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J-45 Custom Rosewood


BigDawg007

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I got bitten really bad the past few weeks by the J-45 bug.

It's been a really bad bite that spread to the rest of my body.

There is no medicine I can take.

 

I had one back in 2016 that had issues starting with a GC tech who messed up the saddle.

 

Now I got a rosewood J-45 that is very very mellow. It sings melancholy, cries out to heartstrings, and speaks nostalgia.

 

It has a loud voice that's not bashful at all but has a deep grandfather like voice.

 

I thought it would be bright with the Tusq saddle and Diaddario EJ phosphor bronze strings but it's not.

 

Any of you on here have this guitar and what have u done with the saddle?

 

I never have liked Tusq but I may very well have changed my mind.

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I like these a lot. In my experience they're the most variable Gibson acoustic I've come across, and I'm not really a Rosewood guy, but a good J45 Custom is absolutely terrific to my ears.

 

A bandmate of mine had a late '90s/early '00s RW 45. The first time around with the band, it never jived with me, it wasn't a great example of one and had a somewhat underset neck, with chunky action and no saddle to speak of.

 

However, a few years later, we did a reunion tour with the band and it was a guitar transformed-Bill Pupplett in London had done some significant work to it and it was a LOT better. Six or so years of playing it had opened it up a lot too, and it was a real treat for the hands and ears.

 

On the flip side of that coin, another player I know bought a brand new one two years ago which was ASTOUNDING right out of the box and sounds even better now.

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Now I got a rosewood J-45 that is very very mellow. It sings melancholy, cries out to heartstrings, and speaks nostalgia.

 

It has a loud voice that's not bashful at all but has a deep grandfather like voice.

Congrats on the J-45 R; although the first sentence seems to conflict with the next. Yes, all wood boxes can vary, but "very very mellow" is a good trick to pair with "loud voice".

 

I thought it would be bright with the Tusq saddle and Diaddario EJ phosphor bronze strings but it's not.

. . . the Tusq is not normally known for making guitars sound bright, but bone can certainly do that.

 

Any of you on here have this guitar and what have u done with the saddle?

Yes, there are two rose' J-45's here; one, purchased on a hunch as to how the rosewood would sound in J-45 form, and the second one coming right on the heels of the first, on the naive notion that the better one of the two would be kept. You can imagine how that worked out. I've felt no need to change saddles, but you might enjoy the experiment of swapping in one of bone, and it would be easily reversible if you prefer the Tusq.

 

This photo from the seller set the hook:

 

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62Burst-

 

That is one great looking J-45R.

You are right when you said my statements about my J45R seemed to conflict.

 

This guitars bass response is dark and mellow, it's very warm and rich. It surprised me because I always thought rosewood was brighter tonewood compared to Mahogany. All of my other guitars are mostly hogs so that's what my perspective is.

 

My luthier said it's opened up some being like 6 years old but still will open up more with time.

 

It's still loud as I said from and overall standpoint. Fairly loud. But a warm rich loud quality that surprised me.

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Making a J-45 with a rosewood body is like Martin issuing a D-18 with rosewood body. It might be a great guitar but a J-45 it ain't.

 

This. I'm happy to hear you love the guitar......always a plus when we drop our dollars on a new instrument.......but a J-45 is spruce over mahogany.......always has been, always will be. I think it bad that Gibson dilutes the history of many of their guitars with alternative woods. A slope shoulder rosewood build may well be a fine instrument for those into rosewood, but it's only an J-45 in name. A "deep, grandfather-like voice" is not the iconic J-45 tone........rosewood alters the sound that the 45 became famous for.

 

No offense intended to the OP as I'm sure it is a well built, wonderful guitar. It's just not a J-45 in the Gibson tradition.

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That is the point. It is a Martin something or the other but not a D-18.

Exactly! Somewhere along the way, traditional model designations have been muddied to the point of absurdity. Now we have to wade through veritable rivers of BS marketing nomenclature.

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62Burst-

 

That is one great looking J-45R.

You are right when you said my statements about my J45R seemed to conflict.

 

This guitars bass response is dark and mellow, it's very warm and rich. It surprised me because I always thought rosewood was brighter tonewood compared to Mahogany. All of my other guitars are mostly hogs so that's what my perspective is.

 

My luthier said it's opened up some being like 6 years old but still will open up more with time.

 

It's still loud as I said from and overall standpoint. Fairly loud. But a warm rich loud quality that surprised me.

Have you swapped put the saddle for bone yet?Make sure there aren't any shims under your current saddle.Definately interested in what you go with.

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