Sgt. Pepper Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 (edited) On 3 day weekends my wife and I go to Little River, SC. There is a GC in North Myrtle Beach about 10 mins away. I went yesterday, and in the acoustic room way up high where you need to get a helpful associate to get a guitar down for you, was of those new fangled G-45's with 2 holes everyone is talking about. The associate said it was there for a few weeks before the store got around to opening the box. He said when they did they didn't know it was going to look like that. I have owned 4 satin finished guitars and currently have 2. When you first see it, since its a satin finish, it looks almost like raw unfinished wood especially on the top. The TRC is make of wood and the back and sides looked like walnut. I played it for a bit, strumming it and covering and uncovering the second hole (this is about the 2nd or 3rd guitar I have played with the extra hole), and it did get a bit louder when the hole is uncovered, but it was nothing Earth shattering. There was a guy in there playing a $600 Breedlove and he played it too, and said he would rather go home with the Breedlove. I was not impressed with the sound of it. A J-45 as much as I am not a fan of them, as best as I can remember, sounded 10 times better than this 2 hole creation. I don't think this is a guitar that you J-45, HB, Dove, SJ-200 and SJ guys will be snatching up to put in your collection. It was $1199 and I think it comes with a gig bag. It was the only Gibson in the store. I think next year when the new models come out these will just be a memory like the legendary Firebird X. Edited October 11, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 Just the fact it does not come with a case is end of story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 Really disappointing just how much Gibson has dowgraded the J-45. They had the J-15 and J-35 as brilliant, quality alternatives, but they could not help themselves. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cougar Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 55 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: ....I think next year when the new models come out these will just be a memory... I agree. I'm not even a fan of cutaways, but now soundports? I don't think so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul14 Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 Thanks for the review. About what I expected. I have no interest in these guitars. They don’t appeal to me at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 I just watched a 26 minute pretty intensive review of the Gibson G-45. The guy was more impressed with the soft case than the guitar. I must be yesteryear plus on the case thing. I thought he was pretty harsh on the guitar. It sounded ok to me on decent speakers. I saw his point on a lot of stuff, but not every negative point. And, it passed some criticals. I ran into the review on another site by chance. I guess it is on YouTube also. They cut the guitar and there was interesting stuff on the inside. fyi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 2 hours ago, Hall said: I just watched a 26 minute pretty intensive review of the Gibson G-45. The guy was more impressed with the soft case than the guitar. I must be yesteryear plus on the case thing. I thought he was pretty harsh on the guitar. It sounded ok to me on decent speakers. I saw his point on a lot of stuff, but not every negative point. And, it passed some criticals. I ran into the review on another site by chance. I guess it is on YouTube also. They cut the guitar and there was interesting stuff on the inside. fyi Hall, Are you going to tell us what they found inside, or are we supposed to guess? OK. I'll go first. They are actually built from re-purposed Ikea bookcases? RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 6 hours ago, EuroAussie said: Really disappointing just how much Gibson has dowgraded the J-45. They had the J-15 and J-35 as brilliant, quality alternatives, but they could not help themselves. I owned a J-15 and back when they came out they were about $1200 or so and came with a case and were 20 times better than these 2 hole abortions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 I played it today. It had a great balanced tone, and I like non-ornate guitars. I think it was overpriced though. I’m glad I got to play it. By the way, I also played a Taylor AD17. In theory it’s $200 more, but in the wild it’s the same price. CME seems to be selling stock as used for the same price. Anyways the AD17 is also made in America, non-ornate, but actually beautiful. Seriously. And it sounded great. I know what I would have walked out with. by the way Russos will have my MartinD15 for about a month. It will be primed, set up, with a K&K installed… and my oldest guitar will then again join its J45TV brother. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jricc Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 2 hours ago, Salfromchatham said: I played it today. It had a great balanced tone, and I like non-ornate guitars. I think it was overpriced though. I’m glad I got to play it. By the way, I also played a Taylor AD17. In theory it’s $200 more, but in the wild it’s the same price. CME seems to be selling stock as used for the same price. Anyways the AD17 is also made in America, non-ornate, but actually beautiful. Seriously. And it sounded great. I know what I would have walked out with. by the way Russos will have my MartinD15 for about a month. It will be primed, set up, with a K&K installed… and my oldest guitar will then again join its J45TV brother. Hey Sal, were you in Russo's today, Monday? I was there around 530! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 5 hours ago, RBSinTo said: Are you going to tell us what they found inside, or are we supposed to guess? I'm also curious about this discovery. I played a G-Songwriter and G-200 last week. The G-200 had been slightly crushed in shipping. The soundport made it very easy to me to see the cracked brace, but nothing else looked out of the ordinary. I even commented how much easier repairs would be on this series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 5 hours ago, Salfromchatham said: I played it today. It had a great balanced tone, and I like non-ornate guitars. I think it was overpriced though. I’m glad I got to play it. By the way, I also played a Taylor AD17. In theory it’s $200 more, but in the wild it’s the same price. CME seems to be selling stock as used for the same price. Anyways the AD17 is also made in America, non-ornate, but actually beautiful. Seriously. And it sounded great. I know what I would have walked out with. by the way Russos will have my MartinD15 for about a month. It will be primed, set up, with a K&K installed… and my oldest guitar will then again join its J45TV brother. What do you mean, primed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brucebubs Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 'I don't think this is a guitar that you J-45, HB, Dove, SJ-200 and SJ guys will be snatching up to put in your collection. It was $1199 and I think it comes with a gig bag. It was the only Gibson in the store. I don't think these are targeted at existing Gibson guitar owners but at $1199 I'd be interested to see how it compares with the new solid wood Epiphone 'Inspired by Gibson' J-45? G-45 on left - sunburst Epiphone IBG J-45 on right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 6 hours ago, jricc said: Hey Sal, were you in Russo's today, Monday? I was there around 530! I was there at noon! It was a nice break. I got to watch one of the sales guys play Chet Atkins style on a Hummingbird a customer brought in; it was a treat to hear the guitar played in that way.. I also noticed the same thing at Russos I see online… fairly weak Gibson and Martin inventory, and fairly robust Taylor inventory. I watched a CasinoGuitars YouTube lamenting the same thing… “Where are the Gibsons and Martins?” Why did one American manufacturer seem to not miss a beat keeping places stocked with inventory, while others struggle? The guys at Russos tell me the lower price point Taylor’s sell out instantly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 2 hours ago, Salfromchatham said: I was there at noon! It was a nice break. I got to watch one of the sales guys play Chet Atkins style on a Hummingbird a customer brought in; it was a treat to hear the guitar played in that way.. I also noticed the same thing at Russos I see online… fairly weak Gibson and Martin inventory, and fairly robust Taylor inventory. I watched a CasinoGuitars YouTube lamenting the same thing… “Where are the Gibsons and Martins?” Why did one American manufacturer seem to not miss a beat keeping places stocked with inventory, while others struggle? The guys at Russos tell me the lower price point Taylor’s sell out instantly. Casino's is a 90 minute trip for me. It's a FANTASTIC store with great folks. I wish they had what I wanted. I hope next year's inventories everywhere improve next year. Great town to visit as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 13 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: I owned a J-15 and back when they came out they were about $1200 or so and came with a case and were 20 times better than these 2 hole abortions. That's saying something as you ended up not being all that fond of the J15, IIRC. (btw and OT - there's a Martin Maple 0000 on Mandolin Cafe this morning. Not me nor any affiliation.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 BoSox... listen to Baxter's AD17 review. What a fantastic informative segment - with intelligent talk, appropriate demo playing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 32 minutes ago, BoSoxBiker said: That's saying something as you ended up not being all that fond of the J15, IIRC. (btw and OT - there's a Martin Maple 0000 on Mandolin Cafe this morning. Not me nor any affiliation.) I owned a maple Guild and maple isn’t for me. And yeah I no longer own the J-15, but that guitar was better than the 2 hole t-urd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 6 hours ago, Brucebubs said: 'I don't think this is a guitar that you J-45, HB, Dove, SJ-200 and SJ guys will be snatching up to put in your collection. It was $1199 and I think it comes with a gig bag. It was the only Gibson in the store. I don't think these are targeted at existing Gibson guitar owners but at $1199 I'd be interested to see how it compares with the new solid wood Epiphone 'Inspired by Gibson' J-45? G-45 on left - sunburst Epiphone IBG J-45 on right. I don’t think Gibson knows who it’s target audience is other than rich football team owners. All makers not just Gibson have ridiculous prices. You think a 15 year old is jonesing for a Gibson like I did when I was a kid? Kids want the next better iPhone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 15 hours ago, RBSinTo said: Hall, Are you going to tell us what they found inside, or are we supposed to guess? OK. I'll go first. They are actually built from re-purposed Ikea bookcases? RBSinTo RBSin To: No, I'm not telling. I'm not buying one either. Just thought some folks might want to go to YouTube and watch the video for themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 3 minutes ago, Hall said: RBSin To: No, I'm not telling. I'm not buying one either. Just thought some folks might want to go to YouTube and watch the video for themselves. Hall, I don't care enough to bother. Guess I'll just keep on wondering for at least the next six seconds or so. Hey! What's for lunch? RBSinTo 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jricc Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, Salfromchatham said: I was there at noon! It was a nice break. I got to watch one of the sales guys play Chet Atkins style on a Hummingbird a customer brought in; it was a treat to hear the guitar played in that way.. I also noticed the same thing at Russos I see online… fairly weak Gibson and Martin inventory, and fairly robust Taylor inventory. I watched a CasinoGuitars YouTube lamenting the same thing… “Where are the Gibsons and Martins?” Why did one American manufacturer seem to not miss a beat keeping places stocked with inventory, while others struggle? The guys at Russos tell me the lower price point Taylor’s sell out instantly. Sal, when you go to pick up your Martin, lmk what time you're going to be there and I'll come over and say hi. Edited October 12, 2021 by jricc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoSoxBiker Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: I owned a maple Guild and maple isn’t for me. And yeah I no longer own the J-15, but that guitar was better than the 2 hole t-urd. I'm 2-1 on the Maple game. Did you drive down the coast or the freeway? Reason I ask is I keep seeing some acoustic guitar store's listings out near the coast, but in one of the inland towns. Have not been that way in a few years, though. The name will come to me at some inopportune time...... Edited October 12, 2021 by BoSoxBiker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 I take the Highways. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 12, 2021 Author Share Posted October 12, 2021 I don't get you guys with your sad emoji's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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