Gibson J45 1947 post banner

[CarpenterSaw]

On 11/17/2019 at 11:39 AM, Dafgog said:

I have just acquired this stunning if bruised guitar just wanted to see if anyone out there has a similar treasure and if they have any comments/ suggestions - amplification, strings etc

 

[CarpenterSaw]

On 11/17/2019 at 11:39 AM, Dafgog said:

I have just acquired this stunning if bruised guitar just wanted to see if anyone out there has a similar treasure and if they have any comments/ suggestions - amplification, strings etc

Hi:  I just bought this 1947-48 with FON number 1017-7 -- very close to yours. It is crack-free and all original save for the tuners which were from a 1941 J-35.  It was a 2 on back of headstock as well as a Made in USA denoting it was a factory 2nd and for export I assume. I am thrilled with it as is sounds more alive than anything I have am ever played. I am thinking of changing the tuners. Are your tuners original? 

[zombywoof]

So, it looks like you bought the same '47 J45 somebody else posted about in 2021 and who apparently within a year unloaded it to Folkways.  Other than an instance where one forum member sells a guitar to another, I would think if you asked a Magic 8 Ball what were the odds of seeing that the answer would be "Don't count on it".

 

[jedzep]

I was getting confused.  Thanks for figuring it out ZW.

[CarpenterSaw]

31 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

So, it looks like you bought the same '47 J45 somebody else posted about in 2021 and who apparently within a year unloaded it to Folkways.  Other than an instance where one forum member sells a guitar to another, I would think if you asked a Magic 8 Ball what were the odds of seeing that the answer would be "Don't count on it".

 

Thanks for the info. Lucky me! So pleased and looking forward to getting it back to BC safely. What I know of the guitar is that it was originally from a collector in BC who sold it to someone who then sold it to Folkways and it was then bought by the young lad who sold it to me the other day. I am in Ottawa visiting my family. Just happened to look on Kijiji and saw it up there. Have been searching for a good pre-55 for a long time. It's confusing to me that it doesn't seem all original but has specs of a 1950. Seems they started using a belly up bridge in late '47 if the FON is correct. Could also be as it was a factory second they had it at the factory longer   don't know.   Thanks for the info. 

[CarpenterSaw]

Just now, CarpenterSaw said:

iThanks for the info. Lucky me! So pleased and looking forward to getting it back to BC safely. What I know of the guitar is that it was originally from a collector in BC who sold it to someone who then sold it to Folkways and it was then bought by the young lad who sold it to me the other day. I am in Ottawa visiting my family. Just happened to look on Kijiji and saw it up there. Have been searching for a good pre-55 for a long time. It's confusing to me that it does  seem all original but has specs of a 1950. Seems they started using a belly up bridge in late '47 if the FON is correct. Could also be as it was a factory second they had it at the factory longer   don't know.   Thanks for the info. 

 

[zombywoof]

3 hours ago, CarpenterSaw said:

Thanks for the info. Lucky me! So pleased and looking forward to getting it back to BC safely. What I know of the guitar is that it was originally from a collector in BC who sold it to someone who then sold it to Folkways and it was then bought by the young lad who sold it to me the other day. I am in Ottawa visiting my family. Just happened to look on Kijiji and saw it up there. Have been searching for a good pre-55 for a long time. It's confusing to me that it doesn't seem all original but has specs of a 1950. Seems they started using a belly up bridge in late '47 if the FON is correct. Could also be as it was a factory second they had it at the factory longer   don't know.   Thanks for the info. 

If you count Folkways, it appears you are the fourth owner of this guitar in about a year.  That has to be some kind of a record.

The thing about Gibson and I am sure others is it is not like they changed specs at the stroke of midnight on January 1.  If nothing else, they were a conservative and pragmatic company so would keep going with older parts in stock until they were used up.  The advantage you have over me is that when I started buying old Gibsons there was no internet or books where you could look up FONs or serial numbers.  The best you could do was to date the guitars by features.  And yours would have been confusing.  But since then, I have run across '47 Gibson J45s with the rectangular and belly up bridges and both open gear riveted cog wheel tuners and enclosed single line Klusons.  I once had a 1947 LG2 in the house on loan which had waffle peen tuners.  Personally, assuming the tuners on your guitar work as they should, I would leave them be as they are part of the guitar's history.  Plus, I have always liked the look of the open gear bent tab Klusons better than the enclosed ones.

Edited December 31, 2022 by zombywoof

[CarpenterSaw]

50 minutes ago, zombywoof said:

If you count Folkways, it appears you are the fourth owner of this guitar in about a year.  That has to be some kind of a record.

The thing about Gibson and I am sure others is it is not like they changed specs at the stroke of midnight on January 1.  If nothing else, they were a conservative and pragmatic company so would keep going with older parts in stock until they were used up.  The advantage you have over me is that when I started buying old Gibsons there was no internet or books where you could look up FONs or serial numbers.  The best you could do was to date the guitars by features.  And yours would have been confusing.  But since then, I have run across '47 Gibson J45s with the rectangular and belly up bridges and both open gear riveted cog wheel tuners and enclosed single line Klusons.  I once had a 1947 LG2 in the house on loan which had waffle peen tuners.  Personally, assuming the tuners on your guitar work as they should, I would leave them be as they are part of the guitar's history.  Plus, I have always liked the look of the open gear bent tab Klusons better than the enclosed ones.

Thanks, ZW. Really appreciate that. I plan on holding on to this guitar for the rest of my life.  I sold my 50s D28 after playing my friends '52 J45 last year, thinking I would be able to find one without a problem. It's taken a bit but I knew when I took one strum of this one it was the one. I had almost bought a '55 large gaurd but what a difference between them. Glad I waited and by some stroke of luck this guitar passed through so many hands this year to find its way home! From what the seller told me, it was originally from BC where a collector had it and sold it to someone who sold it to Folkways, where the friend of the fellow  I bought it from got it. I think the young lad who bought it from him needed the money. So, you are right, I would be its fourth owner in a year.  Do I feel lucky! It may need a neck reset at some point but right now it plays well. I wonder if the saddle had more room and the break angle of the strings was greater it would be louder but I can't imagine it sounding much better than it does. The whole thing vibrates when I strum it like it's alive.  Very happy. Thanks again.