any love for the J 50?

[4beagles]

considering one of these so just wanted some feedback/ your experience- it's a new one from Bozeman...........thanks

[CAMELEYE]

I love the J-45/50. Played that model for years, still have a 45.

[Dave F]

Same as a J45 so it's a nice guitar. I had a '54 J50 and currently have a '68 J50.

[Jalex]

I've had a couple 2003 and 2012 models. I  would like to get another at some point. I love the natural finish and batwing pickguard. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Jalex

[egoidealmusic]

Love my J-45 but when Gibson was slow with a replacement for a defect I told them I'd have taken a J-50.  How new is it?  It hought Gibson had stopped making those a year ago or so.

[BluesKing777]

1 hour ago, Jalex said:

I've had a couple 2003 and 2012 models. I  would like to get another at some point. I love the natural finish and batwing pickguard. 

A few years ago I bought a 2002 J50 from a pawn shop, had it repaired by my tech/luthier, Anthem installed....fabulous. I think the 2002 models are streets ahead of the later ones, so I highly recommend you look for a ....2002!

And now I am going to play it!

 

BluesKing777.

 

[QuestionMark]

I always liked the J50 model.

 

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

 

[zombywoof]

Back in the day a J50 cost $10 more than a J45.  Rumor has it that the white wood foreman went with better looking wood for the natural top guitars.  

I do got me a 1942 J50. I originally thought I had snagged a J45 which had lost its burst because at the time conventional wisdom held the model was not introduced until 1947.   Every time I pull the guitar from its case it is like playing it for the first time and I utter a silent "whoa" and thank those ladies who built it.

Edited January 2, 2023 by zombywoof

[DanvillRob]

I have several Gibson Square Shoulder Dreads....but my J-50 is the one I play every day.  (it's sitting right next to me now as I work on a song someone requested).

[Murph]

I prefer the short scale, although I don't own aJ-50.

I have a J-45 Rosewood/ebony and another J-45 Walnut  (J-15      ) 

[PrairieSchooner]

Bought a new J50 in about '71.  Liked it just fine but shortly thereafter I traded it in on a Heritage Custom that I fell in love with.

[Sgt. Pepper]

2 hours ago, Murph said:

I prefer the short scale, although I don't own aJ-50.

I have a J-45 Rosewood/ebony and another J-45 Walnut  (J-15      ) 

I can play the stupid what wood is it game too.

What type of walnut do you have?

There are 21 species in the walnut family. The varieties we sell are Claro, Bastogne, and English walnut. Claro has a complex color and often possesses an intense figure which makes it ideal for use in making musical instruments. Bastogne walnut is one of the most rare of all hardwoods.

What Rosewood you got?

At a summit of the international wildlife trade in South Africa, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) moved to protect the world's most trafficked wild product by placing all 300 species of the rosewood tree under trade restrictions.

Which Ebony do you have?

1. Ceylon ebony
2. African ebony
3. Gaboon ebony
4. Macassar ebony
5. Pale moon ebony
6. Coromandel ebony
7. Mauritius ebony
8. Mun ebony
9. Myrtle ebony
10. Queensland ebony
11. Brazilian ebony

Edited January 2, 2023 by Sgt. Pepper

[Boyd]

J-50's are the best! My first acoustic guitar was a 1974 J-50 Deluxe that I bought new. Gave it to my son in law awhile back because he liked it so much. But I still have a 1965 J-50 ADJ and 2008 J-50 Modern Classic. Also have a 2020 J-50 60's Original which has the modern version of the ADJ Bridge. They are all great in their own way, but the 2020 has been my favorite since I got it. Neck is slightly thinner than the 2008 J-50 but much fatter than my real 1965 J-50.

Is there a "new" J-50? I thought my model (60's Original) was discontinued? - don't see it on their site anymore although they still have 50's and 60's Original J-45's. Some dealers might still have the J-50's I guess? 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Boyd

[J-1854Me]

I have a 2011 J-50 and it is typical of the current production out of Bozeman, I think.  Very nice guitar.  I've swapped out the batwing for a teardrop pickguard, and I may change out those tuners too to get a more "early '50s" look.

Fred

[Sgt. Pepper]

6 hours ago, zombywoof said:

Back in the day a J50 cost $10 more than a J45.  Rumor has it that the white wood foreman went with better looking wood for the natural top guitars.  

Why would you paint a nice looking wood top? I hate when Martin paints tops, and their paint department must all be apprentices cause they look like shizza.

Sweetwater has new 50's and a 60's models for $2599 and $2799. Maybe they did an exclusive order for some?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/search?s=J-50

Edited January 2, 2023 by Sgt. Pepper

[Boyd]

Cool, get 'em while they last! 😀 As you can see, there is no J-50 in the Gibson "Original" collection anymore.

https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Collection/original-acoustic

Actually, it looks like they replaced the J-50 with the "J-35 30's Faded", I don't believe that existed when I got my J-50 in 2021.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Boyd

[Rich H.]

My very first Gibson acoustic guitar was a 1964 J-50, and I loved that guitar. After playing many $25.00 guitars at the time, that Gibson was the best sounding and easy to play guitar.

I have had many Gibson guitars after that one (about 20), but that one was one of my best.

[E-minor7]

It's a good question - also for the sake of the 50 iself. The 45's always seem to get all the lOVE'n'affection while the loyal and stabile 50s just do their thing and watch the toned siblings harvest the appreciation/reputation. 

Maybe we take the lid off a forgotten topic here.

The underspoken fact ? , , , that the various bursts just generate more romantic feelings than the blondes out there, , , ehh and here on the Board too.                                                                                                                                                                                                             Could very well be so. . . 

[E-minor7]

On 1/2/2023 at 8:52 PM, J-1854Me said:

I have a 2011 J-50 and it is typical of the current production out of Bozeman, I think.  Very nice guitar.  I've swapped out the batwing for a teardrop pickguard, and I may change out those tuners too to get a more "early '50s" look.

What a beautiful guitar. Imagine it 20 years from now. . 

[fortyearspickn]

On 1/2/2023 at 10:29 AM, Sgt. Pepper said:

I can play the stupid what wood is it game too.

What type of walnut do you have?

There are 21 species in the walnut family. The varieties we sell are Claro, Bastogne, and English walnut. Claro has a complex color and often possesses an intense figure which makes it ideal for use in making musical instruments. Bastogne walnut is one of the most rare of all hardwoods.

What Rosewood you got?

At a summit of the international wildlife trade in South Africa, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) moved to protect the world's most trafficked wild product by placing all 300 species of the rosewood tree under trade restrictions.

Which Ebony do you have?

1. Ceylon ebony
2. African ebony
3. Gaboon ebony
4. Macassar ebony
5. Pale moon ebony
6. Coromandel ebony
7. Mauritius ebony
8. Mun ebony
9. Myrtle ebony
10. Queensland ebony
11. Brazilian ebony

Someone figured out how to use Google....

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

6 hours ago, fortyearspickn said:

Someone figured out how to use Google....

 

It was hard, I had to ask my wife how to use it. Thats embarrassing, and the mouse used to click on stuff on is not an actual mouse.

Edited January 11, 2023 by Sgt. Pepper

[zombywoof]

I have never drunk deeply from the Tone Wood Kool Aid so am not all the concerned about the lumber used to put these things together.  I figure there is way too much going on with guitars to single out the wood.  I am convinced, as example, what gives my '42 J50 its sound is a combination of a light build and bracing which is a long scallop rather than the more typical "suspension bridge" carve,  

[rustystrings]

The J-45 gets a lot of the love - but the J-50 is its own beast, historically/culturally speaking.  It was the heartbeat of the British folk-baroque guys, and the guitar most associated with both Davy Graham and John Renbourn during the period when their playing was still unconventional for the era.  Lots of great players used them, and still do.

Oddly enough, I have never owned one.  My acoustic blues mentor,  Steve Belew, who was once the eyes-and-driver for both the Rev. Pearly Brown and Buddy Moss, still has and plays his 1962 J-50 he purchased from the late Arthur Motes brand new that year at the now much-missed Bibb Music Center in Macon.  John Jackson famously played one.

My personal theory - the J-45 gets the love because of the sunburst, and there have probably always been more 45s than 50s.  IF you want a sunburst then you wind up with the BEST sunburst.  I bet if you checked out Guild, the majority of their guitars sold were natural tops.  Martin sunbursts are out there, but seriously, even Martin fanatics agree Gibson does them better.

Final note - is the jury still out on the natural-topped Gibson Jumbo played by Bob Dylan early in his career?  Have any script logo '46 J-50s been located or documented?  My perception is that his was a '46 no-banner (ok, maaaaybe early early early '47) J-45 that had been refinished, a perception bolstered by his later use of a Nick Lucas refinished to natural with a Guild bridge ...

Edited January 11, 2023 by rustystrings

[E-minor7]

1 hour ago, rustystrings said:

The J-45 gets a lot of the love - but the J-50 is its own beast, historically/culturally speaking.  It was the heartbeat of the British folk-baroque guys, and the guitar most associated with both Davy Graham and John Renbourn during the period when their playing was still unconventional for the era.  Lots of great players used them, and still do.

Yesso, and we need to add mister McTell, , , and of course early Dylan and ditto Taylor. Look here - that icon simply never had a guard. 

1965 ~ 
 

[E-minor7]

27 minutes ago, E-minor7 said:

Yesso, and we need to add mister McTell, , , and of course early Dylan and ditto Taylor.
 

Deliberately left out Wizz Jones - cause he's playing an Epiphone. Yet bumped into this film I never saw before and decided to post.

1 - for the blonde top, ,

2 because he played that long-scale slope since getting it in the mid-60s. Now that's loyalty beyond this world. Only full blood folk-purists can do it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              And 3 because it has the hollow plastic bridge with a ceramic saddle and simply sounds so good. In its own right, sure - but listen to that percussive low-end flavor.