rustystrings

Hi!  In case you still check this forum - you you be willing to confirm some things for me?  My understanding is that the Gibson J-45 Historic Collection was a run of 670 guitars built for 5-star dealers in 2005-2006.   Whenever I see one online I grab the serial number for a database I've assembled of this variant - the earliest I've seen is dated January 7, 2005, the latest was dated November 6, 2006.  These guitars have "single" ring rosettes (white/black/wider white) with triple-ply binding of the same pattern on the tops; Sitka spruce tops, Honduran mahogany back, sides and neck, EI rosewood fingerboard and bridge, Kluson-styled tuners with white buttons, small pickguards overlaying the treble side of the rosette, Fishman Matrix Natural II ust pickups, Tusq saddle and nut.  Mine measures 1.704-in at the nut.  The end of the fingerboard overlays the rosette, rather than standing clear as vintage Gibsons did.  Finally, the orange label is marked "Style J-45 / Gibson HISTORIC COLLECTION / Number ...." and there is a blue and gold "Gibson Historic Collection" decal at the bottom of the back of the headstock.

Gibson's customer service department has never really provided clear information, apart from some boiler plate - “The Historic Collection model featured appointments that were more historically accurate to an original banner model, as opposed to the J-45 Standard of 2005.”   Since the model designated as the "Standard" was several years away, one wonders.

My understanding is that these are essentially a continuation of Ren Ferguson's redesign of the J-45;  the Fabulous Flattops indicated a 98-degree angle to the X-brace rather than the earlier 102-103-degrees of the past, trying to balance a vintage-esque sound with greater structural stability.  I'm basing that statement on what I recall reading in the 1994 edition of the Fabulous Flattops book, with the understanding that it is not necessarily gospel, so to speak.

Were there any distinctive differences between the J-45 Historic Collection guitars?  Were they actually a truer True Vintage (like the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy nor Roman nor an empire, the True Vintage is neither), or are they basically that era's regular J-45 with a new label?