LeGreatOne Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 Hello, I'm interested in buying a True Vintage J-45, but I've noticed there are TWO of these models currently available. They appear a bit different in the finishing, but the published specs seem to be identical. One has been around for a few years now and the other is a relatively recent introduction. I refer to the Gibson J-45 True Vintage guitars with Adirondack/Red Spruce tops and mahogany backs/sides, NOT the legend series or any other super expensive, limited, custom model; just the TWO J-45 True Vintage Adirondack/Red Spruce topped models presently selling almost everywhere at about $2999. I've found Harmony-Central reviews for the older model, and MF (an online store) claims Vintage Acoustic Guitar magazine has called the NEW model "Best new acoustic under $3K"... Well, how is the NEW model different from the OLD model? I see no difference between the two models other than sunburst brightness in the photos. PLEASE, WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE between these two guitars? Does one have a thinner neck profile (depth of wood, not nut width)? Why has one been phased out and a new one introduced? Does ANYONE know? I want to make the right choice, so when two apparently identical guitars are available, and one is replacing the other, I want to know the differences between the two and/or the reason for the replacement action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MapleManiac Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 No clue. But my three week old J45 TV is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 I've found Harmony-Central reviews for the older model' date=' and MF (an online store) claims Vintage Acoustic Guitar magazine has called the NEW model "Best new acoustic under $3K"... Well, how is the NEW model different from the OLD model?[/quote'] At the beginning of the year (or end of last year), Vintage Guitar Magazine (or maybe it was Acoustic Guitar Magazine, I can't remember which) named the TV as best new acoustic under $3K in the last TEN YEARS, so the "new" part is relative... Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGreatOne Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 If anyone reading this actually owns one of the TWO J-45 TV guitars, would you kindly go to musiciansfriend.com and SEARCH on Gibson J-45 True Vintage, which will bring up BOTH guitars, and then tell me which one you own? I'm a considerable distance from any Gibson retailer, at least 50 miles, and a few weeks ago I went to several stores (up to 80 miles away) and no store had one of these. I'm most interested in the neck profile; how thick the neck is, whether I can play the guitar comfortably and get my thumb over the bass E, or whether I should look for a different model. I don't have large hands, and I don't want to buy a guitar online and then send it back because it doesn't fit. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryp58 Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 I don't believe that there is any difference at all. Just Gibson marketing. Both are fantastic guitars, you can't go wrong with either one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 It is fine to do a bit of homework but in the end there is only one way I know of the make the right choice - forget the magazine reviews, forget the forums and go out and play a bunch of guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 If anyone reading this actually owns one of the TWO J-45 TV guitars' date=' would you kindly go to musiciansfriend.com and SEARCH on Gibson J-45 True Vintage, which will bring up BOTH guitars, and then tell me which one you own? Thanks![/quote'] LeGreatOne, only one True Vintage J-45 comes up when I search. When they have a model in stock in both "used" (meaning a customer return or trade-in that is discounted) and new versions (meaning previously unsold, not necesarily a new model), the listing will come up twice. Maybe that is what you saw. If you see anything else, post the link so we can have a look. I have a J45 TV and a True Vintage Southern Jumbo. The necks are very comfortable on both. I don't think they are too disimilar from the neck on my J45 Rosewood Vine, which in turn, is similar to the one found on the J45 Standard as far as I know. These necks are certainly less beefy than the one on my J35, which, while only about a tenth of an inch deeper, has a rounder, fuller profile. The J45 TV/SJ TV necks are a little flatter. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 It is fine to do a bit of homework but in the end there is only one way I know of the make the right choice - forget the magazine reviews' date=' forget the forums and go out and play a bunch of guitars. [/quote'] Amen. 50 miles is nothing. Play as many as you can get your hands on. All the best, Guth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eds111 Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 I had the same question last December so I e-mailed Gibson, this is the answer I got: Hello Ed, The difference between these 2, from the info that we can see below, is that the first one is the Guitar Center/Musician’s Friend exclusive J-45 TV. The 2nd one is our regular production J-45TV. The main only difference is the fact that the 2nd one has a hot hide glue top and comes in a brown, period correct case, while the first model will use a wood glue top and come in a standard black case. Thank you for the inquiry, and I hope this helps! Best regards, Benton Cummings Gibson Customer Service ?1-800-4GIBSON ?service@gibson.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eds111 Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 See attached text from the e-mail I sent in Dec 2009. Sorry the pics did not translate. Dear Gibson, Can you tell me what the difference between these two J45 True Vintage guitars below is? These are from Musicians Friends. Both seem consistent with the one on your website. Both say they are Red Spruce, one is $150 more than the other. Thank you! Ed #1 View All 5 Photos#515898 · Description · Reviews A limited edition with all the original appointments just like it debuted in 42. In the early 1940s, a Gibson sales rep lobbied hard for the development of a flattop dreadnought guitar to compete with other popular acoustics of the day. He was convincing enough that, despite wartime demands on the factory, Gibson launched the J-45 guitar in 1942, and it quickly became a staple of the Gibson Acoustic line. The J-45 True Vintage Special Edition boasts a historic aged look and popular vintage features like Adirondack (red) spruce top, mahogany back and sides, and a Madagascar rosewood fingerboard and bridge. From the blues to bluegrass to folk to pop and everything in-between, the J-45 True Vintage acoustic guitar delivers. Premium red spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides produce unmatched mellow, full-bodied tone. Gibson J-45 True Vintage Special Edition Acoustic Guitar Features: Round shoulder body style Premium red spruce top Mahogany back and sides 4-ply top, single-ply back Mahogany neck, V-shape profile 24-3/4" scale Madagascar rosewood fingerboard Mother-of-pearl dot inlays 1.725" nut width Madagascar rosewood bridge Mother-of-pearl dot bridge inlays White bridge pins White button nickel gotoh tuners Tortoise tear drop pickguard Gibson J-45 True Vintage Special Edition Acoustic Guitar Includes: hardshell case Don't miss out. Order today before they're gone. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #2 [ ][Go] Quick Find: Electric| Acoustic-Electric| Acoustic| Classical| Amps & Effects| Picks| Strings| Tuners Home » Guitars » Acoustic Guitars » 6 String Acoustic Guitars View All 3 Photos#527896 · Description · Specs · Reviews Gibson's "Workhorse" gets premium vintage treatment. The Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar is the prince of a range of Gibson flat-tops now referred to as "Round-Shoulder Dreadnoughts." This elegant workhorse debuted in 1942, and became an instant favorite for its rich, warm, vocal tone and excellent projection. Today, the J-45 acoustic is played by the likes of Bob Dylan, Ralph McTell, Billy Jo Armstrong, and Lucinda Williams. Carrying accurate touches such as a soft-V neck profile, teardrop tortoise pickguard, four-ply top binding, and banner headstock inlay (declaring "Only A Gibson Is Good Enough"), the J-45 True Vintage is an accurate representation of the instrument that became the standard of hard-gigging bluegrass, folk, and country artists of the 1940s and '50s. Each Limited Edition True Vintage J-45 is built in Bozeman, Montana with a top made from solid Adirondack Red Spruce, a rare and highly prized tone wood, and constructed with hot hide glue, just like back in the day. Gibson J-45 True Vintage Red Spruce Acoustic Guitar Features: Nitrocellulose lacquer finish for beauty and tone Hand-fit, tapered dovetail joint to maximize sound vibration transfer from the neck to body Radius top to maximize sound projection Hand-scalloped top bracing for added strength and a light top Handcrafted in Bozeman, MT Gibson J-45 True Vintage Red Spruce Acoustic Guitar Includes: vintage-style case Get one of these highly collectible J-45s before they're gone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGreatOne Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 Thanks folks, I appreciate the responses. By the way, I just checked at MF and they're only showing the latest J-45 True Vintage model, so someone may have bought the earlier version. Anyway, here is the link for the comparison page between the TWO J-45 True Vintage models and a Southern Jumbo I was considering, as well. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/compare?base_pid=513689&base_pid=515898&base_pid=527896 If the link doesn't seem complete, try this one: musiciansfriend.com/compare?base_pid=513689&base_pid=515898&base_pid=527896 I do have a bunch of guitars already, but haven't had a Gibson since I sold a '76 Les Paul Custom Deluxe way back in the early 80's; I was out of work at the time and it was necessary to pay the mortgage. I regretted it, but a roof overhead seemed more important than a guitar (and the neck was too chunky). I had my (bought new) 1965/66 Gretsch Nashville 6120 Chet Atkins model restored/refinished by Gibson's Nashville repair facility last year.... It took an ENTIRE YEAR to get the guitar back, No Joke, and cost about $5K, but they did a beautiful job, rebinding, refinishing/refretting, making the old guitar new again. It had collector value, so I was hesitant to have the work done, but the old cellulose binding was literally cracked and coming loose, the finish was worn, and I'd played the frets down to dust... Purists may not like it, but I had the guitar refinished in a beautiful tobacco sunburst, bought new Waverlys, replaced the old aluminum Bigsby with a gold plated model and had the other hardware replated. It is one gorgeous guitar, has a great, fast, slim neck, and absolutely superb tone - Twang with Clarity. I have a Martin D35, '74 model (again, bought new) that has such airy, clear acoustic tone... I'll never part with either of these guitars. I also have '90's Taylor 355 Jumbo 12 string, a very nice guitar; a Zager OM that I bought as an intro to small guitars (had horrible action when I received, but I corrected that); a D'Aspiranta/Peerless big body jazz guitar (nice jazz sound plugged in, awful boxy sound acoustically), superb playability on that guitar; a Guild GAD R30 OM that has the best neck of any acoustic I've ever played (1 3/4 inch nut, but such a narrow, almost flat, neck that I can play it well. It has awful tone, the polyurethane finish is so heavy - one must choose the right strings to get reasonable tone from it); and I have an Epiphone EL-00 that is probably the most fun one can get for the money. I keep the EL-00 at a niece's home so I'll have a guitar there when I visit. The EL-00 is such a bargain - I wish it had a wider nut/neck... I've been considering getting a Blues King, but the price seems outrageous for such a tiny guitar.... Anyway, thanks for your assistance. I do appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisA83 Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Someone else on here recently got a 'True Vintage' from (I think) Musician's Friend, that turned out to be an MF TV - i.e. not a TV. Make sure you get the right one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGreatOne Posted July 7, 2010 Author Share Posted July 7, 2010 (Following-up my original post) This morning I received a reply from Gibson Customer Service: Thanks for writing. The only difference between our 2008 model (which was an exclusive run for Guitar Center and Musician’s Friend), is that the top was glued on with wood glue, whereas our 2009 model (available to all dealers) has a top glued with hide glue. Thank you for the inquiry! Best regards, Gibson Customer Service 1-800-4GIBSON www.gibson.com ---------- A little earlier Guitar Center responded with the following: Thank you for your recent inquiry. There is no difference. One was just a Guitar Center exclusive run, but now the model isn't exclusive to us so the GC exclusive is being replaced with the regular one which is the same guitar. But we still have one left in the GC exclusives. We appreciate you choosing GuitarCenter.com Please feel free to contact us if you have any other questions or concerns. http://www.guitarcenter.com/ 866-498-7882 ---------- Sweetwater phoned and requested that I return the call (they like to discuss things), but provided no distinguishing info in the voice mail. MusiciansFriend apparently never received my Email, as their website's contact function is flaky. Anyway, no one mentioned the finish on either version of the guitar, nor did they mention the different cases. So one would assume the neck profile and woods used are the same, and that the top glue is the only significant difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGreatOne Posted July 15, 2010 Author Share Posted July 15, 2010 Update. Last Sunday, on a hunch.. can't explain it really, I took a drive to a Guitar Center that was new to me; I've never visited this particular store. I was searching for a Gibson J-45 True Vintage, other J-45s and AJs. This was not a big GC, but it was the nicest one I've seen, and it had a nice acoustic guitar display room. Inside I was surprised to see a wall full of new Gibsons, along with Martins and Taylors. Well, they didn't have a J-45 True Vintage, but they did have J-45s and AJs and an assortment of other Gibson acoustics, so I played almost everything in the room. I had pretty much settled on an AJ, when I happened to notice one tiny Martin on a stand, set apart from the Martins and Taylors hanging on the wall. At first glance I thought the fretboard was too wide (1 13/16") and it had a short scale 12 fret neck with a V shape, the sort of larger neck profile I was concerned about with the J-45 True Vintage (I spent an entire day at a great music store last year, trying dozens of smaller Martins in hopes of finding one with a comfortable neck profile - NONE of those guitars felt right). Being open-minded and curious, I thought I'd try the little guitar just to see why anyone would build one like that and THEN expect some fool to spend so much money to purchase it. Well, the little guitar with the oversized fretboard and 12 fret to the body, short-scale V-shaped neck was a 000-18 Norman Blake. This was NOT just another Martin. I have to say that I was astounded by the beauty and volume of sound that little guitar produced, and amazing as it seemed, my small hands didn't have much trouble with the neck profile. Oddly enough, the extra wide string spacing and V neck felt good! My guess is that the V profile was tapered narrower due to the 12 fret to the body design, but I can't confirm that. The volume...wow... for such a small guitar.. no, FORGET THAT! For ANY acoustic guitar, it was loud. Significantly louder than the AJ, and the loudest acoustic that I tried. The tone, though, that was truly something special. Anyway, I spent several hours comparing the various guitars, but I kept coming back to the little Martin. Truly, none of the other guitars even came close to its quality of sound. I felt an affinity to that guitar! I went to that GC looking to try out a Gibson slope shoulder for feel, to see how well it fit me, and then, if I decided to buy I'd have purchased it online to avoid the sales tax. However, I walked out with a more expensive, little, fat necked triple-0 and paid the taxes right there at the store, because, well... it was fate! It was Love at first Listen, the guitar felt right, and I didn't want to let it get away. Now, I'm not knocking Gibsons, because I like them and that's what I set out to buy, but there is something magical about this guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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