New to me 1957 J45

[Soundwarrior]

Here is the 1957 J45 . I just recieved in a trade for my Martin Hd28. It needs a little love though but sounds great. The funny thing is I have a new 2010 J45 that I bought coming to me tomorrow. I guess I will be able to compare. I may sell the older one or the newer I don't know yet but do not plan on keeping both. How much do you think this 57 J45 is worth? Here is some pics. If I did keep it where should I send it in to get it back in better shape. I mean it plays great,sounds great and action is nice about 3/32 but I think would benefit from someone making any necassary repairs. Some of the marks like the scratches on left body on top just look like it just dug into the nitro not really into the wood. The back looks like it was bumped on one side but held together . Tuners are not original but they are grovers. I would replace these if I kept it with something that stays in better tune. Maybe get the bridge replaced with a drop in bone saddle.

[Hoss]

I just scanned the pictures very briefly -- as in I only enlarged one. If you got this for an HD28, you got a deal, I'd say. HD28's have been in the $1600 - $1900 range for a couple years. Even if this Old J45 needed @ $750 of work done, you should make out just fine.

 

Besides- nothing like an old J45!

[docwatsonfan]

quote: Anyways have a look and tell me what you think about it.

 

wow, my birth year, so I think I should own it lol

sweet!

[BigKahune]

Congrats on TWO J45.

 

The 57 looks in pretty good condition.

 

And you've got 2010 coming.

 

Must be really, really nice.

[Pickax]

Great looking Guitar for it being 53 years old! I'd agree that you got a great deal if you traded this for an HD-28. Very cool.

[Soundwarrior]

What can I clean this with? The neck has some of the nitro missing and on the top some of the marks expose the wood. Could I just get a light damp cloth and wipe it down or would that affect the bare wood. I do have some axe wax but do not know if that is what to use.

[zeebee]

I had a '59 that looked like it had never been cleaned. Virtuoso cleaner/polish did an incredible job......so much so that my kid, upon seeing it exclaimed..."damn now the mojo's gone". Go figure. I would keep everything off bare wood though.

[fp]

So you took my advice from your previous thread and traded, good for you. It looks much better in your pictures then it did in the owners pictures. Don't worry about the lacquer missing on the neck, it shouldn't cause you any problem playing it. Use a damp cotton cloth and maybe just a touch of dish soap to clean the body and neck. You don't want to get the areas on the neck where there is no finsh too wet. Rub it down with the damp cloth then use a dry one to dry it up real good.

Now as far as the bridge goes. I recently had a 60 J45 that had the original adjustable bridge. Now I replaced mine only because the bridge Gibson made was so thin, only 3/16 tall and it was original and hadn't been sanded down. Now because the bridge was so thin the adj. saddle was really tall, it sounded like crap and played like crap, and with that tall of saddle it's bad for the top. I had Dennis Berck in Eugene Oregon make a new bridge from Brazilian rosewood with the exact same footprint as the original. The new bridge was the proper height so I was able to have a saddle that wasn't ridiculously tall. The guitar sounded and played a thousand times better.

Now I'm not telling you to replace your bridge, that's up to you. I've owned plenty of Gibsons with the adj. saddle and I got along with them fine but this 1960 just really needed to have it done.

Depending on who you sold your guitar to you are looking at a low of $2500 to a high of $3800, give or take of course. Now if a dealer owned it, it would be priced somewhat higher. Keep in mind a dealer will pay you more for it with the original bridge where as a player may appreciate a replaced bridge and fixed saddle.

Good luck and congrats on a great deal. You may not like this J45 as much as your HD28 but if it was a straight across trade you came out looking real good from a dollar point of view.

[Soundwarrior]

Thanks fp. I actually like the sound of this Gibson compared to the Hd-28. It is not as big sounding as the Hd-28 which makes it great for songwriting and singing which is what I wanted and I am sure it will record really well. I going to pull it out the case and start a little cleaning. I will see how the new J45 compares tomorrow and let you guys know what I think.

[zombywoof]

Glad you made the deal. Told you in the other thread - value wise ya done real good. The thing about your '57 is that Bozeman does not make a guitar with the same style of top bracing yours has so if you like it you best keep it.

[Gilliangirl]

Oooooh, excellent catch, Soundwarrior! Now don't make any hasty decisions. You don't want your next thread to be "The guitar I should have kept...."

 

Pickax, i love the little furry one in your avatar.

[Soundwarrior]

Gilliangirl. I was thinking about that just today. It has actually happend to me. I owned a 2001-2003 I can't even remeber the year 1958 Les Paul reissue, I hand picked it out of a couple and this was the one for me. Butterscotch top. Just sounded fabulous. I then wanted a 59 reissue but decided to get a custom guitar built which is just as good as the 58 reissue just a differrent tone and feel. I still to this regret doing that to this day and wish I still had that Les paul. I don't want that to happen again.

[Gilliangirl]

Gilliangirl. I was thinking about that just today. It has actually happend to me. I owned a 2001-2003 I can't even remeber the year 1958 Les Paul reissue' date=' I hand picked it out of a couple and this was the one for me. Butterscotch top. Just sounded fabulous. I then wanted a 59 reissue but decided to get a custom guitar built which is just as good as the 58 reissue just a differrent tone and feel. I still to this regret doing that to this day and wish I still had that Les paul. I don't want that to happen again. [/quote']

Oh dear, that's downright depressing.

I threw out my first guitar one day in a moment of insanity. Financially speaking, the thing was probably only worth $2.79, but to me it was worth the world. I didn't clue in to this until an hour later when I went outside to the garbage bin and it was gone, along with my books and everything. I'll never get over that.

[Soundwarrior]

Alright the new J45 came in toady and with bone nut as requested by Janet Davis Music which was a bonus on my part and sounds absolutley amazing. I have been playing a J45 at a store where I live and this one sounds completely different in a better way to my ears at least. I am so happy with this new J45. I may just have to keep both of these guitars and when I have the money put it into the vintage. Honestly though I would completely be satisified with just having this new J45. The older one sounds woodier and drier which is not a bad thing it does have older strings on it though compared to the new J45. I need the same new strings on both and hear how they sound. They both sound good just different. Differrent enough to be 2 different guitars. How long does it take for that new nitro smell to wear off by the way?

[Pickax]

Pickax, i love the little furry one in your avatar.

 

That's Ike, my French Bulldog. He was just a pup in that picture and he is now a year old. What a great dog!

 

 

Soundwarrior- does you new 45 have much Saddle height on the high E string? I've noticed a lot of new and used J-45's have low saddle height on the high E string. Not much string break on the high E but they still ring out loud and clear. I asked about this in a previous thread and someone responded it is the result of the radius Gibson uses on the fretboard.

[nid2007]

I've never played a bad '57 of any model Gibson. Congrats!

[Guth]

That's a sweet looking ol' J-45. You should definitely string it up with the same strings as those which came on the new J-45 before making a comparison. You could also have the setup checked on both.

 

Congratulations,

Guth

[Soundwarrior]

Pickax

You are right there is not a lot of saddle and not much string break on the high E.

[Soundwarrior]

Soundwarrior- does you new 45 have much Saddle height on the high E string? I've noticed a lot of new and used J-45's have low saddle height on the high E string. Not much string break on the high E but they still ring out loud and clear. I asked about this in a previous thread and someone responded it is the result of the radius Gibson uses on the fretboard.

 

You are right there is not a lot of saddle and not much string break on the high E.

[Soundwarrior]

Tried them both out with new strings and the 57 would be my first choice but for a guitar sounding good straight out the box the new J45 sounds great but doesn't have the depth in the bass or highs and woodiness of the 57. Although the new j45 sounds louder. I thinkg in a month my new J45 will mellow out a little although it does sound great right now. Al least that is what happened with the new Martin D-28 I had it took about a month or so. Unfortunaletly I still may sell the 57 becuase of the smoke smell it has on it. Unless there is a way to get rid of it. Also the neck feel a lot better on the 57 it is fatter towards the bottom.

[Jinder]

Soundwarrior, there was a thread here a year or so ago about getting the smoke smell out of a guitar...I remember someone mentioning something about putting caustic soda in a cotton bag inside the soundhole...although I may be wrong. It could be worth searching for, that '57 is too beautiful to part with.

[KL]

Soundwarrior' date=' there was a thread here a year or so ago about getting the smoke smell out of a guitar...I remember someone mentioning something about putting caustic soda in a cotton bag inside the soundhole...although I may be wrong. It could be worth searching for, that '57 is too beautiful to part with.[/quote']

 

DO NOT PUT CAUSTIC SODA ANYWHERE NEAR YOU GUITAR OR ANYTHING ELSE FOR THAT MATTER INCLUDING HUMAN SKIN

 

. . . . Jinder means Baking soda, which is something totally different

 

Caustic soda is sodium hypochlorite which is an extremely strong alkali. It is a dangerous chemical to handle!

[Soundwarrior]

Thanks KL. I want to clean the guitar because you can only smell smoke when you put your nose up to the body or when your playing it you can smell from the sound hole and I am not sure if the soundhole smells like smoke of just dusty musty stuff although I still can smell a little sweet mohogany. I tried a little soapy water in a spot on the black top of the guitar wear there is still nitro and yellow junk just came up and left it kind of hazy. I do not know what to use to clean it becuase of some of the exposed wood on certain parts of the guitar I do not want to get any chemical on the exposed wood. If I could clean the whole guitar good and get up all the gunk I think it wouldn't smell that bad. The smell is minor. I am thinking of buying some of those volanic rock bags and putting them in the sound hole. They are suppose to absorb smells. Maybe some cedar chips in there.

[J185-4Me]

Nice nice, very nice!

 

Congratulations on that nice score!

 

Fred

[Pickax]

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