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NGD J-45 Studio

actaylor

By actaylor
in Gibson Acoustic

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actaylor

actaylor

Posted
Posted

New member here and new Gibson owner. I had recently played a J-15 and really liked it but playing a dread tires my right shoulder. Then, I found the J-45 Studio. Basically, the same guitar (although different neck wood and neck profile) but a slightly slimmer body. For me, it was perfect. I visited the guitar store three times to try it before I bought it on the third visit. Very comfortable to play. I like the neck profile and the slimmer body makes it very comfortable to play in a sitting position. Sounds great, too! Well done, Gibson!

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Murph

Murph

Posted
Posted

Very cool Noobie.

 

I'm happy to see Gibson enter this nitch.

 

A close friend of mine has one of the thinner Martins, GPC something, and he loves it. Most of the stuff we do together is plugged in/mic'd and it sounds great.

 

While a lot of people don't like Gibson calling it a J-45, it makes more sense to me with the "Studio" moniker added to it than the GPC13cRQXYZ (whatever) name that Martin uses.

 

The main thing is that YOU like it and are using it to create sounds.

 

Welcome and carry on.

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MissouriPicker

MissouriPicker

Posted
Posted

Having a guitar that is comfortable to hold and play is of the utmost importance. If it's neither of those then it's doubtful we'll make a real personal bond with the instrument. Sounds like you've found a guitar that is ideal for you. It's even better that it's a Gibson. ......I hope you enjoy it for many years.....and welcome to the forum. [thumbup] [thumbup]

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Col Mustard

Col Mustard

Posted
Posted

Congratulations to the OP, that's a fine choice of guitar IMHO.

 

I've read some posts from traditionalists... bewailing the changes to the J-45 Model

and claiming that the 'definition" of a J-45 is getting confusing now, so a guy cain't say

what is a J-45 and what is not.

 

But I don't care about that. As soon as I heard Gibson was in trouble, I decided to pounce

on a guitar I'd been drooling over. So I bought a 2018 J-45 Avante Guard. Mine is made of

walnut back and sides, spruce top, walnut bridge, walnut fretboard, and a maple neck.

It's a thinner instrument than a traditional dred, with a cutaway, a Baggs element p'up,

and it's very light and handy. Very comfortable to play.

 

Mine was made in January 2018, just before the doo doo hit the foo foo. I pounced, trying to

help Gibson out in the best way I know how, but also wanting to get mine before anything else

went kerfluie in the Company. Mine is very well made, no flaws or glitches of any kind, and

Sweet water set it up beautifully for me.

 

The tone is totally unique, which I knew it would be as soon as I read about it.

The idea of a walnut acoustic with a maple neck was (and is) very attractive to me anyway.

Also, in my long life I've never actually owned a NEW acoustic guitar. All mine were purchased

used, and then put to more hard use. *grins

 

So it's been fascinating to play this guitar for nearly a year and listen to the tone as it mellows

and morphs. When it arrived it was bright bright bright... sounding nothing like any of my other

guitars. I think that's to be expected. And new guitars need to break in, or something.

The tone is very sweet in the upper register, and has been getting more round and full in the

lower frequencies with use. It still doesn't have the deep growl I associate with traddie J-45s

but I like this guitar for what it is, and don't worry about what it is NOT.

It rings like a bell for me.

 

I'm using D'addario Light/Medium "Bluegrass" style strings, with light top and medium bottom.

And I recently swapped out the bridge pins, which were Tusq from the factory. I inserted ebony

pins, and these have also rounded the lower tones and firmed up the midrange. I found it interesting

to listen to the difference. I didn't throw away the Tusq pins. But for now I prefer the ebony.

 

There's a lot of discussion about different materials for bridge pins, including Mammoth Ivory

which is also fascinating but $$$$$$$$$... ...and I think unnecessary. Like a Hi Def TV on

yer honeymoon.

 

I'd upload a photo, but at the bottom of this page it says I've used up most of my "global upload quota"

which is a really RUDE and obnoxious feature of this site, and prevents us from illustrating our comments

with cool and interesting photos of Gibson products. I did that with ONE (1) picture when I was a newb,

and have never been able to upload another. *shrugs I'm a decent photographer, so it's the site's

loss.

 

So you'll have to imagine my joy. If anyone knows a workaround for uploading more pictures, I'm

all ears.

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