Maestros Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 https://imgur.com/a/G5vEAd9 Really appreciate your help in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 What caused you to have a concern? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 It’s a beauty. Please buy it to keep me from being tempted any longer 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 10 minutes ago, DanvillRob said: What caused you to have a concern? Maybe he IS Uncle Jesse. 😎. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 37 minutes ago, 62burst said: It’s a beauty. Please buy it to keep me from being tempted any longer I think it's stunning.....If I had room for another guitar, I'd consider a J-45 for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 (edited) Are those Golden Age tuners? Did Gibson ever put those (or any open back tuners like this) on the J-45? No idea, but somebody may have done a tuner swap. Looking at the front of the headstock, I can almost imagine seeing a "bullseye" around a couple pegs like the ones that are left after removing the stock Rotomatic tuners. But that could also just be my imagination. 🙂 I know there are others here who like the Golden Age tuners, but I put them on my 2008 J-50 a number of years ago and they looked great. But was never happy with the way they operated, very stiff and not a high enough gear ratio for my taste. Finally swapped them out again for Kluson 3-on-a-strip closed tuners which were a big improvement. Edited March 22 by Boyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 1 minute ago, Boyd said: Are those Golden Age tuners? Did Gibson ever put those (or any open back tuners) on the J-45? No idea, but somebody may have done a tuner swap. Looking at the front of the headstock, I can almost imagine seeing a "bullseye" around a couple pegs like the ones that are left after removing the stock Rotomatic tuners. But that could also just be my imagination. 🙂 I know there are others here who like the Golden Age tuners, but I put them on my 2008 J-50 a number of years ago and they looked great. But was never happy with the way they operated, very stiff and not a high enough gear ratio for my taste. Finally swapped them out again for Kluson 3-on-a-strip tunes which were a big improvement. I changed the tuners on my J-50 also.... but I didn't mind them or the way they worked...they were just old....and pretty much worn out.....and I had a nice set of of old Grovers laying around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boyd Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Nothing wrong with changing tuners! I find the Rotomatics really ugly and got tired of looking at them. I also replaced the original Kluson tuners on my real 1965 J-50 with replicas that look identical but operate much more smoothly. To be clear - not suggesting that changing the tuners make that guitar a bad deal or anything. Was just observing that they might have been changed. Or not. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 Looks good to me. I've had a couple newer Gibson historic models that came with the Golden Age tuners so those also look original to that model to me. I looked at the same model on Reverb and they all those tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave F Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 13 minutes ago, Red 333 said: Boy, that's a weird one. It's got the tuners, pickguard, and bridge of the recent 1936J-35 reissue, but the headstock decal of the recent 1942 J-45 Banner reissue. The tuners of the 1936 J-35 reissue are cut straight at the tops; the J-45 Banner (and the Legend) tuners are scalloped at the top, bottom, and corners. The 1936 J-35 reissue's bridge has no pearl dots; the 1942 J-45 Banner reissue (and the Legend) have pearl dots. The 1936 J-35 reissue's pickguard conforms to the outline of the body; the 1942 J-45 Banner reissue (and the Legend) have a teardrop shaped pickguard. From what I can see in the picture, the back bracing does look like the 1942 J-45 Banner's, which is tall, and not the short and stubby back bracing of the 1936 J-35 reissue. In addition, I don't believe a Legend, as an accurate repro of a 1942 guitar, ever had a sound hole label (though the 1936 J-35 reissue and 1942 J-45 Banner reissue do have them. The Legend also had aged binding and a darker aged finish and headstock decals, etc. At least the original run did. My best guess is this is a Gibson, but it's some kind of parts bin amalgam of 1936 J-35 reissue and 1942 J-45 Banner reissue that somehow escaped. I don't know why it would say Legend on the sound hole label, though. Maybe because inconsistency and get-it-out-the-door-efficiency is legendary in Gibson lore. Finally, 1942 J-45 Legend (the originals, anyway) were famously all hide glue construction. The 1936 J-35 reissue and 1942 J-45 Banner reissue have top bracing and the neck joint fixed with hide glue, if that's at all a consideration in your purchase. Red 333 Gibson took a break from the more accurate Legends around 2010. In 2015, they started them back up with less accurate features and labels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 22 Share Posted March 22 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Dave F said: Gibson took a break from the more accurate Legends around 2010. In 2015, they started them back up with less accurate features and labels. Yeah, I deleted my post. I see that the 2016 version of 34 (of which the guitar in question is one) had all these features. This is what you alluded to the other day in another post! I guess that when I think of the Legend, I think of the original run of highly accurate, all-hide glue guitars. Accurate of a specific guitar is more accurate. Gibson made J-45s with any number of features of 1942, so maybe the guitar in question is accurate to one of those! I must say, I prefer the finish on the 2016 version to the one with aged toner of the originals. It's the only reservation I have with mine. Red 333 Edited March 22 by Red 333 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 And the label reads. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 If I recall the rap is that with Legends built up to at least 2010, Gibson went as far as to resurrect old machinery so they could duplicate the saw marks on the bracing. The biggest difference I can see between my 1942 J50 and the 2016 Legend is the back braces. Those on my guitar are far more delicate. They are barely 1/4" wide tapering upward to a depth of around 1/16". Very similar to those on my 1932 L1. But as has been said, specs being what they were at the time, consistency was not exactly a strong point when it came to Banners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestros Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 (edited) On 3/22/2024 at 10:37 PM, DanvillRob said: What caused you to have a concern? The model name on the COA is hand written 🤪 it was just machine printed on all other J-45 legend COAs I have seen so far. maybe I am too paranoid 😅 Edited March 23 by Maestros Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 3 minutes ago, Maestros said: The model name on the COA is hand written 🤪 A search quickly revealed Legends where the model number on the COA was typed or hand written. Here you go. Gibson 1942 J-45 Legend - Vintage Sunburst | Reverb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestros Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 2 minutes ago, zombywoof said: A search quickly revealed Legends where the model number on the COA was typed or hand written. Here you go. Gibson 1942 J-45 Legend - Vintage Sunburst | Reverb Yes, this is the same guitar! have you seen other legend COAs with hand written model names? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestros Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 22 hours ago, Red 333 said: Yeah, I deleted my post. I see that the 2016 version of 34 (of which the guitar in question is one) had all these features. This is what you alluded to the other day in another post! I guess that when I think of the Legend, I think of the original run of highly accurate, all-hide glue guitars. Accurate of a specific guitar is more accurate. Gibson made J-45s with any number of features of 1942, so maybe the guitar in question is accurate to one of those! I must say, I prefer the finish on the 2016 version to the one with aged toner of the originals. It's the only reservation I have with mine. Red 333 Thanks for your input though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gearbasher Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 This guy was curious about the different COAs, also. BTW one is the same COA the OP is asking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maestros Posted March 23 Author Share Posted March 23 41 minutes ago, gearbasher said: This guy was curious about the different COAs, also. BTW one is the same COA the OP is asking about. So, I guess hand—written model names on COAs are nothing to worry about. thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted March 23 Share Posted March 23 1 hour ago, Maestros said: Thanks for your input though! No problem. There are other guitars from that run of 34 on the web, and the features match, so looks like the genuine article. My concern was that it didn't match the features of the original edition of Legends, but as Dave F has shown, Gibson changed the specs. Good luck and let us all know what route you go Red 333 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozz Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 (edited) I wouldn't worry at all about the COA , or the guitar. I have two Gibsons built about the same time as the 42 Legend in question. Mine are both 2015's. One has a COA with a typed model name and the other is handwritten. Both came from reputable shops that sell Gibson guitars. https://i.imgur.com/zUGhE2R.jpg Edited March 26 by Bozz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bozz Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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