j45nick

Is it the same guy?

You're just winding poor BK up. You know he has a permanent case of gas that can only be temporarily mitigated.

The problem is that Gibson prior to about 1969 used Brazilian for fretboards and bridges. Not 100% sure when the change was made, but the fretboard they put on my original 1950 J-45 as part of a repair in 1968 is pretty clearly Brazilian. My luthier said it is as well. But this was also not part of the Kalamazoo production line, so other guitars from the same time might have other rosewood.

Your 2002 was a great find. Be satisfied with that. Don't go all Goldilocks on us.

That one looks VERY nice! 1959 was probably the last year for a fairly chunky neck. Break angle at the saddle looks very good, so plenty of height to lower the saddle if needed. That price isn't bad, and if you could get it down to $4k, it would be very good value if it's in the condition it appears to be in.

That's a nice-looking guitar. The saddle looks to be cranked all the way down, so it may be getting into neck re-set territory. If you can deal with the (probable) narrow nut, that's a pretty good way to get into a decent vintage Gibson at a rational price.

Yeah, I assume it's that video where he's playing the 000-42 by the crackling fire. That guy has a set of pipes, still. And yours ain't bad..., still. Winwood is often seriously underrated as a guitarist as well.

You're right. After 1961, should be 4, 5, or 6 digits impressed into back of headstock for the rest of the 1960's.

Outstanding, Buc! Love the look of that J-45. It's very similar to the dark overall top on the 1950 J-45 I bought last year. Is that your own arrangement, or did you find it somewhere? I was afraid for a minute you were going to sing it in Stevie Winwood's range, which I can't possibly achieve, and never could. This is pretty comfortable.

1965 looks right. It is either a J-50 or a very faded cherryburst J-45. Could be either one. I see hints of 'burst around the edges of the top and at the edges of the top next to the fretboard extension. There should be an FON stamped on the neckblock inside. Check the back of headstock for an impressed FON as well. Non-original pickguard, and the adj bridge has been modified with a fixed saddle insert, which is a common modification. It has a mahogany back and sides, and spruce top. It also has the fat mid/late 1960's frets? Did you check the neck width? If it is '65, it could be either 1 11/16" or 1 9/16". The price may be a bit high.

It's definitely a block logo (1947 or later) on the headstock of the OP's guitar. There were also similar FON's in the late 1930's an early post-war periods. There is nothing I see in the photo--body shape, details--that suggests this is a pre-war guitar. If the OP would give us the FON/serial number, we can pin it down better. We all know that the online daters do not accommodate the years when Gibson used duplicate serial numbers.

The fretboards were also bound with white ivoroid, like the headstocks, so this is a new fretboard. (I had a 1947 L-7, serial number A-235.) The L-7 P, (cutaway) like this one are worth more than the non-cutaway L-7. Since some of these were natural tops rather than sunburst, it will not have lost as much value as normal if the top has been stripped. The fact that it is an L-7 P helps a lot. It actually looks like there is clear finish on the top. If that is the case, just leave it like it is.

I should have said LG-1 or LG-2, since we can't see the top bracing. Difference is x-brace vs ladder brace.

It looks like an LG-2, probably from the mid 1950's. Still has the rectangular bridge, but has a 20-fret neck and a batwing pickguard.

Consider the G-45 a gateway drug, and appreciate it for what it is: a way to buy a brand-new Gibson at a very low price. Different tonewoods appeal to different people, and appreciation of those differences is in the ear of the beholder.

The Jackson Browne version of the Smeck sounds pretty good.

Sal, that was really great! I hear a new confidence in both your playing and singing. That confidence is justified by the results, which are outstanding..

BK, how are you doing on the fires? Looks bloody awful from here.

He can be. His live performances have always varied from brilliant to wtf? The first time I saw him in 1966, he did two sets: one electric, one acoustic, by himself. He never so much as acknowledged the existence of the audience. It was as if he was playing and singing just for himself. To some extent, that's what we see today at times. Back when I first started doing Dylan stuff, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth, I was astonished at how hard much of it was to sing. To some extent, only his unique singing style made performing it viable. I cut him a lot of slack because of his brilliant history of songwriting. He's never had a great singing voice like David Crosby or others of his (my) generation, but his songwriting more than makes up for it. These days, I think twice before going to concerts by those idols of my youth who are still touring. You can't expect them all to sound like they did when they were 30. You can stay home, spin the vinyl, and dream of decades past. Or you can go see them, tolerate the ravages of time, and admire the fact that they're still laying it on the line.

In other words, he sounds like he's always sounded....

Hear, hear! I still miss OWF.

Tom B could chime in on this, but I'd say volume, projection, and note articulation.

You need a soldering vise/stand with alligator clips, if you don't have one. Should be able to get one at any electronics parts store, or online. They're like an extra pair of hands when it comes to picky little jobs.

If these were made in the Kalamazoo plant, I wonder if this is a leftover after the KK brand was folded, and Gibson adopted a "waste not, want not" philosophy and branded it as a Gibson. The Gibson logo certainly looks correct. Did they have employee instruments back then?

Tasty, BK!