Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

What is Your Favorite Modern J45 Iteration?


thegreatgumbino

Recommended Posts

There have been a ton of different modern (last 30 years) iterations of the J45 from what I can gather, most of which are simply rebranded but supposedly the same structure. I own a Sheryl Crow SJ, but every time I play a sitka topped J45 I'm intrigued and appreciate the differences. Mine has an Adirondack top and the advanced bracing versus the x bracing and sitka of the standard J45.

 

What is your favorite standard X-braced & Sitka modern iteration of the J45 and why? Are the Legend and the John Thomas re-issue's the only ones with fat necks?

 

 

This was a designation that was put on the guitar by the marketing dept. The dealers needed to have a reason to buy the next years models so Gibson changed the name of the instruments. Basically the same guitar different name. There was never a single guitar that was speced. Gibson never x-rayed any guitar and they never got any specs from George Gruhn.

Example of the different years of J-45

1990 and 1991 J-45

1992-93 PRO-Series J-45

1994-95 Western J-45

1997-98 Early J-45

1999-2000 J-45

2001-2002-2003 2004 J-45

2005- Historic J-45

2006-07 J-45

and the list goes on. You give Gibson too much credit for work they never did. They changed the name and a little cosmetic feature here and there. When they did make a change it was for all the wrong reasons. It was just plain silly to change the J-45 TV bracing to the advanced system. Gibson NEVER did that in the past and now they put it on a True Vintage guitar??? I don't think so.....Not True Vintage at all.

 

 

What follows is what I've pieced together thanks to a few in depth on-line interview' date=' a few exchanges with Gibson Customer Service and from Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars.[/i']

 

Putting tuners and electronics aside, structurally and considering the design spec, Gibson has been building the J-45 the same since Ren Ferguson's redesign in 1997. This is when the scalloped bracing was reintroduced in a model Gibson labeled J-45 Early. This is the model that has endured and evolved into the J-45 Standard. The changes have been very nominal: different tuners, different electronics, minor cosmetic changes. The J-45 Standard name was introduced in 2009.

 

 

Here's a more complete history of the modern J-45 spec:

 

During the dreaded Norlin era Gibson had transitioned the J-45 to a long scale, square shoulder, double X braced instrument. That version of the J-45 was discountinued in 1982. Norlin reintroduced the J-45 in it's short scale, round shoulder form in 1984. This version of the J-45 had non-scalloped bracing and was based on the late 60's slope shoulder spec. It was essentially a reissue of the mid 60s J-45 but without the longer pickguard and without decent quality control. Early 80's slope shoulder J-45's aren't highly sought after today because of the consistency issues.

 

When Norlin sold Gibson to it's current owners in 1986 Gibson decided to rebuild their acoustic brand. Because wood is so temperamental, they decided to give the acoustic division it's own factory. They sought out a location that would provide the perfect climate for building acoustic instruments and found it in Bozeman, Montana. Gibson elected to promote master luthier Ren Ferguson (who was heading up Gibson's mandolin department at the time) to rejuvenate the brand. By 1990 J-45's had started coming out of the Bozeman, Montana plant but as Ren himself has stated in interviews, the first few years after the plant opened Gibson Acoustic continued to suffer from quality issues. Those issues were for the most part resolved by 1994.

 

In 1997 Gibson renamed the J-45 the "J-45 Early". This was Ren Ferguson's redesign of the J-45. Structurally the J-45 Early is identical to the J-45 Standard we have today. Hide glue for the neck joint, a return to tap-tuned scalloped top bracing, molds cast from the vintage slope shoulder body molds from Kalamazoo, MI, etc.. Quantity became a lot more consistent.

 

From 1999 to 2007, Gibson went back and forth on asthetics and stock tuners. Some years they had vintage style Kluson Deluxe with plastic buttons, some years Grover Rotomatics. In the early 2000s they also transitioned from real bone for the nut and saddle to using GraphTech TUSK.

 

In 2007 Gibson settled on Grover Rotomatics and the LR Baggs Active Element pickup. This design was identical to the modern J-45 Standard but Gibson called it "The J-45 Modern Classic".

 

In 2009 Gibson officially changed the name of the Sitka Top, Mahagony version of the J-45 to J-45 Standard. They introduced the J-45 Custom which has Indian Rosewood back and sides and nicer inlays. The J-45 Custom had been previously known as the J-45 Rosewood. Gibson has continued on with the J-45 Standard and J-45 Custom being their two non-limited, mainstream production J-45 models.

 

In late 2015 the 2016 J-45 Standard model was released and the model saw a nominal price increase. Gibson formally began using PLEK technology to provide a better factory setup. They also upgraded the pickup to the LR Baggs Active Element VTC (adds tone control).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 2003 Rosewood is the best I've ever held in my hands. I have no idea why.

 

Rosewood is supposed to be muddy, mine's not.

 

It has an ebony bridge and fretboard and ebony is supposed to mute the sound, but it doesn't.

 

It's not just me, in live situations my guitar will never fail to grab the attention of the majority of people who comment on the "sound" of the event.

 

I don't have any fancy electronics, if it's a large event usually I'll just use my Carvin for a preamp/monitor and line out, or often just use an SM57, but I actually have simply plugged the Fishman through the board many times in a rush and when the crowd is heavily alcohol fueled.....

 

I just LOVE Rosewood and ebony.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For me it is the J-45 True Vintage. Mine is a 2007. But I say that not having played the J-45 New Vintage, J-45 Legend, or the new J-45 Vintage models. Also, just my opinion, a J-45 with rosewood seems wrong, I'm just saying. A friend of mine has a 2003 AJ (orange label, fire stripe guard etc.) and I prefer it over my 1999 Martin HD-28V. That AJ is an awesome guitar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One year somebody tried to count up the variations of the J-45 theme and came up with over 90.

 

Once you have found the J-45 that was meant to be yours all others are superfluous. With me it was a 1942 J-50 which acquired a burst when somebody down the line discovered and tried to hide a build screw up. The guy who restored it (who is a second generation luthier) called it a "once in a blue moon Gibson" and to never let it go because chances of finding aonther one with the same sound were slim.

 

But of those I have played (I could not tell you what variations they all were) the one I was most tempted to buy was a 2013 Banner - one of the run made from guitars supplied by John Thomas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One year somebody tried to count up the variations of the J-45 theme and came up with over 90.

 

Once you have found the J-45 that was meant to be yours all others are superfluous. With me it was a 1942 J-50 which acquired a burst when somebody down the line discovered and tried to hide a build screw up. The guy who restored it (who is a second generation luthier) called it a "once in a blue moon Gibson" and to never let it go because chances of finding aonther one with the same sound were slim.

 

But of those I have played (I could not tell you what variations they all were) the one I was most tempted to buy was a 2013 Banner - one of the run made from guitars supplied by John Thomas.

 

Do you have any recordings of your '42 available? I'd love to hear it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

zombywoof's comment - "Once you have found the J-45 that was meant to be yours all others are superfluous" sums it up for me. In my case, it's a 2005 J-45 Historic Collection that has become my favorite guitar in my 40 years of playing. I wasn't even looking for an acoustic guitar, I just saw it on the wall of a Guitar Center while I was looking for something else, thought, "I used to have a 1950 J-45 that looked kinda like this," laid my right hand on the neck to lift it off the hanger and was dumbstruck by the thought, "Why is MY guitar hanging on the wall of this place?" This one just works for me like no other guitar before or since, with a neck profile that reminds me of a 1960 LG-2 I used to have, the low end rumble and thump of my mentor's '62 J-50 and a distinctive breathiness, some subtle living quality that defies description.

 

I really think that in the end, it's more about the individual guitar going together that particular day and how it fits an individual player.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

zombywoof's comment - "Once you have found the J-45 that was meant to be yours all others are superfluous" sums it up for me. In my case, it's a 2005 J-45 Historic Collection that has become my favorite guitar in my 40 years of playing. I wasn't even looking for an acoustic guitar, I just saw it on the wall of a Guitar Center while I was looking for something else, thought, "I used to have a 1950 J-45 that looked kinda like this," laid my right hand on the neck to lift it off the hanger and was dumbstruck by the thought, "Why is MY guitar hanging on the wall of this place?" This one just works for me like no other guitar before or since, with a neck profile that reminds me of a 1960 LG-2 I used to have, the low end rumble and thump of my mentor's '62 J-50 and a distinctive breathiness, some subtle living quality that defies description.

 

I really think that in the end, it's more about the individual guitar going together that particular day and how it fits an individual player.

 

I have it’s brother

 

What’s your serial number rusty ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

zombywoof's comment - "Once you have found the J-45 that was meant to be yours all others are superfluous" sums it up for me. In my case, it's a 2005 J-45 Historic Collection that has become my favorite guitar in my 40 years of playing. I wasn't even looking for an acoustic guitar, I just saw it on the wall of a Guitar Center while I was looking for something else, thought, "I used to have a 1950 J-45 that looked kinda like this," laid my right hand on the neck to lift it off the hanger and was dumbstruck by the thought, "Why is MY guitar hanging on the wall of this place?" This one just works for me like no other guitar before or since, with a neck profile that reminds me of a 1960 LG-2 I used to have, the low end rumble and thump of my mentor's '62 J-50 and a distinctive breathiness, some subtle living quality that defies description.

 

I really think that in the end, it's more about the individual guitar going together that particular day and how it fits an individual player.

 

AMEN!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the 50 2014-ish copies of the J-45 I used in the companion CD to my Kalamazoo Gals book. I've played but 1. It was a pretty good guitar.

 

The original, which I sent to Gibson Montana along with its x-rays, was a stunning guitar.

 

Guitar center has a used 2013 Gibson 1942 Banner Reissue for $2,999 if anyone is looking. Who ever traded it in to them decided to keep the case though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guitar center has a used 2013 Gibson 1942 Banner Reissue for $2,999 if anyone is looking. Who ever traded it in to them decided to keep the case though.

 

That's likely one of the 50! The original, now owned by a good friend, is the best J-45 I've ever had the privilege of playing.

 

You can hear the guitar on the clip of track 9, here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Vintage model I purchased when they first were introduced a couple of years ago. It sold me on the first try. It has slowly but surely worked its way in front of all my other acoustic guitars to #1. It's a combination of sound and comfort that got it there. I love the neck and softened edges; my ears love the tone. It passed some mighty nice Gibsons and Martins to get to the spot as my favorite. Maybe I just got lucky with it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

There have been a ton of different modern (last 30 years) iterations of the J45 from what I can gather, most of which are simply rebranded but supposedly the same structure. I own a Sheryl Crow SJ, but every time I play a sitka topped J45 I'm intrigued and appreciate the differences. Mine has an Adirondack top and the advanced bracing versus the x bracing and sitka of the standard J45.

 

What is your favorite standard X-braced & Sitka modern iteration of the J45 and why? Are the Legend and the John Thomas re-issue's the only ones with fat necks?

 

 

 

 

Great information about the "Early", my most recent acquisition, and i was happy to hear it was a Ren Ferguson design. I've been trying to figure out what years the design is based on, and other than the 20th fret, it seems to be around 1952ish, which is cool because that's my birth year, which for me is unaffordable in a '52. I was reading about Modern vs Vintage bracing, which seemed to be primarily the difference between parallel and non parallel tone bars, but I don't know what period this occurred in. Any thoughts? Thanks again for the info. It's been hard to find much about my Early!

Rick

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There have been a ton of different modern (last 30 years) iterations of the J45 from what I can gather, most of which are simply rebranded but supposedly the same structure. I own a Sheryl Crow SJ, but every time I play a sitka topped J45 I'm intrigued and appreciate the differences. Mine has an Adirondack top and the advanced bracing versus the x bracing and sitka of the standard J45.

 

What is your favorite standard X-braced & Sitka modern iteration of the J45 and why? Are the Legend and the John Thomas re-issue's the only ones with fat necks?

 

the neck on my Early seems fattish. 1 23/32" and a baseball bat feel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve owned a few. I had a 2006 Modern Classic which was excellent, but my favourite was my Early J45. Absolutely wonderful instrument. I parted with it when I was in a financial corner, and it went to another forumer, Sitric, aka singer/Songwriter Brendan Devereaux. He bought it for his nephew I believe, and kept me posted on it for several years. At some point it had the classic Gibson headstock break when it took a tumble, but was subsequently repaired and is, to my knowledge, still in service and being enjoyed.

 

That guitar just had something extra...very lightly built, very rich midrange and a beautiful top end with singing overtones.

 

I have a 1967 J45 now which is a fine guitar too. I took the adj bridge setup out and did a fixed bridge conversion which opened it up nicely...at some point it’s had the back replaced but it was done in a very classy way and wouldn’t be noticeable unless examined with a particularly enquiring eye.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I’ve owned a few. I had a 2006 Modern Classic which was excellent, but my favourite was my Early J45. Absolutely wonderful instrument. I parted with it when I was in a financial corner, and it went to another forumer, Sitric, aka singer/Songwriter Brendan Devereaux. He bought it for his nephew I believe, and kept me posted on it for several years. At some point it had the classic Gibson headstock break when it took a tumble, but was subsequently repaired and is, to my knowledge, still in service and being enjoyed.

 

That guitar just had something extra...very lightly built, very rich midrange and a beautiful top end with singing overtones.

 

I have a 1967 J45 now which is a fine guitar too. I took the adj bridge setup out and did a fixed bridge conversion which opened it up nicely...at some point it’s had the back replaced but it was done in a very classy way and wouldn’t be noticeable unless examined with a particularly enquiring eye.

 

I agree with Jinder about the Early, and i have mine, in part, because of his hearty recommendation on another post. Thanks, Jinder!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A New Old Stock 1998 ?

 

that has to be some kind of record

 

There’s a chap on YouTube who bought up the stock from a closed down store and has several NOS Gospels from ‘91 or so. His username is SuicidalRockstar as I recall...worth a search!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

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

×
×
  • Create New...