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NGD this weekend!!! 1942 J-45 Legend


Mr.Woody

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I really do appreciate the people who like to keep their guitars as new looking as possible, i'm just not that guy. That being said, i played for a few minutes last night, and when i finished playing, my wife said "don't some people wipe down their guitars after playing?" I ended up wiping it down (i've never really done that before), and it felt kinda nice. I'm sure it won't become a habit, but we shall see.

Here's my other 2 acoustics:

This 1992 seagull has been my "Camp / beater" guitar since 2002. this was 9 years ago. Not surprising with a satin finish on a cedar topped guitar. It always had intonation issues, so it could never be a stage guitar. Neck has been broken in 3 different places, braces re-glued, the saddle re-routed (it was int he wrong spot from the factory), and it's been a real trooper.

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this was a month ago:

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It's now on "loan" to the son of a co-worker.

This is my Martin OMC-16WE after 14 years as #1. Needs new frets and probably a new truss rod (nut is stripped, but i also think it's at the end of its adjustment).

I'll probably give it to a friend if they want it.

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Edited by Mr.Woody
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Definitely. There's no right or wrong in music, it's all about heart, soul and feeling IMO.

No-one would dare tell Willie Nelson he was doing it wrong and he's worn a hole in the darn thing!

Edited by Filbert
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30 minutes ago, thegreatgumbino said:

I love the fact that your soundboard is your pick holder!

LOL, thanks. i think that was a i'm camping with a bunch of kids and keep dropping picks. Problem solved instantly. It also works really really well 🙂

 

And just to clarify, i don't plan on drawing on, sticking picks into, nor attaching stickers to this Gibson 🙂

My wife would absolutely kill me LOL She's actually excited about this guitar for me. She's not crazy about the pickguard. Before we even bought it she's like "how much does a pickguard cost?" LOL, But once i started telling her about how this one looks nicer (in my opinion) than the ones on the original Legends, so took a different stance.

Edited by Mr.Woody
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I agree, your pickguard looks so much better than on the early Ledgends. I believe for those the guard was placed on the bare wood, but masked when sprayed, unlike the originals from the 40's which had the burst sprayed right on top of the guards.  The early Legend guard are so contrasting pale looking in the see-through areas of the guards. With the new way, with the guard over the finish, you won't risk a pickguard crack either. Not all things was better way back when...

Lars

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1 hour ago, Mr.Woody said:

LOL, thanks. i think that was a i'm camping with a bunch of kids and keep dropping picks. Problem solved instantly. It also works really really well 🙂

 

And just to clarify, i don't plan on drawing on, sticking picks into, nor attaching stickers to this Gibson 🙂

My wife would absolutely kill me LOL She's actually excited about this guitar for me. She's not crazy about the pickguard. Before we even bought it she's like "how much does a pickguard cost?" LOL, But once i started telling her about how this one looks nicer (in my opinion) than the ones on the original Legends, so took a different stance.

 

I love the fire stripe pick guard on yours.  I wanted one on my J45 Vintage and  asked Gibson Montana about removing the stock one.  They strongly recommended not trying to remove it due to the thin finish.

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1 hour ago, Lars68 said:

I agree, your pickguard looks so much better than on the early Ledgends. I believe for those the guard was placed on the bare wood, but masked when sprayed, unlike the originals from the 40's which had the burst sprayed right on top of the guards.  The early Legend guard are so contrasting pale looking in the see-through areas of the guards. With the new way, with the guard over the finish, you won't risk a pickguard crack either. Not all things was better way back when...

Lars

Ahh, i didn't know either of those things. Now it makes more sense why they looked so contrasted. you'd be seeing bare wood through the "clear" part where here you're seeing the bursted finish.

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52 minutes ago, thegreatgumbino said:

 

I love the fire stripe pick guard on yours.  I wanted one on my J45 Vintage and  asked Gibson Montana about removing the stock one.  They strongly recommended not trying to remove it due to the thin finish.

Yeah, i was surprised to see the thin finish on the Vintage.  How do you like yours?

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I love it!  It's an amazing guitar, and we bond more and more every day.  It's truly a pleasure to own and puts a smile my face every time I pick it up.  Everyone of my buddies that has played it is amazed by the tone and has stated it's the best guitar they've ever had the pleasure of playing.  I've had it just over a year, and the sound has refined with more play.  I really love the Martin Retro Monels on mine.  

I have no complaints about the thin finish.  I actually dig it a lot.  I've always been more of a fan of satin finish guitars than gloss, and this one seems to give me a good middle ground between the two.  I'm primarily a bedroom player, but occasionally take it to jam with buddies.  It's been knocked and bumped, but it is no more worse for the wear.  I'm a somewhat heavy handed strummer, and it has a few pick marks, but nothing that has broke through the finish.

Here's my NGD post with pics and the interesting backstory.  Gibson went above and beyond with my situation and made me a die hard Gibson fan for life.

 

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On 8/13/2019 at 5:20 PM, Mr.Woody said:

She's not crazy about the pickguard. 

 

Tell me about it. My partner and my ex wife both DESPISE tigerstripe guards. I remember when I bought my old 2002 AJ in the most gorgeous sunburst I've ever seen, my ex looked at it and said "it doesn't matter how good it sounds. That thing on the front looks like it belongs on a stripper's arse!"

My partner, when I bought my current (natural finish) Maple AJ, spied the tigerstripe guard and said "Why do Gibson put weird animal prints on their guitars? It makes it look like something you'd play at a benefit gig for a cash-strapped zoo"

 

🤣🤣

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3 minutes ago, Jinder said:

 

Tell me about it. My partner and my ex wife both DESPISE tigerstripe guards. I remember when I bought my old 2002 AJ in the most gorgeous sunburst I've ever seen, my ex looked at it and said "it doesn't matter how good it sounds. That thing on the front looks like it belongs on a stripper's arse!"

My partner, when I bought my current (natural finish) Maple AJ, spied the tigerstripe guard and said "Why do Gibson put weird animal prints on their guitars? It makes it look like something you'd play at a benefit gig for a cash-strapped zoo"

 

🤣🤣

Ouch and Ouch!!!!! 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 8/13/2019 at 4:37 AM, Jinder said:

Look out some D'Addario EJ19 Bluegrass Gauge strings. 12-56 and fabulous strings.

I used them on my old Larrivee SD40M, and you're right, they are fabulous strings. It'd be nice if Martin would turn out a set of  12-56 "bluegrass" Monel Retros. 

Edited by Fidalgo
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. . . or . . . before you put anything on it that could react with any touch up attempts, and as it sounds like you're in the Chicago area, 'thought I'd pass along a shop that has done some amazing finish work.  A few years back, an old J-35, rare opaque finish,  with some of the most beautiful lacquer crazing showed up at a very attractive price on eBay. The only problem was it's nasty bridge work that seemingly defaced an otherwise beautiful old Gibson. It sat on eBay until one courageous soul took a chance and bought it. There was much discussion on the Martin forum as to how to proceed. The first post on p.5 of the thread mentions the shop, and specifically, the person who did the work:https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theunofficialmartinguitarforum/rare-1942-opaque-j35-on-ebay-t114234-s80.html. Page 2 of the same thread has the "before" photos in clickable thumbnails.

Before:

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After:

PlOR1YL.png

 

Yes, dings and scratches are going to happen. But considering the newness of the guitar, it's value, and how much you like it, it might be nice to know you have options. Even Dan Erlewine of StewMac, or any spot repair touchup person could float in increasingly more diluted coats of lacquer, and buff it out to a fairly passable repair- nitro is one of the most repairable finishes.

Nice guitar, and if your YouTube demo of the Retros (nice playing, by the way) can give a tone such as that, I'll have to give them a try.

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