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Anyone have a Gibson TV J-45???


onewilyfool

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OWF, mine is from the limited run they did in '08. it's got the adi top / hog back/sides combo. i love it. i know not all TVs have that wood combination but if you can find it, i'd recommend it. they are out there and you should be able to snag one in the 1800 - 2000 range used. i have no experience with any others and i'm sure they're nice but this one, yowsuh!

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Opinions? Elaborations? Elongations? Warnings? Good price for a used one????? Thanks

 

I have one. An '08 with a Red Spruce top and a Custom Shop decal on the back of the neck. It's a fantastic guitar, with exceptional bass response. The first time I played it, I thought, "THAT'S what a guitar is suppossed to sound like." It's the sound I've always hoped my other guitars could make.

 

I also have a FVG J35 with a Red Spruce top, which also has the AJ bracing, but one fewer fret and a girthier neck. I'm surprised at the differences in their voices. Both are quick and responsive guitars, but the J35 has a kind of boisterous midrange, while the J45 TV has stronger, rumblier bass. (Note: This may be somewhat of unfair comparison; the J45 TV was suppossed to have been set up by the seller with fresh Masterbuilt 12s, like I have on my J35, but the strings it came with are not bronze colored, they're more gold. The dealer insisted they are Masterbuilts, but I don't so. I won't really know how both compare until I change the J45 TV' s strings myself.) The TV has great sustaining qualities, to use a McCartyism.

 

I have to admit, I was not a fan of the VOS finish, at least how it was executed on mine. There were many spots on the guitar that just looked cloudy, and some that seemed to have been left unbuffed. I've seen a few J45 TV's, and something about the VOS finish always kept me from pulling the trigger, and had me leaning toward a shiney, FVG Red Spruce J45 instead. I hadn't come across a TV that looked like this, though. But, the dang thing sounded so good, that instead of sending it back, I spent a few evenings polishing it carefully to even out the hazy parts, but retain the soft patina. On the plus side, the laquer looks as if it's very thin: the top has a nice corduroy quality you can see and feel. The burst is beautiful (as always, Gibson), and I really like the aged binding.

 

The neck is very comfortable shape. I'd say it's the same profile as the AJ's, but in the shorter scale, naturally. Lovely madagascar (I presume) fretboard and bridge.

 

Mine came in the tan and pink case, and I gotta say, I'm not especially impressed with it. There are some bubbles below the brown vinyl or whatever it is, and the edges of the brown stuff's seams have some little threads coming off them. It DOES have a lot of latches, though.

 

I would definitely audition a J45 TV if you get the chance. Despite the hazy finish on mine, it's a dream guitar.

 

I've seen used ones recently on eBay for between $2100 and $2500. I haven't seen any in the price range jannusguy quoted. That would be a steal, imo, as that's what standard used J45's go for in these parts. Some of the used price variance may have to do with various ways Gibson has released these, some with one kind of case, some with another, some with the Custom Shop label, some without.

 

Just for grins, I looked up the price of a new one on Musician's Friend, and they have TWO versions of the J45 Red Spruce TV, one for $2999 and one for $3149. I don't know what the difference is (maybe year of manufacture), I just know they keep getting more expensive!

 

Red 333

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I've got a 2008 J-45 TV topped with Sitka. I've been extremely pleased with it. I've liked the sound of this instrument quite a bit better than the other TVs I tried given my preferences and playing style. As always, you owe it to yourself to try as many as you can get your hands on.

 

The other notable thing is that the TVs are very lightly built. Mine weighs in at just under 4 pounds. Like Red's mine also came with the tan case with pink lining with enough latches to fill a hardware store.

 

I've posted these before, but here are a couple of quick recordings I made of the guitar. I string mine up with D'Addario Phosphor Bronze (mediums/13s). The recordings were made with my Sony digital flash recorder, with no additional processing or effects added. I'm primarily a fingerpicker, so no flatpicking/strumming going on here, and the playing could always use improvement, but if you're listening with headphone (as opposed to laptop/PC speakers) you can get a pretty good idea of how my Gibson sounds via these clips. Probably better than me trying to describe it anyway.

 

"Walking Nick"

 

"Simple Blues"

 

All the best,

Guth

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By the way Red,

 

If you have any way to make recordings of your instruments, I would be very interested to hear a back to back comparison of your J-35 and J-45 once you get a chance to string 'em up with the same strings.

 

All the best,

Guth

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  • 7 months later...

OWF,

 

I've got an "07 J-45 TV, I guess I didn't bring it up to Stephen's house for you to play, I think it was the L-50 (1950) and of course the mandolin.

 

Good huntin', hopefully you can find a used one that's played in and has some character dings & scratches. I'll never buy a brand new stringed instrument again, I love them with a little playin' wear & tear - it means they were used not abused or left in the case.

 

I guess you could always tone-rite w/ a new one [biggrin]

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Thanks for the compliments guys. I've been working on something new to add, but I just can't crank 'em out nearly as fast as Buc & others seem to be able to do.

 

OWF, hope things work out with the J-45.

 

All the best,

Guth

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I purchased a mint 2007 J-45 TV on Ebay last November and I paid $1860.00 then the shipping. They have the sitka tops. I lucked out because it sounds fantastic and looked like it had been kept under the bed. Even the brown case was mint.

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