FiggyPudding18 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Hey all, With all the time I have on my hands now I am researching the guitar that I am going to buy myself when I complete my masters degree in spring '22. Like I said I have some time on my hands right now lol. I'm looking into a new J45. I love their sound and versatility for my purposes (singer songwriter stuff), and also since I can only really afford to have one really nice acoustic. However, I've perused this forum and others and pretty much acknowledged that upon getting it, I would want to... 1. Remove the Baggs VTC and sell it. 2. Have the nut/saddle/bridge pins changed to bone. 3. Install non-invasive pickup such as K&K pure mini. Now, does any of this seem silly? It would be interesting buying a new guitar and then putting like 300-400 dollars into it right away. Also could any of this be potentially damaging to the guitar? I also read that the tusq is there because it's better with UST's, but I'm assuming anything's fine with the K&K? Thanks for your knowledge in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 (edited) If you are researching a guitar you don't plan to buy for another two years, then (sorry) but yes, that is silly. 😂 Who knows what Gibson will offer in 2022, they have made a number of changes to their lineup during the past few years. OTOH, there's nothing wrong with dreaming and window shopping! Regarding the pickup, saddle and bridge pins, do yourself a favor and just ignore what people on this forum say about what you need to change. Everyone has their own opinions here, and since you are new to Gibson, just play the guitar as it is without trying to "improve" it, then form your own opinion. And if you aren't buying for another two years, that gives you plenty of time to "audition" actual guitars in person before buying. But if you are actually in a position to buy now, there seem to be a lot of used guitars coming on the market (for unfortunate reasons) and my guess is that prices will come down in the coming months. Edited April 21, 2020 by Boyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 They make at least a dozen different J-45's.. Since you have the time research them all.. They come Acoustic & Acoustic Electric. With the variety they offer I would buy the one that most suits my wants & needs. Taking it apart, selling Parts & then Modding with other stuff? Personally, I would prefer the model that has everything I want to begin with.. I really like J-45's... But, after playing a Gibson Bozeman Masterbilt Solid Top J-160E I bought it.. I'm also a Beatles fan. Not to be confused with the Plywood Top Lennon Spec Guitars.. Mine has Solid Spruce Top with Mahogany Back & Sides, Bone Nut with a P90 Pickup & Volume & Tone Control & all the other Upgrades I could want. IMO, it's the King of the J-45 style Guitars.. It needs nothing except to be played.. Good luck with your Quest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul14 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 People do what you’re discussing everyday. Nothing silly about it. None of my Gibson’s have pickups anymore. I sold all of the pickups on eBay. I don’t mind tusq, so I didn’t change them out. That’s your decision. It’s relatively easy to remove the pickups. My 2000 SJ-200 was Built without electronics, & came with Bone nut,& saddle. The others all have tusq. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle fester Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Sounds like a decent plan to me. An alternative could be instead of putting a lot of money into a base model, up what you get to something like a 'vintage' model... comes w/ a baked top, nice tuners etc... no p'up. I put a K&K in mine. It's fun to dream. Enjoy. Masters - good for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiggyPudding18 Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 6 minutes ago, Larsongs said: They make at least a dozen different J-45's.. Since you have the time research them all.. They come Acoustic & Acoustic Electric. With the variety they offer I would buy the one that most suits my wants & needs. Taking it apart, selling Parts & then Modding with other stuff? Personally, I would prefer the model that has everything I want to begin with.. Me too! Only problem is I can't find one that doesn't come with the baggs vtc/tusq... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosinante Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 My 2014 has a VTC. The acoustic sound is out of this world, I’m not sure how much the pickup element effects the sound. As it is the guitar sounds great acoustic and plugged, I’d be hard pressed to play pickup roulette at this point. I also have a fishman aura which makes the VTC sound even better. One caveat is that I have been thinking of changing the pickguard for purely aesthetic reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 (edited) Why not buy one with out electronics (if they make it) that way your not ripping out something you didn't want in the first place. Buy the bone saddle, nut and pins you want. Buy the K&K pup you want, and install when said guitar arrives. Edited April 21, 2020 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Why not buy one with out electronics (if they make it) that way your not ripping out something you didn't want in the first place. Buy the bone saddle, nut and pins you want. Buy the K&K pup you want, and install when said guitar arrives. And consider buying recent used model if you want to save money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 9 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Why not buy one with out electronics (if they make it) that way your not ripping out something you didn't want in the first place. Buy the bone saddle, nut and pins you want. Buy the K&K pup you want, and install when said guitar arrives. Exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 13 hours ago, FiggyPudding18 said: Me too! Only problem is I can't find one that doesn't come with the baggs vtc/tusq... As I mentioned im a fan of J-45's. But, after playing lots of them, I bought my Gibson Bozeman Masyerbilt Solid Top J-160 with P90 & separate Top Hat Volume & Tone Controls. Beautiful Guitar! It is arguably, IMO, the best looking & sounding J-45 Style Guitar.. These Guitars sound great & right with a P90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Like a lot of folks here, I’ve owned quite a few Montana J-45 variants over the years. My personal favorite tonally is a 2002 J-45 Rosewood. Was awestruck the first time I heard it, and still am whenever it comes out of it’s case. But we could do this all day on this board & there’d be a whole variety of favorites. Get out there & play every one you can so you’ll have a broad frame of reference re the J-45 platform’s capability. Instruments are not cookie cutter, so don’t prioritize that other little stuff. Wouldn’t you first want to have a guitar that knocks your socks off whenever you give it a strum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Mike Tyson said "everybody has a plan until you punch them in the face". You might find the guitar sounds pretty damned good stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 16 hours ago, Murph said: Mike Tyson said "everybody has a plan until you punch them in the face". You might find the guitar sounds pretty damned good stock. Great Quote! I agree. It sounds like you don't like the Electric J45's to begin with. Why buy one? Find the right Acoustic J45 first. Then if you need Electric add whatever you want.. Much of the time the Factory matches the Guitar to good Electronics.. Then the new owner leaves Acoustic strings on it & can't figure why it doesn't sound good Electric. It will sound better Electric with the right Electric Strings. The other thing I often see are guys who play them thru their Amps but don't take time, or maybe they don't know how, to dial in the Sound of the Guitar & Amp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tru Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 I would also het rid of those ugly and heavy mushroom tuning machines and replace with some high quality high ratio cream button tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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