in that only top bracing is hide glued, but otherwise it is a very good reproduction, a big step up from other J-45 models, including the old True Vintage. Specs include cooked Adi top w/hide-glued braces, bone nut, 19-fret neck with V-profile and Legend fretwire, 1.725" nut, rectangular bridge with slot-through bone saddle. Very nice specs indeed! They also have almost the same specs in a 1942 Banner LG-2 model, a 1934 OJ, and a 1936 J-35. Wowser! Good on Gibson.

It's a little hard to separate the live from the looping in the second half. Two things: the guy has a heck of a set of nails on his right hand, and I'm glad that's not one of my guitars he's beating on.

It could be a flaw in the underlying wood, as well as in the finish. Mahogany is generally and easy wood to work with, especially the straight-grain material used for necks. It is possible it got bumped during the construction process and sprayed over, but nobody even noticed it, since it took you a couple of weeks to notice it. You couldn't return it in any case, since you've modified it by dressing the fret ends, even though you may see that as an improvement rather than a modification. Perceived flaws in a new guitar can be frustrating, but if you otherwise really like the guitar, I would just live with it, at least in the short run.

Guitars like this are largely hand-made, and as such may have issues. However, it is also possible this happened in the shop, if the guitar had ever been out of the box. The fact that you didn't even notice this for two weeks suggests that it is pretty minor, and may be something that happened after you received it. Bottom line is that it is impossible to know if it came from the factory that way. I would leave it alone for at least six months before thinking about doing anything. That would give the lacquer a chance to cure further before you contemplate touching it with something that is by definition going to abrade the surface. These finishes are very thin, and pretty soft while they are curing. Your left hand may wear it smooth pretty quickly if you play a lot.

There have been several runs of OJ's in recent years. A couple of people here may still have them.

Yes! Especially if they do some more Legend-style guitars. I want a Legend-quality repro FON 910 rosewood SJ, for starters. Maybe an AJ Legend as well. I'm hoping they bring JT back into the loop.

I'd say he's got a little Elvis Costello vibe going. Or maybe Elvis's creepy bother.

I don't blame any store for doing this, particularly if the store is large enough that they can't keep an eye on everyone every minute. A teenager with a flatpick and delusions of grandeur can trash the top of a guitar in less than a minute.

Don't feel obliged to put a set of strings on just because you already have them in stock. If there are other strings you really like, order a few sets. I have a shoebox full of unused sets just for "emergencies", but the fact is that because I'm primarily using DR Sunbeams these days, those other sets will sit in the shoebox for now. I suspect other folks here are much like me in that regard--boxes of sets of strings you may never use. It's a cheap enough vice that I don't feel much guilt about it.

The '69 will almost certainly have heavier bracing than the 2007, which is likely to stifle response. The main thing the older guitar has going for it is 50 years of aging on the woods. If you can, play them both, with the same strings on them. If the strings aren't the same, A/B comparisons don't have much merit if you're trying to decide between the two based on tone. There are people here who have Doves who can suggest which strings you should use. If you have to buy blind, I would go with the 2007. That's a high-water period for Gibson Acoustic, with Ren very much in charge.

It really is hard to assess value, in part because of your location. The fact that the fretboard is Brazilian rosewood complicates life. The bridge looks like it is probably Indian rosewood. The simplest thing is to try to sell it within your country, or maybe somewhere else in the EU where it might be hand-delivered. If the guitar were for sale in the US, based just on what we can see in the photos, the asking price might be in the high four figures. Just follow the Reverb prices, and watch how they continue to be marked down, or if they sell. The playing condition of your guitar is not apparent from the photos. Someone has certainly flailed on it a lot with a pick at some point in its life.

Hmmmm…….. What J-45 is that?

As JT says, SJ's in the banner years had either rectangular bridges, or belly-down ( Martin-style) bridges. Most banner Gibson flat tops seem to have had rectangular bridges.

Frightening, but all true.

I love the L-OO. It's the perfect guitar to play while lounging around, which I tend to do at times.

If you read his post carefully, I don't think this is the guitar. It is a re-post of Reverb photos. Gibson did not make the L-OO in 1965, so either there is a misunderstanding of the date, or a misidentification of the guitar. We need pictures of the actual guitar the OP has to figure out what it is.

Look carefully with a light from different angles and a magnifying glass to see if there is a lightly penciled red number after the four-digit stamped number. This pencil number fades, and can be almost impossible to see. That FON of 2694 plus truss rod suggests 1944 build period. There are four other SJ's from batch 2694 listed in the Banner registry: banner gibson That looks like it might be a replacement bridge, since it is not a slot-through saddle. The other SJ's with that FON also have straight bridges like yours, whereas many banner SJ's had belly-up or belly-down bridges

A lot of us use this guy: Bob Colosi

Norm knows his vintage Gibsons. A lot of dealers get into the vintage game because they love vintage guitars. The Cali Girl case I have for my original 1950 J-45 is one of a run of vintage cases Norm commissioned from G&G in LA. G&G specializes in hand-made high-end vintage spec cases, and they do a brilliant job. I'm looking for another one of those, or a TKL/Gibson Cali Girl case, for my other 1950 J-45, which came with its original brown chipboard case.

Both the label and guitar look completely fine. Congratulations on your new J-45. And welcome aboard!

The labelling varies. Don't read too much into it.

That was an awesome film. What a set of pipes that girl had! She could sing literally anything. Her current physical condition is tragic.

I don't mind what Gibson is doing at all. An entry-level, made-in-America guitar made with solid woods is a great starter Gibson.