J45 "so it is"

[PickledPat]

Hi all, just bought a 2016 or 2017 j45 standard today. It's playing nice and I'm looking forward to recording! Was having a look inside and I came across a blue pice of sticker stuck to the underside which reads "so it is".  Has anyone ever seen anything like that in their Gibson? 😄 Let me know! best,  Pat. 

 

[zombywoof]

The most famous bit of guitar graffiti  remains a certain sentiment somebody at the Martin repair shop wrote inside Joan Baez's guitar.

As you bought your guitar used  though, the sticker could have been placed there by just about anybody who had the guitar in their hands before it made its way to you.

Edited July 8, 2020 by zombywoof

[j45nick]

Nope.

Assuming you bought it used, there is no way to know if that was something someone did at the factory, or later.

Welcome aboard, and congratulations on your new J-45.

[zombywoof]

The only "unauthorized" item I ever found in an acoustic guitar was a rattlesnake tail - in my 1956 SJ.  I let it be.  Not that I am superstitious but figured there was no point in pressing my luck,      

[E-minor7]

Sounds great ^ congratulations - 45s are fantastic.

The blue spot is a foreigner - did you leave it inside.

People find the weirdest things in their boxes. Not me - I only found an old grape not so long ago, , , and a few strange smells here and there. . 

Stay around and have fun - show pics of both guitar and sticker. 

Edited July 8, 2020 by E-minor7

[PickledPat]

pics here, can't seem to upload onto the forum, thanks for replies everyone  https://imgur.com/a/UMk3cAm

[E-minor7]

6 minutes ago, PickledPat said:

pics here, can't seem to upload onto the forum, thanks for replies everyone  https://imgur.com/a/UMk3cAm

Looks like a fine'n'decent J-45 that really wants to be played. As said these are fabulous acoustics, , , some of the greatest on the planet. 

The sticker is a hidden message, , , the guitar's motto - or just a helo. 

[PickledPat]

yea looking forward to digging in! any recommendation on strings? I've liked John Pearse  mediums on  other guitars

[E-minor7]

39 minutes ago, PickledPat said:

yea looking forward to digging in! any recommendation on strings? I've liked John Pearse  mediums on  other guitars

I actually have John Pearse Ph. B. lights on my 2010 J-45. Haven't used them for ages, but they were recommended to me about 2 weeks ago and I bought a Ph. B and a B. set.

Else I like Gibson Masterbuilts and of course the old workhorse of steel : D'Addario EJ16s. But string preferences are highly subjective and I'm not the best judge.  The fact that they keep fading teases my sonic memory and sense of finesse. Other members here are much more reliable - and you yourself hold the last'n'highest card.

[QuestionMark]

For strings my J45 is optimal  with Martin Authentic (SPs) 80/20 Bronze Mediums strings.   

 

QM aka "Jazzman" Jeff

[kidblast]

Congrats on the "45"..

Strings:

You can still get Gibson Masterbuilts on Amazon.  Good choice there.

I've recently started using Cleartone strings again, I am liking them.  I usually go with Elixir Nano PBs if I'm not using the Masterbuilts (or J200 strings, which are the same but have a wrapping around the ball end.)

Edited July 8, 2020 by kidblast

[PickledPat]

5 hours ago, QuestionMark said:

For strings my J45 is optimal  with Martin Authentic (SPs) 80/20 Bronze Mediums strings.   

 

QM aka "Jazzman" Jeff

Thanks, think I have a pack lying around!

[PickledPat]

30 minutes ago, kidblast said:

Congrats on the "45"..

Strings:

You can still get Gibson Masterbuilts on Amazon.  Good choice there.

I've recently started using Cleartone strings again, I am liking them.  I usually go with Elixir Nano PBs if I'm not using the Masterbuilts (or J200 strings, which are the same but have a wrapping around the ball end.)

Thanks 😊

[kelly campbell]

Welcome to the forum Pat..enjoy that 45, they are great guitars!

[Oswald]

Congratulations with your guitar!

I use only light gauge on my J-45 Standard 2015, used Martin Authentic 80/20, currently - D'Addario EJ11 (also 80/20), both are very good but different.

Next string I will put is Martin Retro Lights.

I tried Martin Authentic PB Lights but these did not suit me, too much bass and too much overtones.

[QuestionMark]

21 hours ago, PickledPat said:

Hi all, just bought a 2016 or 2017 j45 standard today. It's playing nice and I'm looking forward to recording! Was having a look inside and I came across a blue pice of sticker stuck to the underside which reads "so it is".  Has anyone ever seen anything like that in their Gibson? 😄 Let me know! best,  Pat. 

 

When I bought my used 1955/56 N.Y. Epiphone (pre-Texan) FT 79 it had (and still has) a cigarette burn on its inside label.  I can only imagine how that got there.  You’re lucky your guitar only had a meditative phrase on a piece of paper inside it.😊  
 

Guess so it is...😊
 

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

[Dave F]

When I got my '42 LG1 it had a lot of mud dauber nest inside. We think the guitar had been out in a shed.

[PickledPat]

On 7/8/2020 at 11:04 PM, QuestionMark said:

When I bought my used 1955/56 N.Y. Epiphone (pre-Texan) FT 79 it had (and still has) a cigarette burn on its inside label.  I can only imagine how that got there.  You’re lucky your guitar only had a meditative phrase on a piece of paper inside it.😊  
 

Guess so it is...😊
 

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

hahaha! that's cool

 

[PickledPat]

On 7/8/2020 at 4:44 PM, Oswald said:

Congratulations with your guitar!

I use only light gauge on my J-45 Standard 2015, used Martin Authentic 80/20, currently - D'Addario EJ11 (also 80/20), both are very good but different.

Next string I will put is Martin Retro Lights.

I tried Martin Authentic PB Lights but these did not suit me, too much bass and too much overtones.

I had the martin retro lights on  a drop shoulder Faith  cedar top mahogany  and really enjoyed playing them!

[MissouriPicker]

I bought my Walnut J100 new and there was a Gibson guitar pick inside...lol....I figured that one of the Gibson folks gave it a test drive and that was a good thing in my view.

[dhanners623]

Congrats on the guitar. I’ve heard of folks sticking their names out of view inside the guitar as a means of identification in case the guitar is ever stolen. But “so it is”??

String-wise, go with mediums. J-45s really need mediums to get the top vibrating.

[Lars68]

The Joan Baez story is pretty cool in regards to messages inside guitars:

"My personal collection is very small, I must have five guitars in total. The two Martins I use are replicas of the Martin 1929 0-45 I bought for $200 in 1962. I hadn't played that guitar for years. Although, I packed it up, bought it a seat on the plane and took it to the recording session for this album and that's the first time I've played it for decades.

"An amusing story about that guitar is that when it went in to be fixed in 1996, the repairman took it apart and found a scroll inside which said, 'Too bad you're a communist'. It must have been done by a repairman years ago who disputed my politics. When the 0-45 was replicated for a 1997 edition, a backwards label bearing the same slogan was adhered to the inside of the soundboard so that it could be read with an inspection mirror”.

Lars

[fortyearspickn]

Wow, Cool !  Thanks.   Sort of the opposite of what Woody wrote on the face of his guitar.   Ironic. 

[GreyGrayDays]

On 7/8/2020 at 4:19 AM, kidblast said:

Congrats on the "45"..

Strings:

You can still get Gibson Masterbuilts on Amazon.  Good choice there.

I've recently started using Cleartone strings again, I am liking them.  I usually go with Elixir Nano PBs if I'm not using the Masterbuilts (or J200 strings, which are the same but have a wrapping around the ball end.)

I've been trying to order Masterbuilts for months and everyone is out of stock. Are they much different than D'Addarios, do you know? I've read D'Addario makes the Masterbuilts for Gibson. 

[kidblast]

4 hours ago, GreyGrayDays said:

I've been trying to order Masterbuilts for months and everyone is out of stock. Are they much different than D'Addarios, do you know? I've read D'Addario makes the Masterbuilts for Gibson. 

the last time I was able to order Masterbuilt and J200 strings was back in  March/February time frame.  I don't see they are there now.  I do find some sets of 11s and 10s for acoustic.. but 12 gauge and up, don't seem to be available now.

It was said that GHS was making them when Gibson stopped producing and they are probably still doing it.  

Now it looks like all I see on Amazon are the new coated sets.

I've used D'Addario EJ16s in the past (for years on end before switching to Elixirs some time ago), Good strings but don't last much more than 6 to 8 weeks depending on how much they are played.   Which for me, is about the same as most non-coated string