beginnerguitar Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 I have a standard J45 (2023) just started playing about a year ago now. I was taken by the looks of the 60s reissue (black and white) so I bought one. I love it, sounds great and looks even better in person. My only concern is I cant find anything on saddle height or like a Adj saddle 101. from looking at other examples my saddle seems so high. Ive tried lowering it but any fraction of a height less than .80 Low E causes string buzz around those 9-12th frets. Looking at pictures my saddle seems to be extremely high comparatively. Just looking to get some advice and learn a thing or two. most videos are of converting the saddle to the standard config like my reg J45. any help, tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated. If I have to take it to a shop I will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beginnerguitar Posted April 29 Author Share Posted April 29 (edited) On 4/26/2024 at 12:18 PM, beginnerguitar said: I have a standard J45 (2023) just started playing about a year ago now. I was taken by the looks of the 60s reissue (black and white) so I bought one. I love it, sounds great and looks even better in person. My only concern is I cant find anything on saddle height or like a Adj saddle 101. from looking at other examples my saddle seems so high. Ive tried lowering it but any fraction of a height less than .80 Low E causes string buzz around those 9-12th frets. Looking at pictures my saddle seems to be extremely high comparatively. Just looking to get some advice and learn a thing or two. most videos are of converting the saddle to the standard config like my reg J45. any help, tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated. i have tried using the truss rod every which way. i try taking the guitar back to factory .60 and .40 and its not even playable. also using capo on first fret and measuring low e with business card and high e with piece of paper (per gibson youtube) all is good but still unplayable i live in a very small town where i have a walmart and pawn shops lol so taking it to someone is out of the question unless i mail it. lastly dont hold back on feedback i would love to hear im an idiot followed by an easy fix. thanks to everyone who took time to read Edited April 29 by beginnerguitar Trying to cover all bases Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 Hi - and congrats with slope #2. I would screw the adj. saddle all down to full body-contact - then remove the truss rod shield and tweak the tr between '3 and 5 minutes'. You'ld need the right tool AND ! , , , the right direction - which is toward the treb-side when the guitar is on your knees head to the left. If you sense something alarming while goin' STOP - but you probably won't. Welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorristownSal Posted April 29 Share Posted April 29 (edited) I too bought a recent 60s reissue with the adj saddle. There was too much relief in the neck (think U curve instead of near flat). It was clear the prior owner did a bit too much tweaking of the guitar without knowing what he/she was doing, got frustrated with how it played when he/she couldn’t get it right, and sold it. When I opened the truss rod cover and tried to turn the truss nut, it was stiff and creaked. That’s when I brought it to a shop. No guitar center please! that nut is now lubed. The truss nut is also adjusted so that the neck is near flat. And the saddle adjustments can be made so that low frets and high frets have low action, no buzzing, harmoniously. its my favorite guitar. Congrats… Edited April 30 by MorristownSal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beginnerguitar Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 16 hours ago, MorristownSal said: I too bought a recent 60s reissue with the adj saddle. There was too much relief in the neck (think U curve instead of near flat). It was clear the prior owner did a bit too much tweaking of the guitar without knowing what he/she was doing, got frustrated with how it played when he/she couldn’t get it right, and sold it. When I opened the truss rod cover and tried to turn the truss nut, it was stiff and creaked. That’s when I brought it to a shop. No guitar center please! that nut is now lubed. The truss nut is also adjusted so that the neck is near flat. And the saddle adjustments can be made so that low frets and high frets have low action, no budding, harmoniously. its my favorite guitar. Congrats… i ordered mine straight from gibson the truss rod sounds exactly like what you described. definitely find a shop i can take it to. thanks so much!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beginnerguitar Posted April 30 Author Share Posted April 30 20 hours ago, E-minor7 said: Hi - and congrats with slope #2. I would screw the adj. saddle all down to full body-contact - then remove the truss rod shield and tweak the tr between '3 and 5 minutes'. You'ld need the right tool AND ! , , , the right direction - which is toward the treb-side when the guitar is on your knees head to the left. If you sense something alarming while goin' STOP - but you probably won't. Welcome thank you so much for your time replying and your advice it is much appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted April 30 Share Posted April 30 59 minutes ago, beginnerguitar said: thank you so much for your time replying and your advice it is much appreciated!! A pleasure ^ go with care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cayine Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 On 4/29/2024 at 1:27 PM, MorristownSal said: I too bought a recent 60s reissue with the adj saddle. There was too much relief in the neck (think U curve instead of near flat). It was clear the prior owner did a bit too much tweaking of the guitar without knowing what he/she was doing, got frustrated with how it played when he/she couldn’t get it right, and sold it. When I opened the truss rod cover and tried to turn the truss nut, it was stiff and creaked. That’s when I brought it to a shop. No guitar center please! that nut is now lubed. The truss nut is also adjusted so that the neck is near flat. And the saddle adjustments can be made so that low frets and high frets have low action, no buzzing, harmoniously. its my favorite guitar. Congrats… read more I’m looking to buy my first J-45. My brother had a 2005 “Historic Collection” and it sounds fantastic. Any idea which model I should shoot for? I see that Gibson has a J45 standard, 50s, and 60s model right now. Any advice would be great. Im thinking I’ll try to score a slightly used newer model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieDog Posted May 19 Share Posted May 19 (edited) 5 hours ago, cayine said: I’m looking to buy my first J-45. My brother had a 2005 “Historic Collection” and it sounds fantastic. Any idea which model I should shoot for? I see that Gibson has a J45 standard, 50s, and 60s model right now. Any advice would be great. Im thinking I’ll try to score a slightly used newer model. You really have to play them, if you can. If you liked the Historic, start looking for those. Be aware, there are tons of variations on the J-45 out there, including “Studios” that are a slightly different build and tone woods, like Walnut and Rosewood. Less expensive but great guitars in their own right, (my first is a Walnut Studio I still dig) but they are narrower and sound a bit different than the full size. Otherwise, all the variations out there are trying to play off the good old, J-45 Standard, which is going to be a spruce top and a mahogany back and sides. A lot of the variations are cosmetic, like the 50’s faded, or the Murphy Lab pre-battered. But some features are important to the sound, like using other woods/nuts/and bridges/saddles, or having a pre-aged/torrified top trying to replicate the sound of an actual vintage guitar. There have been some great posts here about the variety of J-45s. And there are tons of videos demo-ing different models. Study specs of each build carefully so you get a feel for which one has the qualities you are looking for. You might be able to find a combo similar to the historic you played, either by a just buying a vintage used one, or in one of the other builds over the years, if you can’t pop for an actual vintage or one of the Historic special builds. Be aware, older can often be an asset in any acoustic guitars. Don’t limit yourself to “newer used.” Unless it is a special build only available then, newer isn’t always better. What you liked about your brothers might have as much to do with it being 20 years aged, beyond it being an Historic. But again, there is no substitute for playing them. They’re all going to be different, even in the same build. The first new J-45 Standard I tried in a store was a complete dog. I asked about it here, and I think someone compared the sound I was describing to being stuffed with wet socks. Nailed it. I’ve been looking for a good one for months now. I keep missing the boat on the good used ones. (I will say, I haven’t played a ‘70s era one yet that was worth the time it took to pick it up, but people say there are some diamonds out there, even in the Norlin period.) It’s really a zoo out there. So if you find one you like, jump on it. We’re all circling the same pond 🙂 Good luck and happy hunting. Edited May 19 by PrairieDog 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorristownSal Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 (edited) I bought a wine red 60s reissue J45 used for about $1900, and a 60s J50 Original reissue as well for $1700. They have the adjustable bridges, and I think they both sound terrific and extremely close in tone. They are pretty well priced in near new condition, and seem to be plentiful. i tried the 50s faded J-45 but it lacked depth to my ear. Kind of brash. Edited May 21 by MorristownSal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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