pg60 Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 (edited) Hi All, Long-time lurker here. Being a huge Jorma Kaukonen fan, have lusted after a J-45 for many years. With the current state of the world I've decided to go for it. Life is short. Have the all important spousal permission but am truly overwhelmed by all the choices. So I thought I'd post some likes/dislikes in hopes of getting some suggestions to help me narrow the field. * I play alternating bass blues with a thumbpick. I'll strum it with a flat pick occasionally but that's not the priority, I don't sing much either. * I have a 2019 L-00 studio that I truly love. The neck is perfect for me. Would love to find a J-45 with deep thumpy bass that complements it with bigger sound. * Played a G-45 that was nice enough but I'm looking for the 4.5" depth, more bass. It sounded a little thin to me for big body. * Not going to say money is no object but I would love to get a thermally aged top. And I Iike Southern Jumbos... CME has some nice ones, the 1959 one has thermal aged Sitka top (perfect!) but 1 11/16 nut worries me. I love the 1.72 nut it is perfect. The new 1942 one with aged Adi top looks awesome, but it's really pricey. * Played a J-15 and that neck is too thin for me. Not really looking for another walnut guitar anyway, prefer mahogany. * Those 2013 J-35 reissues look really nice... And pretty affordable for a used one. Listening to clips they sound a little 'brash' though. Thanks in advance for any & all suggestions! -Paul Edited April 4, 2020 by pg60 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 This is one you've got to call on your own...........guitar tone/feel are so personal. I'll only say that I agree that, relative to a 45, the J-35 does sound brash. (In a good, Gibson-y way of course.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 Good for you. Any J45 will be nice, I'm partial to the ones that have the thermally aged top - feel the sound has a little more cripsness to it than the standard, and I liked that - but just my opinion. I would try to play the version you want to get first, especially because of all your comments about nut width, need to make sure it feels right. Good luck, don't be daunted - just jump in and enjoy what you get. Worse case, you get something that helps develop a wish list for what you want and you trade it in towards that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 7 hours ago, Buc McMaster said: This is one you've got to call on your own........... I agree with Buc. I have a rosewood/ebony J-45 that is a Rolls Royce. The J-15 is a Dodge Challenger Hellcat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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