XeMeme Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I've had a 1980 Gibson J-40 for about 15 years and I've never seen another one like this particular guitar. The side and tops are stained Dark Brown so is the back of the neck and head), back is mahogany, standard tear-drop pickguard (black), and has a pick-up in the bridge. The pick-up is nasally, but sounds dreamy through my Sans Amp. I love it. It has been a work-horse and I'm always complimented on it. I'm asking because I'm thinking about replacing it (hopefully with another one just like it). I use to play at the beach and it has wreaked havoc with the neck. It has been reset once (6 years ago), but the luthier had warned me that it wouldn't last and I think time is about up. Does anyone know about this kind of J-40? I'd be interested in learning about other models with the same neck. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XeMeme Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Did some snooping around online... I think the top (and maybe sides) are walnut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Did you play at the beach after the neck was reset ? Or you got the neck reset after the beach played havoc? A neck set should last more than 6 years no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 You just missed one. There was a 1980 J-40 on Reverb some six months ago. Sold for $400. Personally I woud avoid anything made by Gibson during this period prior to 1983 when they made a honest attempt to get back to bulding guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I've seen some of the dark tinted J-40s. I always assumed they had some off-colored spruce and stained it dark so they could use it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I have a 1980 Gibson catalog & price list. There appears to be almost no difference between the square shouldered J-40, J-45, & J-50 from this era. All have a spruce top with mahogany back & sides, 3-piece maple neck with 25.5" scale, rosewood fingerboard & bridge, and tortoise batwing pickguard (your pickguard may have been changed to give it a more Martinish appearance). J-40 was available in a natural or walnut finish, J-45 sunburst finish only, J-50 natural finish only. There was also a J-55 with an arched-laminated mahogany back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Why did they make 3 piece maple necks on J45's ? And indeed J50's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Why did they make 3 piece maple necks on J45's ? And indeed J50's? Probably just an economic decision, as every acoustic in the catalog had the same neck construction. This included the J-200, Dove, Heritage, and Hummingbird. Gibson was looking hard to save a buck, but multi-piece maple construction does indeed yield a structurally strong neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Why did they make 3 piece maple necks on J45's ? And indeed J50's? You could make more necks out of less board feet of wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 You could make more necks out of less board feet of wood. Yeah, I understand that much. Just wondered how anyone would dare change the guitar that the company is more or less grown from? I'm sure coca cola could make a lot more money with a recipe change but can't see it getting passed at a board meeting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I have a 1980 Gibson catalog & price list. There appears to be almost no difference between the square shouldered J-40, J-45, & J-50 from this era. All have a spruce top with mahogany back & sides, 3-piece maple neck with 25.5" scale, rosewood fingerboard & bridge, and tortoise batwing pickguard (your pickguard may have been changed to give it a more Martinish appearance). J-40 was available in a natural or walnut finish, J-45 sunburst finish only, J-50 natural finish only. There was also a J-55 with an arched-laminated mahogany back. I am currently repairing a top crack along the pickguard on a '73 J55. It is first year of this model with the arched-laminate back, 3-ply maple neck. and all of the other Norlin-era attributes.....can,t wait to give it a strum! Will be happy to report back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Yeah, I understand that much. Just wondered how anyone would dare change the guitar that the company is more or less grown from? I'm sure coca cola could make a lot more money with a recipe change but can't see it getting passed at a board meeting Beginning in 1965 Gibson started becoming a totally different company. For the first time in the company's history the shots were being called by somebody who did not build guitars for a living. The new president of CMI (Gibson's parent company) was more concerned with making more instruments at less cost than with making quality instruments. They re-tooled to speed up production and forced Gibson President Ted McCarty out so they could do away with irritating practices like the elaborate inspection system he had put in place. McCarty's successor did not last long as he resigned after just several years of constant fighting with CMI. By the time a partnership including Piezo took over Norlin in 1984 Gibson was all but dead. The new owners shut down remaining operations in Kalamazoo and moved the whole shebang to Nashville (which is why Duerloo, Moats and Lamb abandoned ship to start up Heritage Guitars). Gibson's fortunes had so declined that Henry J. was able to pick the company up for about 1/10 of what it had been worth in the 1960s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I am currently repairing a top crack along the pickguard on a '73 J55. It is first year of this model with the arched-laminate back, 3-ply maple neck. and all of the other Norlin-era attributes.....can,t wait to give it a strum! Will be happy to report back! Best of luck on the project. I have a soft spot for this era, having owned a '72 Heritage Custom for a number of years that I truly enjoyed back in the day. Even with that nasty old double-X bracing, it had a very satisfying tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Best of luck on the project. I have a soft spot for this era, having owned a '72 Heritage Custom for a number of years that I truly enjoyed back in the day. Even with that nasty old double-X bracing, it had a very satisfying tone. I hear ya bobouz! This '73 J55, despite its 'Norlin attributes' is an absolute tone machine and inspiring to play on all levels. It has definitely changed my pre-concieved notions of this era of Gibson acoustics.....Amazing ...and BBG, the maple neck is sweet! In case anyone wonders about the discoloration at the edges of the top. It is caused by the off-gasing(disenagration) of the plastic tortoise binding....similar to what happens to pickguards of the same material and discussed in another thread. It needs to be replaced. The original guard on this one is fine and will be put back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I hear ya bobouz! This '73 J55, despite its 'Norlin attributes' is an absolute tone machine and inspiring to play on all levels. It has definitely changed my pre-concieved notions of this era of Gibson acoustics.....Amazing ...and BBG, the maple neck is sweet! In case anyone wonders about the discoloration at the edges of the top. It is caused by the off-gasing(disenagration) of the plastic tortoise binding....similar to what happens to pickguards of the same material and discussed in another thread. It needs to be replaced. The original guard on this one is fine and will be put back on. Me? Why you telling me the neck is sweet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Why did they make 3 piece maple necks on J45's ? And indeed J50's? I just remembered your question and curiosity of 'why'?. I simply thought it might be a 'point of interest' to you. It certainly is to me cheers, Rod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 I like the wing mirrors on this guitar ^ Rod , the question 'why' toward necks was directed toward the fact that something tried and tested shouldn't be messed with. I'm not averse to three or indeed five piece necks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 Gotcha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 OK, lets assume that Gibson was not just being cheap and trying to cut costs. There is a theory that a laminate neck is stiffer and more stable than a one piece neck. Gibson was having issues with their necks in the 1960s and 1970s which was a result of them being so flippin' thin reducing the thickness of the wood around the truss rod cavity . They first tried reducing the headstock angle and then added a volute so they obviously were trying to deal with the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 In case anyone wonders about the discoloration at the edges of the top. It is caused by the off-gasing(disenagration) of the plastic tortoise binding....similar to what happens to pickguards of the same material and discussed in another thread. It needs to be replaced. The original guard on this one is fine and will be put back on. Gibsons made in the 1970s are notorious for binding rot but the cause is not the same as the off gassing you found with the old celluloid parts (which Gibson had stopped using in the early 1960s). At least according to my repair guy, on 1970s guitars the deterioration seems to be caused by a reaction of the material to the solvents used to clean the binding before attaching and/or used to attach the binding to the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Gibsons made in the 1970s are notorious for binding rot but the cause is not the same as the off gassing you found with the old celluloid parts (which Gibson had stopped using in the early 1960s). At least according to my repair guy, on 1970s guitars the deterioration seems to be caused by a reaction of the material to the solvents used to clean the binding before attaching and/or used to attach the binding to the wood. Both of your previous points and posts sound very plausible to me, ZW. This topic also reminds me of a time in 1975 that I was looking at Gibson acoustics in a Music Store and was infatuated with a discounted J45 that had dark stains on the spruce top that aligned with the braces. The salesman explained that it was "bracing shadow" and was the unintended result of some new technique involving "light-cured glue".....just another Norlin experiment gone awry ! Of course, at that time, I knew nothing of Norlin. All I knew was that it said Gibson on the headstock and I was desperately trying to afford one! Here is a pic of the J55 binding....spots like this are all around the top and back binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 This '73 J55, despite its 'Norlin attributes' is an absolute tone machine and inspiring to play on all levels. Nice guitar! I have a 1974 J-50 Deluxe that looks a lot like yours. It was my first acoustic, but it spent many of the past 40 years in the closet and later became unplayable. After getting everything repaired and properly setup a year ago, it's a really cool guitar. It has some idiosyncracies but they give it character. It is also a very LOUD guitar. The other day I was recording my practice and switched from my Martin D-15M to the old J-50. I had to lower my levels because it was so much louder. It's also louder than my 2008 J-50. I do not see any of the edge discoloration on my guitar that you have on the J-55 though. No discoloration around the pickguard either. Mine is a really beat-up old guitar though and it amazes me how the top color has changed from the original light spruce to a dark brown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XeMeme Posted April 9, 2014 Author Share Posted April 9, 2014 Holy hijack! Haha, j/k - I don't mind. But, to answer a previous question - I had the neck reset sometime around 2008 (after my beach playing days). Thank you for so much information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Hi-Jack..?.....That is what we do BEST around here.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent 7777 Posted November 24, 2020 Share Posted November 24, 2020 On 3/25/2014 at 5:35 PM, retrorod said: I am currently repairing a top crack along the pickguard on a '73 J55. It is first year of this model with the arched-laminate back, 3-ply maple neck. and all of the other Norlin-era attributes.....can,t wait to give it a strum! Will be happy to report back! I thought all Gibson acoustics were 24 3/4 " scale nut to bridge saddle? The guy a couple post sup is claiming they are all 25 1/2 " scale? Maybe the Gibson Heritage but I don;t thinkk any J-45 or J-50 is 25 1/2 " scale- Is this correct? I am not an expert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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