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Found a 1943 J-45 (Excellent condition) for $5,000


gotomsdos

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Did anyone catch the refinished Banner J-45 on eBay last week? Logo and everything was gone but a Banner it be. It ended up going for just over $1800.

 

I wanted it so bad!! I love the ones without truss rods. I just couldn't justify one so messed with though.

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Did anyone catch the refinished Banner J-45 on eBay last week? Logo and everything was gone but a Banner it be. It ended up going for just over $1800.

 

You mean this one?:

 

A Bridge Too Far

 

Yes, that one was quite cracky. De-logo'ed. Curiously re-bridged. And re-finned sans patina. But it looks quite playable, and begs an a/b with a modern J-45 for about the same $.

 

I for one would like to hear it. But would the neck profile, uniqueness, and potential sound of 70 year old guitar possibly be worth the price of admission? Hmmm.... :-k

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I nearly bid on that Ebay "banner" guitar-- but was confused by the black/white/black purfling lines along the top--neither of my banner J-45's have this purfling-- just the white binding-- I thought only SJ's had this during the banner years -- any thoughts?

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I nearly bid on that Ebay "banner" guitar-- but was confused by the black/white/black purfling lines along the top--neither of my banner J-45's have this purfling-- just the white binding-- I thought only SJ's had this during the banner years -- any thoughts?

 

I think John Thomas has established that all guitars in the first year of banner production had the fancy purfling - presumably with the usual exceptions that we have come to expect from Gibson.

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I think John Thomas has established that all guitars in the first year of banner production had the fancy purfling - presumably with the usual exceptions that we have come to expect from Gibson.

Yes, indeed! First year banners, whether J-50s, J-45s, SJs, LG-3s, LG-2s, or LG-1s, had the multiple lines of purfling on top and back and in their rosettes.

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Believing the guitar was what it was, I actually thought about bidding on it (although I would not have gone as high as it went for) but what scared me off were the cracks running down along the sides of the fingerboard.

 

In a case of history repeating itself a friend sent me a link to a guitar he found on Craigs List. It was supposed to be a 1946 J-45 in really nice condition with an asking price of $3200. As with the one in the original post - the guitar was in fact an LG-2.

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1800usd Gibson Banner Auction won by me. Guitar is playable and sounds good. I sent it off to Jeff Branch, a local luthier of high regard and a great friend. It has 5 cracks to fix, and four loose braces. I did not realize it was refined until t arrived, after which the seller sent a substantial refund.

 

It's the 3rd Banner Project I have had. The other two I sold to a Lawyer in CA when I was short on cash. One of them, (Maple) was going to accompany me to an episode of Pawn Stars, and happily, I sold it before hand having some recent dealings with the guitar shop that frequents the show for appraisals and the like.

 

Anyway, I am looking for a little help. I believe this one was/is a J45 because it lacks a truss rod, placing it a few years after the very early J50's???? Plus, there are two grain swirls in the top, rendering it fit for sunburst, LOL . . . any thoughts? FYI, with regards to the sound of these guitars in comparison to modern, and later ones (this will be my 9th j45/50), I prefer the Banner. The mahogany ones I have had are very loud and distinctive, whereas the maple one was sweet, yet dry, not loud, more mellow and easy on the voice, LOL . . .

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1800usd Gibson Banner Auction won by me. Guitar is playable and sounds good. I sent it off to Jeff Branch, a local luthier of high regard and a great friend. It has 5 cracks to fix, and four loose braces. I did not realize it was refined until t arrived, after which the seller sent a substantial refund.

 

It's the 3rd Banner Project I have had. The other two I sold to a Lawyer in CA when I was short on cash. One of them, (Maple) was going to accompany me to an episode of Pawn Stars, and happily, I sold it before hand having some recent dealings with the guitar shop that frequents the show for appraisals and the like.

 

Anyway, I am looking for a little help. I believe this one was/is a J45 because it lacks a truss rod, placing it a few years after the very early J50's???? Plus, there are two grain swirls in the top, rendering it fit for sunburst, LOL . . . any thoughts? FYI, with regards to the sound of these guitars in comparison to modern, and later ones (this will be my 9th j45/50), I prefer the Banner. The mahogany ones I have had are very loud and distinctive, whereas the maple one was sweet, yet dry, not loud, more mellow and easy on the voice, LOL . . .

Congra you won it !

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