J-45 True Vintage

[Space Pup]

Gibson truely hit the nail on the head when they introduced the True Vintage series of acoustic guitars. The True Vintage series currently consists if the SJ-200, J-185, Hummingbird, J-45 and the Southern Jumbo. My review will deal with the J-45 only since I just added it to my collection.

 

The J-45 True Vintage combines a Honduran Mahogany body & neck, Select Sitka Spruce top, and Madagascar Rosewood fretboard & bridge to prodeuce a guitar that has a rich, mellow, and balanced tone with crisp highs that give off that classic Gibson jangle. Strumming the J-45 True Vintage I quickly noticed how the chords flow smoothly one to another without any cross blending or piling on top of each other. This produces a vintage tone that shines on songs like "The Narrow Way, Part 1" and "Like a Rolling Stone". The 24.75" scale not only makes both flat and finger picking a breeze but allows each note to ring out full and clear. This Literally brings songs like "Kind Hearted Woman" to life. The "cursive" Gibson logo and "Only a Gibson is Good Enough" banner on the headstock along with the brown case with pink liner complete the True Vintage effect. The only drawback I could find is that the J-45 True Vintage does not have a pick up so for those of you who record or play live the J-45 True Vintage will require an external mic.

 

The J-45 True Vintage is the perfect guitar for those of us who love the classic Gibson sound but can't afford a real 1940's Gibson. It's easy to see why the J-45 has such a devotion among players as the "go to" guitar for the studio as well as the stage and why artists from all styles of music have given the J-45 the nickname "The Workhorse". If you get a chance to play the J-45 True Vintage, I'm sure you'll find it to be nothing short of a real tone monster.

[guitarstrummer]

Great, informative review, Spacepup.