J-45, Advanced Jumbo and Firestripe pickguards

[powerpopper]

In the slope-shouldered dreadnaught department, my understanding has always been thus:

 

J-45=Short scale, Mahogany back and sides

Advanced Jumbo=Standard scale, Rosewood back and sides

 

Is there a Gibson that was standard scale but with Mahogany back and sides? I have seen J-45's with various wood combinations (Rosewood, Koa, Maple) but is there a Mahogany, standard scale, slope-shouldered Gibson?

 

Bonus question...are firestripe pickguards more prevalent on Advanced Jumbos?

[Guth]

Based on my experiences, when it comes to Gibsons, you can find pretty much any combination of body style/tonewoods/scale length if you look hard enough (or custom order). Your observations reflect the standard, traditional configurations, but there are countless variations out there.

 

As far as the pick guards go, in terms of percentages, you are correct. The AJs typically all seem to feature the firestripe guards in the shape like on the L-00, J-35, etc.. On the J-45s these days, you'll typically find them with the tortoise style guards in the teardrop shape (although you'll find vintage examples correctly configured with the firestripe guard in the teardrop shape), as well as the batwing guard on some of the reissue models. Although once again, you're bound to find some exceptions if you look hard enough.

 

I'm guessing that some of the others here will jump in with even more detailed responses regarding model years, etc..

 

All the best,

Guth

[zombywoof]

I agree with Guth. Ain't saying it is good or bad but tradition ain't one of Bozeman's strong points. Ren has wide latitude in his designs and has come up with a whole bunch of guitars with mix and match features. I still don't get the natural top J-45 though.

[rar]

Ren has wide latitude in his designs and has come up with a whole bunch of guitars with mix and match features.

 

The dealers are a major factor too. For example, a dealer called up Bozeman to ask if they could build some "short-scale AJs". Not just in rosewood, but also in koa, maple, and mahogany. The initial reaction was "Short-scale AJ? What the ...??" But, if a dealer wants it, they'll build it.

 

And, of course, dealers wouldn't order this oddball stuff if it didn't sell. So the ultimate problem is that most buyers don't know or care about Gibson tradition.

 

-- Bob R

[Red 333]

In the slope-shouldered dreadnaught department, my understanding has always been thus:

 

J-45=Short scale, Mahogany back and sides

Advanced Jumbo=Standard scale, Rosewood back and sides

 

Is there a Gibson that was standard scale but with Mahogany back and sides?

 

When Gibson was in Kalamazoo, they made the Epiphone Texan. It was was essentially the same as the J-45, but with the long (regular) scale and fancier fretboard inlays. The Texan was recently revived by Epiphone, and is now being built in Gibson-Epiphone's facility in China.

 

Red 333