62burst Posted May 3, 2014 Posted May 3, 2014 Always interesting when one of these becomes available, as some on this forum consider the J-45 Legend to be one of the best contemporary Gibsons out there. Juan Carlos- luckily for you, the seller's id is not a cause for a lefty GAS attack. Legend J-45 eBay (No Affiliazione)
duluthdan Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 These are great guitars, but I have never been a fan of those pick guards. The appearance is what we used to call chromo- keyed back in the 70s blue screen television days. Almost looks animated.
Dave F Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 I like they way only ink stamped the neck block with no stampings The chunkier neck was easier to adapt to than I thought it would It cured my desire to have a real vintage one with all the issues I didn't think I would ever see one around here
slimt Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 Looks like its priced right to... that would be a good one to get..
PickitPaul Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 Looks like the only bidder is bidding it up himself, from 2500 to 3100....must want it bad.
michaelnel Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 Has that thing been "reliced" or purposely distressed, or are they bad pictures or what? Looks like the pickguard is pulling up on the edges or sunken in the middle or something. Frankly, except that it might sound great, I would not be the least bit tempted to bid on it based solely on what I can see in the pictures.
62burst Posted May 4, 2014 Author Posted May 4, 2014 Looks like the only bidder is bidding it up himself, from 2500 to 3100....must want it bad. What the ... ? I just clicked on the "show automatic bids" just to be sure. Anyone have any thoughts as to why someone would do this? I thought the listing started the bidding at $2500, and showed Reserve Not Met, which is now not showing(?). Maybe the prospective buyer was increasing his bid until he reached the reserve price. Has that thing been "reliced" or purposely distressed, or are they bad pictures or what? Looks like the pickguard is pulling up on the edges or sunken in the middle or something. Frankly, except that it might sound great, I would not be the least bit tempted to bid on it based solely on what I can see in the pictures. The sum total of boxes that the Legend checks for me is probably more than any other modern J-45. Some are more visible than others. I am ok with the toning down of the finish as they do with the True Vintage. As an admitted tuner/case freak, those which come with this model are appreciated niceties, deal-sweeteners only. It is wood selection, tall/thin bracing, and that elusive-in-a-modern-J-45 neck profile which elevates the personal GAS level. ... except that it might sound great...
michaelnel Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 You won't be bidding against me on it. Those tuners are just the $50 Golden Age ones from StewMac, Chinese copies of the ones that weren't very good 50 years ago, and everyone wanted to replace them with Grovers or Schallers. I have the same ones on my cheap Recording King RAJ-126SN, and they are not very good tuners. It's not a classic old guitar, it's a brand new guitar that is made to imitate a classic old one. I doubt it would sound appreciably better to me than my J45 Standard. Different strokes. Have at it, hope you enjoy it.
BigKahune Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 . A lot of work on that recreation - I recall Hogeye or Rar saying, Ren worked it right down to the saw marks. Great reviews. And the current bid $3200 is a good price. That is strange about the guy bidding against himself. .
zombywoof Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 You won't be bidding against me on it. Those tuners are just the $50 Golden Age ones from StewMac, Chinese copies of the Klusons that weren't very good 50 years ago, and everyone wanted to replace them with Grovers or Schallers. It's not a classic old guitar, it's a brand new guitar that is made to imitate a classic old one. I doubt it would sound appreciably better to me than my J45 Standard. Different strokes. Have at it, hope you enjoy it. I would say you would notice an appreciable difference in sound between the Legend and J45 Standard. The bracing is one of the main things that sets this guitar apart from the Bozeman crowd. The 1940s bracing Gibson copied for this guitar, as noted, was tall and thin with a knife like edge. You will never find a lighter built Gibson than a Banner. The bracing in my '42 J-50 though does look like it was whittled with a dull pen knife. Very different from what you find in a J-45 Standard or other Bozeman-made guitars and a difference you can hear. On the tuners, yeah, I would swap those out for a set of Antique Acoustics three on a plate open gear tuners. I would also like to see Gibson put a 7 ply rosette on the guitar which is one of the things that is unique to the 1942 J-45. Would also prefer a tort pickguard. Not only are they typical for a '42 J-45 but I think Gibson firestripes are about the worst looking I have ever seen. Bottom line though, the Legend is as close as you are going to get to capturing Old School Gibson tone in a Bozeman-made guitar.
EuroAussie Posted May 4, 2014 Posted May 4, 2014 Never played one, but I doubt they would come close to the 40's J-45. Just cant 'recreate' that 70 year old cranky tone.
PickitPaul Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 I would say you would notice an appreciable difference in sound between the Legend and J45 Standard. The bracing is one of the main things that sets this guitar apart from the Bozeman crowd. The 1940s bracing Gibson copied for this guitar, as noted, was tall and thin with a knife like edge. When you say the bracing is tall and thin, are you talking about the back braces or under the top X bracing / tone bars? Since this was made in '07, would the f.board and bridge be made of I.Rosewood? (because they haven't used Brazilian since '03?) It looks like Brazilian to me, though.
zombywoof Posted May 5, 2014 Posted May 5, 2014 Never played one, but I doubt they would come close to the 40's J-45. Just cant 'recreate' that 70 year old cranky tone. I would think that Gibson is trying to capture the sound of a J-45 as it rolled out of the factory in 1942. What the sound was not one of us will ever know.
62burst Posted May 5, 2014 Author Posted May 5, 2014 When you say the bracing is tall and thin, are you talking about the back braces or under the top X bracing / tone bars? Both: Legend J-45 specs And since Big G is pricing these at the top of their line, I imagine the wood selection would be some of their nicest. Maybe not Braz on that fretboard, but looks good from here.
Working Mans Blue Posted May 6, 2014 Posted May 6, 2014 You won't be bidding against me on it. Those tuners are just the $50 Golden Age ones from StewMac I seriously doubt thats true. I dont know who makes those tuners, but its very unlikely theyre stew macs. In gibson's description of the model they make it sound like they made them themselves, i doubt that as well but its more likely than them being golden age tuners. Gibson's Description "Gibson’s 1942 J-45 Legend acoustic features period-correct strap open-back white button tuners that are identical to the original Kluson tuners used in 1942. Each tuner is painstakingly handmade for this guitar using the exact dimensions and design as on the original 1937 model, reproduced with precise handcrafted detail, and resulting in a high-quality, vintage tuner not available on any other instrument." Im sure the golden ages arent hand made btw there was nothing wrong with the original klusons at all, dont know why you think that
rar Posted May 6, 2014 Posted May 6, 2014 Too late to worry about this now, but ... Has that thing been "reliced" or purposely distressed, or are they bad pictures or what? The finish wasn't fully buffed out on these. After a year or two of normal cleaning -- just an occasional wipe with a clean flannel or microfiber cloth after playing -- the finish winds up looking quite shiny and rather vintage-like. But this one appears to have been sitting in the case since 2007. Looks like the pickguard is pulling up on the edges or sunken in the middle or something. Actually, it looks a lot like this one might have the finish over the pickguard and is suffering the problems associated with that -- see one of the zillions of past threads on the subject -- though I didn't think that was done on any after the trial production run, and those had slightly different pickguards. Maybe a few more were built with finish-over in very early '07? Those tuners are just the $50 Golden Age ones from StewMac ... No, if you look closely, you'll see that those are the Antique Acoustic tuners -- check out the depth of the screw in the gear, the profile of the worm's thread, etc. BTW, those Antique Acoustic gears were specifically developed for this guitar at Gibson's request. Willie didn't start making them generally available until a few years later. I would also like to see Gibson put a 7 ply rosette on the guitar which is one of the things that is unique to the 1942 J-45. Would also prefer a tort pickguard. Not only are they typical for a '42 J-45 but I think Gibson firestripes are about the worst looking I have ever seen. ... The Legend is not a reproduction of "a" 1942 J-45; it's a copy of Eldon Whitford's J-45, selected because it has the reputation of being the best sounding banner J-45 in existence. The pickguard, binding, etc., match those on Eldon's guitar. Features of other J-45s are irrelevant. Never played one, but I doubt they would come close to the 40's J-45. You might be surprised. Legends don't sound "old" (yet), but their tone can be very similar to Banners in all other respects. ... would the f.board and bridge be made of I.Rosewood? They're Madagascar. -- Bob R
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