TheLeadFlatpick Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 (edited) So I’ve been on the lookout for a killer deal on a J45($1200 or less) for my pastor’s 47th year of preaching at our church (in his 80’s and still plays guitar, hope I’ll be doing the same). Its been 30 years since they got him a guitar and playing 3 days a week, for 30 years, his Yamaha needs more repairs then its worth. He really wants a J45, its his dream guitar. As expected, its almost impossible (though I’ve did it before) to find a J45 for around that price, and it needed to be in good shape, too. I did however find a really good deal on a used J15 that had a crack and some dings in one area of the top, and I thought it may be the perfect guitar to kinda convert to be a little more like a J45. Im planning on having the top refinished in sunburst (yes I know a refinish will decrease the value normally, but I think the sunburst is why he likes the J45 in the first place😋) and I figure the crack being where it is (about 2” from the left side of the soundhole) it shouldn’t be visible after my luthier repairs it and refinishes it. I was also thinking that those tiny little Grovers should be replaced, possibly with the regular rotomatics (any suggestions?). When I get my J45 back from having the truss rod replaced, maybe I should replace its Grovers and put them on this guitar. If anyone has any other modifications or suggestions, Id love to hear them! Also my luthier said he can refinish it in whatever kind of Sunburst id like (vintage, 3 tone, 2 tone, ect.) and of anyone has any suggestions or maybe a photo of one that I may want to base the design off of, that would be welcome. I should receive the guitar next week and thanks to anyone who replies. Edited July 14, 2019 by TheLeadFlatpick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidalgo Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 I had a J15. It was a really good guitar, sounded a lot like the J45 I owned a few years before. I thought I'd replace the small Grovers with closed back Klusons until I got it. The small Grovers worked great. I'd just leave them alone if it was my deal. I'd also go with a smaller, darker sunburst, but that's just my preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLeadFlatpick Posted July 14, 2019 Author Share Posted July 14, 2019 16 hours ago, Fidalgo said: I had a J15. It was a really good guitar, sounded a lot like the J45 I owned a few years before. I thought I'd replace the small Grovers with closed back Klusons until I got it. The small Grovers worked great. I'd just leave them alone if it was my deal. I'd also go with a smaller, darker sunburst, but that's just my preference. I’m not sold on changing the tuners as personally I dont like changing a guitar from its original specs, unless its going to improve the tone or the tuning stability. Thanks for the suggestion, I have had some of those tuners on an hp415w I owned and I dont remember having any problems with them, either. A smaller, vintage style sunburst is kind of what Im thinking of going with too now because after a little closer look at the photos it looks like the crack is about an inch from the side of the soundhole and its almost below the soundhole, so a bigger sunburst may leave it visible, depending on how well its hidden after being repaired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLeadFlatpick Posted August 7, 2019 Author Share Posted August 7, 2019 (edited) Well I got one reply. I ended up dropping it off with my luthier and told him to for kind of a 3 tone sunburst with maybe just a little more red than most J45s, I’m picking it up tomorrow. He also said the crack was invisible once he repaired it and the Sunburst turned out great, so I’ll get to see it tomorrow for the first time. Edited August 7, 2019 by TheLeadFlatpick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidalgo Posted August 13, 2019 Share Posted August 13, 2019 How did it turn out? Do you have any pictures? Was your pastor thrilled with the gift? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLeadFlatpick Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 On 8/13/2019 at 4:40 PM, Fidalgo said: How did it turn out? Do you have any pictures? Was your pastor thrilled with the gift? Sorry for the late reply. It turned out great, I have a picture but it wont let me post it here and I don’t feel like joining a seperate website to post a picture here... At the moment. I pretty much just had him buff the entire body, strip the top, cleat the top crack (which turned out to be invisible when he was done) and apply a 3 tone sunburst with just a little more red than normal. My pastor was in shock, he thought it was a brand new guitar, and I’m not planning on bursting that bubble soon🤫 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fidalgo Posted September 9, 2019 Share Posted September 9, 2019 That's great! I promise not to tell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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