Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Pictures of my J45s


father_of_pearl

Recommended Posts

Hi guys,

 

As I’m « new » to the forum, I thought it would be cool to share some pics of my two J45s. It’s never boring, is it ?

 

2006 Standard and 2010 TV, two different animals. Feel different, sound different, I lov’em both ;)

 

Anyone else owning both ? or am I the only geek keeping 2 mahogany Montana J45s ???

 

 

FOP.

 

 

BODYc_zpsa459493e.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there. Nice to see you.

The standard ... Are you sure it's not a historic model ?

 

That's what I thought, too. Tuners aren't from a standard model.

 

FOB, how do you compare the difference in sound??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have several J-45's, too: J-45 Legend, J-45 TV, J-45 Rosewood Vine, plus some of the J-45's close cousins: a Southern Jumbo TV, Fuller's J-35 Reissue, short-scale maple Advanced Jumbo, and a pair of J-160E's, which are 15 fret J-45's, sort of. I also have three Epiphone Texans, which are essentially long-scale J-45's. So, yeah, it's not unusual to have a couple of J-45 style guitars. I love 'em!

 

Enjoy yours!

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Red 333

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi there. Nice to see you.

The standard ... Are you sure it's not a historic model ? Same as mine with the white buttons and the orange label.

 

 

And did you move the pickguard to show the white rosette?

 

Nice to meet you too BBG. Well the label inside just says "J45" and it does not have any "Historic Collection" decal on the back of the headstock, so it's just a regular J45 ( I think it's between the 2005 Historic and the 2007 Modern Classic). But yeah, the specs are 99.9% the same as your HC.

 

And yes, just like you, I needed to let those rosettes breathe, on both of them 45s ;)

 

I have several J-45's, too: J-45 Legend, J-45 TV, J-45 Rosewood Vine, plus some of the J-45's close cousins: a Southern Jumbo TV, Fuller's J-35 Reissue, short-scale maple Advanced Jumbo, and a pair of J-160E's, which are 15 fret J-45's, sort of. I also have three Epiphone Texans, which are essentially long-scale J-45's. So, yeah, it's not unusual to have a couple of J-45 style guitars. I love 'em!

 

Enjoy yours!

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Red 333

 

Thanks Red, what a wonderful slope-shoulder collection ! Wait, that means there's no cure ?! Am I gonna get worse [scared]

 

1 Welcome.

 

2 Red.... Whoa. That's a lotta hog.

 

Thanks Sal, I just can't figure out why you sold your J45 TV. I mean it was a Sitka top with AJ bracing, just like your new SJ TV, did you fall for the bling ? [cool]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man those are sweet! I'd love to have a J45! I hope to run across a good deal on the local CL one day! Very nice!

 

Yes they are [thumbup] just like your "cousins", you've already got the SJ for the J45 sound, but we're never satisfied, are we ?

And boy I'd love to play an AJ again, that thing is a tone monster !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

FOB, how do you compare the difference in sound??

 

Joe, sound-wise, to my humble ears, I'd say :

 

- J45 Standard ( or HC or MC ) : more raw-fundamental tone, sweeter, more balanced (delicious midrange), nice blending of the notes when strummed, even sweeter when capoed, nice note separation when fingerpicked, well this is THE Workhorse.

 

- J45 TV : more complex tone, dry (quicker decay), airy, loud, less balanced with predominant bass but gorgeous highs, very nice articulation when fingerpicked/flatpicked, you can play with more dynamics, Gibson really nailed it for the vintage tone.

 

 

Hello F.O.P. - a very nice pair.

 

Let the investigation continue and the reporting begin. .

 

Hey Em7 thanks, let's try to make the long story short this time [tongue] :

 

I've never played a Legend but my TV's neck is beefy, more than the newer TV's I've played at the stores and way beefier than the standard ( it's not as big and deep as a 50's Les Paul though), but I like it, very comfy. The nut width is the standard 1.725".

It is light build but still robust.

The Adi top is definitely stiffer than sitka, so for now, the guitar feels a little tight, but let's be patient, it will blossom soon...

 

The Standard's neck is skinnier with a soft V and the nut width is 1-11/16 ( which is not true for the current Standard : flat and shallow neck, 1.725" nut width). Given it is a 2006 with a Sitka top, it's well broken in. It's a little heavier than the TV, but I wouldn't say it's built "like a tank" as i've read here and there. The top is very responsive, the guitar is loud and the bass is deep and thumpy.

 

So to me, the standard sounds and feels sweeter, softer but we'll see in a couple of years when the TV's top has loosened a bit. Things may change...

 

Now let's play !

 

FOP.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What's the 0.1% difference?

I do have a stupid decal , but you couldn't have seen that :)

 

What's your serial number ? Just in case they're brothers.

 

You said in another post that yours is a 2005 HC, hence the decal which is the only difference. Now I don't know if that makes 0.1 % difference !

 

According to the label mine was made on february 2006, so that's the younger sister.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You said in another post that yours is a 2005 HC, hence the decal which is the only difference. Now I don't know if that makes 0.1 % difference !

 

According to the label mine was made on february 2006, so that's the younger sister.

 

I'm no expert , but I'm fairly sure you have a historic model.....

Unless the previous owner put the white buttons on , still doesnt explain the orange label . maybe makes no difference to yourself what its called , might help with resale if that ever happens.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm no expert , but I'm fairly sure you have a historic model.....

Unless the previous owner put the white buttons on , still doesnt explain the orange label . maybe makes no difference to yourself what its called , might help with resale if that ever happens.

 

Maybe BBG, maybe [smile]

It doesn't really matter as it sounds and plays right to me.

It's all original except the pickguard placement and the black pins.

Mine came without the decal and I can't find the "historic" mentioned anywhere. The model reference on the factory paper is RS45VSNHI, if this helps for your investigations ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe BBG, maybe [smile]

It doesn't really matter as it sounds and plays right to me.

It's all original except the pickguard placement and the black pins.

Mine came without the decal and I can't find the "historic" mentioned anywhere. The model reference on the factory paper is RS45VSNHI, if this helps for your investigations ;)

 

Haha. .. I hope you dont think I'm being a fusspot. I'm far from it. I wouldn't care too much about model names and such. The main reason is finding someone else with a historic model. I feel a kinship !! They aren't mentioned too much .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haha. .. I hope you dont think I'm being a fusspot. I'm far from it. I wouldn't care too much about model names and such. The main reason is finding someone else with a historic model. I feel a kinship !! They aren't mentioned too much .

 

Come on mate ;)

 

Actually I think you’re right. Maybe someone can shed some light on this subject. I thought the Historic Collection lasted in 2005 and the Modern Classic started in 2007. So what happened in 2006 ???

 

Perhaps I own one of the very last Historic Collection J45, even though the label just says « J45 ». Anyway I agree, all the specs are the same.

 

But remember the very first runs of J45 TVs back in 2007, the label did not mention « TV » but they had all the TV caracteristics ( except the Sitka top and the black case for some of them).

 

Nice geek discussion, shouldn’t we start another topic ha ha ?

 

Oh by the way BBG, did you swap your tuners for butterbean open back ones ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey BBG, guess yours ain't no HC, cause it doesn't say so on the label. a hc must have this label

 

IMG_5319_zps0b3332a4.jpg

 

[flapper] just kiddin'!

 

 

 

I remember when I played my first j-45 in a shop in 2004, it looked exactly like the historic models, just without a decal on the back of the headstock (didn't pay attention to a label back then, even thought the guitar looked pretty ugly until the guy in the shop forced me to try it [love] )

 

Here is a quote from an old tread on this board, which pretty much sums up what the hc thing is all about:

 

"What prompted the introduction of the TV/MC split was the conservatism of a certain segment of the J-45 market. A 2005 Historical Collection J-45 was the standard J-45 of its day. ("Historical Collection" just means that the model was based on a classic Gibson design. The '05 J-45 was based on a '50s model. It wasn't intended to be an accurate reproduction. But, at first glance, it looks much as it would if it were. OTOH, there's no such thing as a '50s or '60s Songwriter, so the '05 Songwriter was not a Historic Collection model.)

 

Gibson wanted to drop some "historical" touches from the baseline J-45 shortly after the time of that '05 that you're considering, but knew this would alienate some of us old fogies -- and some young fogies, too -- who want a guitar that looks just like the one X played back in the day. The idea was to go ahead with minor update of the baseline J-45 with the typical modern player in mind -- someone who just wants to play the darn thing without dwelling on whether the dot on the 'i' in "Gibson" touches the 'G' or not -- but to simultaneously introduce a new model that would keep the traditionalists happy. (Or at least as happy as we were with the Historic Collection models. We can't be made completely happy. That's just how we are.)

 

So they replaced the white button Kluson-copies with functionally superior (in the opinion of the people who's opinions count) Rotomatics, added a pickup, etc. The result was the J-45 MC (now the J-45 Std). The TV models look even a little more traditional than the corresponding Historic Collection models -- bone nuts and uncompensated saddles, for example -- and are also upgraded a tad. (I expect that being an old fogey who wants white buttons on his J-45 tuners correlates pretty well with being willing to spend a few bucks more for upgrades.) J-45 TVs are more lightly built, differently braced, and typically are built from higher-grade materials."

 

http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/58416-historic-vs-modern-classic-vs-standard/

 

So I guess bbg and fap and my j-45 are basically all the same, though they all differ in regards to label and decal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have several J-45's, too: J-45 Legend, J-45 TV, J-45 Rosewood Vine, plus some of the J-45's close cousins: a Southern Jumbo TV, Fuller's J-35 Reissue, short-scale maple Advanced Jumbo, and a pair of J-160E's, which are 15 fret J-45's, sort of. I also have three Epiphone Texans, which are essentially long-scale J-45's. So, yeah, it's not unusual to have a couple of J-45 style guitars. I love 'em!

 

Enjoy yours!

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Red 333

 

Red,

Don't know what I enjoy more.....reading about your guitar collection or looking at your Aimee Mann avatar. [rolleyes]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey BBG, guess yours ain't no HC, cause it doesn't say so on the label. a hc must have this label

 

[flapper] just kiddin'!

 

http://forum.gibson....ic-vs-standard/

 

So I guess bbg and fap and my j-45 are basically all the same, though they all differ in regards to label and decal.

 

 

Danke sehr littlejohnny for your attempt to clarify the situation.

 

I remember this RAR's very informative post. And BBG is right, we are not many HC owners here so let's show solidarity \:D/

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Danke sehr littlejohnny for your attempt to clarify the situation.

 

I remember this RAR's very informative post. And BBG is right, we are not many HC owners here so let's show solidarity \:D/

 

 

Sometimes I wonder, if the pre MC j-45 are structurally different from the MC models. Rar did not mentioned anything like different top thickness or different bracing or what ever.

 

When I had my j-45 frets dressed last time, the guy told me my j-45 was noticeable lighter than three mc's he compared it to. But who does not like to believe his guitar is special?

 

If my guitar would be destroyed or stolen, I would definitely try to get used pre mc j-45, cause a nither a mc nor a tv model would make me happy.

 

And yeah, I'm totally up to the solidarity thing! [thumbup]

 

back to playing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...