slimt Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 1 hour ago, Tim Tim said: We agree on that. I’m looking for spec and tone comparison on the two modern versions above… The J35 will have a crisp tone. Very sharp. Much better on attack of the strings the J45 will be muddier and deeper in tone. But still have that chime there both good guitars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 5 minutes ago, slimt said: The J35 will have a crisp tone. Very sharp. Much better on attack of the strings the J45 will be muddier and deeper in tone. But still have that chime there both good guitars. Can I have permission when I write comments about the J-45 that the tone was called "muddier" by a guy who probably owns one? I don't think I want that in my guitars tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 43 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Can I have permission when I write comments about the J-45 that the tone was called "muddier" by a guy who probably owns one? I don't think I want that in my guitars tone. I do have a few J45s. There a great guitar. Want I mean by muddier is its just as brightly toned as a J35. Im sure bracing as alot to do with it. I have a few J35s as well. You can hear the difference for sure. so muddier might not of been the right word to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 (edited) Tim, Both guitars have the same body shape, which Gibson sometimes calls the AJ shape. The depth of the body has a taper. It is a little less deep where the body meets the neck than at the bottom, which gives the back a slight arc. You can see it easily in pictures of the side view of both guitars. You have noted the differences in nut width, neck shape, and x bracing. The other main structural difference is in back bracing. The J-35 model in question shares the back braces of the Advanced Jumbo (referred to by many as the AJ): they are low and more stout (more mass) when compared to the back braces found on the J-45 in question, which are lighter and higher. This, along with the difference in x-bracing, contributes to the difference in sound Slim notes. I would describe a J-35 built this way as (usually) having a tone that has more emphasis on the fundamental of notes than a J-45, which (usually) has more overtones. Red 333 Edited September 13, 2022 by Red 333 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 10 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Can I have permission when I write comments about the J-45 that the tone was called "muddier" by a guy who probably owns one? I don't think I want that in my guitars tone. I do not own a Bozman-made guitar. But I did play a 1956 SJ for many years so same bird just different plumage. It had what I always thought of as a middle of the road nasalness in the mids as you played up the board, Other than that it was real punchy and quick sounding. This was the guitar which brought home the fact that some of the worst mistakes I have ever made were trading off guitars. After maybe 15 years I still miss it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Tim Posted September 13, 2022 Author Share Posted September 13, 2022 (edited) 10 hours ago, Red 333 said: Tim, Both guitars have the same body shape, which Gibson sometimes calls the AJ shape. The depth of the body has a taper. It is a little less deep where the body meets the neck than at the bottom, which gives the back a slight arc. You can see it easily in pictures of the side view of both guitars. You have noted the differences in nut width, neck shape, and x bracing. The other main structural difference is in back bracing. The J-35 model in question shares the back braces of the Advanced Jumbo (referred to by many as the AJ): they are low and more stout (more mass) when compared to the back braces found on the J-45 in question, which are lighter and higher. This, along with the difference in x-bracing, contributes to the difference in sound Slim notes. I would describe a J-35 built this way as (usually) having a tone that has more emphasis on the fundamental of notes than a J-45, which (usually) has more overtones. Red 333 Super helpful, thank you. I also emailed a guy who sells lots of both at a large Gibson dealer (which seems to match what Red is saying), so I’ll include his comments below for posterity… “Yes, I do tend to hear a difference between J-35s and J-45s, although somewhat subtle depending on the specific guitar in question. Overall, I find better string-to-string separation with a J-35 and more balance, treble to bass. To my ears, the J-45 is (usually) a "wall of sound." Power, with a heavier bottom end. J-35 has a bit more crispness/presence to the attack. If I were recording a large bodied guitar, I'd probably pick a J-35 over the J-45 since it'd be practically effortless to mic up and get a great sound…” Edited September 13, 2022 by Tim Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Tim Posted September 21, 2022 Author Share Posted September 21, 2022 (edited) On 9/12/2022 at 11:06 AM, slimt said: The J35 will have a crisp tone. Very sharp. Much better on attack of the strings the J45 will be muddier and deeper in tone. But still have that chime there both good guitars. So just just had an opportunity to play my J-45 Historic along with a J-35 Historic and think I know what you mean. The notes on the J-45 were a bit more blended where the 35 had a bit more separation and crispness. Also had more headroom and a more booming bass. Honestly, the J-35 sounded incredible. Had all the ripping mid strength of the 45 but with more volume, crispness, and low end strength. i actually had calipers and measured the body depths at heel and tail and laid the guitar backs against each other to compare shape. These two models definitely use the exact same body shape and depth. (I wish I’d remembered to check out the back bracing…) Only things I didn’t love about the J-35 Historic were the neck and aesthetic. I think it’s partly because of the wider nut, but the neck felt a lot more shallow than I was hoping for. Very flat across the back and doesn’t really fill the hand at all. Kind of disappointing. Taper up the neck is very gradual as well. Visually, the headstock decal looks super cheap in person imo and already looked like it was wearing through on this particular guitar. The burst on this one was super yellow and can’t stand the fire stripe pickguard. But aesthetics aren’t the biggest deal. If the neck was perfect, I think I would have traded in my 45. But as is, tonal difference isn’t different enough to accept the drawbacks to the trade. End of the day, they’re both great guitars. Edited September 22, 2022 by Tim Tim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 On 9/21/2022 at 7:54 AM, Tim Tim said: So just just had an opportunity to play my J-45 Historic along with a J-35 Historic and think I know what you mean. The notes on the J-45 were a bit more blended where the 35 had a bit more separation and crispness. Also had more headroom and a more booming bass. Honestly, the J-35 sounded incredible. Had all the ripping mid strength of the 45 but with more volume, crispness, and low end strength. i actually had calipers and measured the body depths at heel and tail and laid the guitar backs against each other to compare shape. These two models definitely use the exact same body shape and depth. (I wish I’d remembered to check out the back bracing…) Only things I didn’t love about the J-35 Historic were the neck and aesthetic. I think it’s partly because of the wider nut, but the neck felt a lot more shallow than I was hoping for. Very flat across the back and doesn’t really fill the hand at all. Kind of disappointing. Taper up the neck is very gradual as well. Visually, the headstock decal looks super cheap in person imo and already looked like it was wearing through on this particular guitar. The burst on this one was super yellow and can’t stand the fire stripe pickguard. But aesthetics aren’t the biggest deal. If the neck was perfect, I think I would have traded in my 45. But as is, tonal difference isn’t different enough to accept the drawbacks to the trade. End of the day, they’re both great guitars. It’s seriously guitar business when the calipers come out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 6 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: It’s seriously guitar business when the calipers come out. and the dental mirror... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 6 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: It’s seriously guitar business when the calipers come out. 8 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said: and the dental mirror... I resemble those remarks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 2 minutes ago, Dave F said: I resemble those remarks. My weapon is my fingers, or a pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 12 hours ago, Dave F said: resemble those remarks. I have a lighted one - "If you can't laugh act yourself ..." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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