Cla Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 I cant remember ever posting a picture of my j-45, sol if I haven't than here it is. I have had it for about a year. It is a j-45 Adirondack top, Mahogany back/sides, 1 of 50 made in 2007 I think, I lose track of dates so don't quote me. Anyway, I changed the saddle to elephant ivory, had to do the shaping myself to get the intonation and action right. Although I say that, it is not quite perfect, but close. The tone is very cool. Different strings have quite an effect on the tone and even the intonation somewhat. A couple brands on occasion give this guitar an amazing tone. Getting the tuning right makes for a much cooler tone, but I have still not settled yet on one pair of strings as being the best. I order 2 or 3 different brands every time I order heh. Anyway, enjoy the pictures. Ohh by the way, this saddle is the first saddle, first real ivory saddle I put in, I messed it up, had to learn, you know how it is.. The newer one, which does have an inverse offset ( which I did by hand) towards the E string, is actually in the first picture, taken more recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCSC Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Beautiful guitar. Thanks for sharing. Specifically, what strings brands have you used that have given it that "amazing" tone, even if on occasion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAMELEYE Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Nice 'burst, just a little different than Gibson's usual. How did the bone saddles change the 45's overall tone, in your opinion, Cla? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickax Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 That is some wide grain Adirondack topping off that 45 - very nice. Look to be some Bearclaw mixed in for good measure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Real good looking guitar and I like the pickguard material ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nid2007 Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 I have the same guitar. It loves daddario EJ 17 and 19. Nothing better for mine. And the EJ-17 is sold everywhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nid2007 Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 I cant remember ever posting a picture of my j-45' date=' sol if I haven't than here it is. I have had it for about a year. It is a j-45 Adirondack top, Mahogany back/sides, 1 of 50 made in 2007 I think, I lose track of dates so don't quote me. Anyway, I changed the saddle to elephant ivory, had to do the shaping myself to get the intonation and action right. Although I say that, it is not quite perfect, but close. The tone is very cool. Different strings have quite an effect on the tone and even the intonation somewhat. A couple brands on occasion give this guitar an amazing tone. Getting the tuning right makes for a much cooler tone, but I have still not settled yet on one pair of strings as being the best. I order 2 or 3 different brands every time I order heh. Anyway, enjoy the pictures. [img']http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n81/adderadder/redsprucec.jpg[/img] Ohh by the way, this saddle is the first saddle, first real ivory saddle I put in, I messed it up, had to learn, you know how it is.. The newer one, which does have an inverse offset ( which I did by hand) towards the E string, is actually in the first picture, taken more recently. Curious: does yours say Honeyburst on the label, mine does? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Wow....those bursts on those two guitars are almost identical!!!! You guys should check serial #'s, see if they were done on the same day.....lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Lovely. When I was looking for a new guitar this spring, I was choosing between this and the Fuller's J 35 Reissue, which also has an adi top. I chose the J 35, but just as easily could've ended up with one of those honeyburst-ed beauties. Cut to this fall: a west-coast dealer at the Dallas Guitar show had a used one in fairly good condition for a very good price, but I could not swing it. Alas. Your pictures are giving me GAS pains. Enjoy! Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Dog Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 Beautiful guitars !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Lee Walker Posted December 20, 2008 Share Posted December 20, 2008 One of the more beautiful J45s I have ever seen. What a nice finish. Simply gorgeous. Congrats on a very nice guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cla Posted December 20, 2008 Author Share Posted December 20, 2008 Curious: does yours say Honeyburst on the label' date=' mine does?[/quote'] I don't see Honeyburst anywhere. Which label are you speaking of? I found the 'Final checklist'. It just has a date "8/29/07", model number and serial 02227036. The orange label on the inside of the guitar just has a serial number and says Gibson, Custom Shop. Strings: The d'addario do work well, I look at them as the set you can't go wrong with. Hard to beat, but the ones I usually use are 80/20 bronze. I also like the Ernie Ball Earthwood 80/20's they sound pretty good also. It is interesting though, I have used DR Sunbeams before and found them to have an excellent tone once, however the last 2 sets (on the second set now) just don't make the cut. So no more of those. Martin 80/20's have sounded pretty good in their own way on this guitar. The expensive 'Newtones' imported strings sound pretty good also. I have tried rotosound John Pearse, only a couple coated strings. I'll have to give the earthwoods another try, I was impressed on the first set so I'll be ordering a couple more of those. Who knows, humidity changes can possibly also play tricks on the ear. The saddle: is not bone. it is elephant tusk, west African hard ivory as Bob Colosi calls it. The original saddle was imitation bone or tusk. Anyway the change did make for a more responsive tone. And I believe the overtones are a bit more revealed. However, I do wanna say that the tone was a tad better with the cheap saddle in, but it was much more muted so it was no good. I have not tried real bone yet in the saddle, but I would like to. I'm guessing that since this is, (as far as animal bone types of material go), the hardest material to use for a saddle, one could presume your not going to find anything else that projects quite as well. But as far as tone "color" goes and maybe balance... Bone vs elephant ivory is still in question for me. I know one downfall with bone is that grooves will wear down quicker. but I don't know how long that span is. Maybe someone with more exp with bone can help with that... I don't know, trying to find that right combination with strings and saddle is a headache. But there are times when this guitar growls beautifully... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 By the way....did we ever answer the question on why Gibson ships $2K+ guitars with plastic pins???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayla Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 By the way....did we ever answer the question on why Gibson ships $2K+ guitars with plastic pins???? I recall reading somewhere a statement by a Gibson rep who said that folks were going to swap them out for the pins of their choice anyways, so Gibson just went with a basic, plastic pin. AHEM... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nid2007 Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 I don't see Honeyburst anywhere. Which label are you speaking of? I found the 'Final checklist'. It just has a date "8/29/07", model number and serial 02227036. The orange label on the inside of the guitar just has a serial number and says Gibson, Custom Shop. Mine is a 2006. It says "honeyburst on the orange soundhole label. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cla Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 By the way, I am currently on a set of 80/20 bronze Dadario Lights. I would say that the greatest thing about these strings for this guitar is the tuning stability. But as far as tone, I have had better. But you know Tone is always changing, so it is hard to find that one where it is nice all the way through. I was last using a set of sunbeams, and I like the character they give this guitar better, they just don't tune up as well, intonation is not great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Californiaman Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Those are some nice guitars. I'll bet it has a real rich tone. How is the voicing? Does it project quite a bit (is it loud). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suburude63 Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Love those Adi topped J45s! Sweeeeetest sounding!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cla Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 Its quite warm, bass comes through well. I'd say it is loud enough, any more louder than I wouldn't be abler to sing over it, and I don't have a particularly loud voice. To give more explanation on tone. It has that chorus overtone sound, good balance really, depends on how you play. I think a good sounding J-45 has much more potential depending on if the player is able to realize its capability. I'm sure there are louder guitars, especially rosewood models. I don't know how much more this guitar will open up either. It is Honduras Mahogany I believe, not sure what the affects are of its aging. I know the Adirondack should be more responsive but I don't know realistically how much opening up the wood will really do in the next 10 years or so. Guess we will find out) Cla Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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