Boyd

J-50's are the best! My first acoustic guitar was a 1974 J-50 Deluxe that I bought new. Gave it to my son in law awhile back because he liked it so much. But I still have a 1965 J-50 ADJ and 2008 J-50 Modern Classic. Also have a 2020 J-50 60's Original which has the modern version of the ADJ Bridge. They are all great in their own way, but the 2020 has been my favorite since I got it. Neck is slightly thinner than the 2008 J-50 but much fatter than my real 1965 J-50. Is there a "new" J-50? I thought my model (60's Original) was discontinued? - don't see it on their site anymore although they still have 50's and 60's Original J-45's. Some dealers might still have the J-50's I guess?

If you need to come here for financial advice, the answer is "no", regardless of what the question is. 🤣

For sure. And I am also not going to be buying any $4000 guitars. 🤣

I bought my 1965 J-50 ADJ from Guitar Center in 2015 for half that price. To be fair, that J-45 is probably in better condition, but mine ain't bad.

Wired headphones have almost no latency, so you are hearing what happens in very close to real time. Sorry, I am not very educated about hearing loss. Can you not hear anything without your hearing aids?

Seems like latency would be a big problem with a bluetooth device, wouldn't it? Latency is the delay between when something occurs and when you actually hear it, and is measured in milliseconds (ms) which are 1/1000 of a second. Working with audio and video, I find a one or two millisecond delay very noticeable. As an approximation, sound travels about one foot per millisecond. Bluetooth devices have a lot of latency, just saw a review of bluetooth "gaming headphones" that have 70ms latency - that's still quite a lot. I believe Apple's Airpods have around 200ms, which is huge. It's not an issue watching a TV show (for example) because the picture can just be delayed by the same amount of time to keep the audio in sync, but that can't be done while playing the guitar live. The latency is the result of processing that must be done to the audio data in order to transmit it wirelessly. Can't you just use conventional, wired earphones when you practice?

There are some old threads about this, don't know if the forum software has changed since then. But the consensus was that you couldn't free up space. You might be right about deleting entire posts, I don't recall that. But I do remember deleting attachments and not getting the space back. So, unless something has recently changed, you need to host your attachments off-site because they don't give you enough space here to actually be useful.

I have a 1965 J-50 and like the thin neck, but I have small hands. I also spent awhile playing it and trying other J-45's and J-50's from that era at a large Guitar Center. Since you don't seem too familiar with these older guitars, it would really be best to buy someplace where you can try first. Or if that isn't possible, maybe buy from a well-known store that has a "no questions asked" return policy if you aren't satisfied. Trying to return a purchase from a private seller on the internet could be a nightmare IMO.

I have one of these from 2020 and really like it... 1. Evidently they have been discontinued, didn't realize that myself and it must be pretty recent, but it is no longer on their site. 2. I also have a real 1965 J-50 and think the headstocks are pretty much the same, although the edges are more rounded on the real 1965 guitar. But it's just black paint. 3. There is really no period accuracy at all. This is modern Gibson construction with a "nod" to the original in terms of the ADJ bridge and narrower nut. But the inside the of the original 1965 guitar is completely different and it sounds very different. However, I think the 60's original is different in a good way, I actually like the sound better than the real 1965. I have a 2008 J-50 Modern Classic and it is basically the same as the new 60's original J-50 but without the ADJ bridge. Although the neck of the 60's original is more narrow at the nut itself, the carve is much fatter so IMO, there's not a whole lot of difference from the 2008 J-50. If I was blindfolded, not sure if I could tell which is which. OTOH, my real 1965 J-50 has the same nut width but the carve is very thin - it's completely different and could easily be identified blindfolded. 4. Don't know, I got a really good deal on a barely-used one and it didn't have a warranty card.

Peterson has an iOS app, apparently nothing for Android though https://www.petersontuners.com/products/istrobosoft/ I used their older iPhone app years ago and tried a couple others. Found them all unsatisfactory, the accuracy was nothing like a clip-on tuner.

Yes I am - why would I lie about that? 😆 You might enjoy my free web app, which has the most comprehensive maps of the region you will find anywhere: https://boydsmaps.com/#15.00/39.818698/-74.535594/legacy24k/0.00/0.00

$2,500 is still a lot of money for me. $2000 is the most I've ever spent and that was my 1965 J-50 ADJ. The only new acoustic I've bought since 1974 was a Martin D-15M and that was just under $1000 in 2011. But I suppose inflation changes everything now - especially for those of you outside the US.

I wonder exactly what "satin" means on a Gibson? Isn't nitro shiny by nature? When it comes to polyurethane finishes (admittedly, something completely different), I read up on these a number of years ago when doing some home remodelling. All polyurethane is shiny, so to acheive a satin finish they add a mineral powder to make it more rough and less reflective. Seems to me it was either mica or gypsum? Anyway, I had built a new staircase and was choosing a finish for it. Satin was not recommended because the addition of the mineral dust made it less durable and likely to wear down faster.

Interesting. I wonder why this is cheaper than the other J-45 versions? https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Acoustic-Guitar/ACCWWH301/Faded-Sunburst I guess the pickup is more expensive, maybe the tuners? But $350 is a pretty big difference. https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Acoustic-Guitar/ACCSRX331/Vintage-Sunburst

My point was that (IMO) the guitar sounds great with the original tusq saddle. So, why should I care what material it's made of? I'm just not one of those people who change the saddle, nut and bridge pins on every guitar I own in search of some elusive sound. 🙂

I don't understand the "size and scale" part. The tusq ADJ saddle on my 2020 60's Original J-50 looks to be the same size as the original rosewood saddle on my real 1965 J-50. Have you played a guitar with one of the new tusq ADJ saddles? Mine sounds great, so I don't really care whether it's tusq or something else.

Just getting back to basics.... the thread title asked if "anyone had hands on experience" with a new 60's original J-45. I own one and have played it for over a year. I really like it. AFAIK, nobody else who has responded has personal experience with this guitar, although there have certainly been some interesting off-topic diversions. The neck on the 60's Original is very similar to a contemporary J-45 Standard but a little smaller at the first and second frets. So I think we could just forget about how big a neck is supposed to be on a real 1960's J-45. If you want a guitar with a much slimmer neck than a modern J-45, you will probably be disappointed by the 60's Original. But of course, the only way you'll know if you like it will be to try one.

Yeah, it does to me, I would never go to all that trouble. But if it helps you then there's nothing wrong with it. I really like the sound. It is brighter than my 2008 J-50. But I wouldn't try to describe it beyond that, the efforts I see around here to describe the way guitars sound usually strike me as ridiculous. Regarding the neck, the nut width on the 60's original is the same as my real 1965 J-50. But the carve is totally different. And I mean TOTALLY. The new guitar is much fatter. If I was blindfolded, not sure if I could tell the difference between my 2008 J-50 and the new 60's original J-50. But it would be very easy to tell the difference from the real 1965 J-50. To summarize, I'd describe the neck on the 60's J-45/J-50 as very similar to a contemporary J-45 Standard, but a bit more narrow at the first and second frets. From the third fret on up, it is basically the same. I like that just fine, but if you are hoping for a much skinnier neck then you may be disappointed. Anybody who says the carve is "period correct" must be comparing it to a different period than my real 1965 J-50. Yeah, you should really try one in person.

I've had a 60's Original J-50 (should be the same except the finish) since June 2021 and love it. I also have a real 1965 J-50 ADJ and like it too - but I actually like the new one better (probably because the old one could use some work). Anyway, the necks are completely different so you may be disappointed if you want the same kind of skinny neck as a real 60's J-45. The nut width is "period correct" but the carve is absolutely NOTHING like my real 1965 guitar. If somebody said the carve was "period correct" then I'd question whether they have actually compared them (unless they are talking about a different "period" than mine). I also have a 2008 J-50 (like a J-45 standard) and that neck is much more similar to the 60's original. I measured the circumference of the necks to compare, since that is what you wrap your hand around. At the nut, the 60's original circumference was about 1/4" less than the 2008 J-50. But at the third fret, the necks were exactly the same from there on up. So, you get a thinner neck right at the top, but it gets fat very quickly as you go up the scale. Anyway, take my word for it, you would never confuse a 60's original neck for a real 1960's neck. At first I was a bit disappointed by that, but I liked the sound and feel so much that I got over it quickly. Over the summer the bridge started separating from the body on mine, which I'm not happy with, but the bolts for the ADJ bridge are certainly going to hold it in place so I'm not too worried. This could be my fault for playing it outside and letting it sit on a stand on some very warm, humid sunny days. That's when it happened. 😐

It isn't too hard, you just need the special bushings that press into the larger holes from the Grovers and some confidence in your ability (I assume we are talking about Rotomatics?). Have done this myself and it wasn't so bad, however I have been working with tools and woods most of my life. Here are the bushings, they are probably available elsewhere too https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-hardware/tuning-machines/tuner-parts/38-conversion-tuner-bushing-6f79b4d5/ They will be slightly oversize for the existing holes but are designed to be pressed into the hole so the ridges slightly dig into the wood to hold them in place. I did this with a block of wood and a c-clamp but Stew Mac makes a special (expensive) tool for this purpose, it is shown at the bottom of the page I linked to. Some people prefer to ream out the hole so the bushing can be easily inserted. If you do that, be careful not to make the holes too big, it should be a snug fit so the bushing can't move around or fall out. There are also tools for that shown on the same page. A bigger issue for me was the marks that were made by the big washers on the Grovers which left a very noticeable "bullseye" around the new pegs. I carefully sanded and buffed these out but that might be scary for many people, since you are going to be scratching up the headstock, then polishing out the marks. I used some of these - get more than you think you need, just in case! https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/supplies/sanding-and-polishing/sandpaper-and-finishing-papers/micro-mesh-touch-up-stick/ Finally, you will have to drill new screw holes. I suggest you do this with a little hand drill of some kind and not a power drill, you need to be very careful not to go too deep. Now, I wanted to use the traditional Kluson 3-on-a-plate tuners. If you are happy with individual tuners, then there are drop-in replacements to fit the existing Grover holes and attach with the same sort of threaded shaft/washer system. Personally, I don't like them because you still have the ugly washers - which was one of the main things that I disliked about the Rotomatics.

$9300 CDN would be about $7200 USD, so maybe that would explain it?

Just did a search for Grover 135N and I see they appear to be Grover's version of vintage Klusons. They look similar to the Grovers on my 2020 J-50 60's original (although mine are 3-on-a-strip). Anyway, I was thinking of the Grover Rotomatics where the buttons are attached with screws and easily changed, sorry. StewMac has a variety of buttons, see also the "trade secrets" and installation guide at the bottom of the page https://www.stewmac.com/parts-and-hardware/tuning-machines/tuner-parts/vintage-style-tuner-knobs/

WD Music Products has some different varieties https://www.wdmusic.com/tuning-machines-parts-bushings-and-washers.html

There's a thread about it here:

Not anymore, a broken digital clock will just have a blank screen. 🙃