MyJ-45 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Okay guys so my next door neighbor has an old J45 that is in MINT condition with the exception of one small scuff on the back of the guitar. No cracks, no repairs. Almost a scratch-free finish. I can have this thing for much less than its worth but my question is, can anyone help me on the year? I don't have access to the serial number right now as the guitar is in its case next door. BUT...I do have this picture... Can anyone look at this and tell me what year it might be from? From my research it looks like a 67 or a 68. Also, what might it be worth considering the condition? Thanks for any help at all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyJ-45 Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 hopefully this isn't the wrong section for this sort of question... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windwalker9000 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Do you know far sure if it is a Kalamazoo are a Nashville? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyJ-45 Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 i really have no idea. I'll go ahead and guess Kalamazoo...what would be the difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I think that kind of pick guard points to late 60's. Can you look inside the sound hole and see if there is anything written on the neck block......also see if there is a number stamped on the back of the headstock.......good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyJ-45 Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 I think that kind of pick guard points to late 60's. Can you look inside the sound hole and see if there is anything written on the neck block......also see if there is a number stamped on the back of the headstock.......good luck i will post that information when I have full access to the guitar after i purchase it. i was just curious if anyone could just look at it and take a guess. thank you so much for the information, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisA83 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Yeah that pickguard with 'Gibson' on is mid-late 60s. "gibson logos were added to the pickguards in 1966" http://vintage-guitars.blogspot.com/2005/12/gibson-j-45.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Either way, if you can get it for much less than its worth and it looks and plays great then who cares which year it was made in ? Grab it while its still available .. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 This foxy guitar on that nice quilted patchwork rug might be from 66 or 67, is my humble guess. I would go for it anytime – even though it has the adjustable rosewood saddle and probably the narrow 1 - 9/16 nut. It is Kalamazoo with a big K ! Let's hear what happens. . . By the way – what exactly is the meaning behind the symbol in front of the p-guard logo ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Do you know far sure if it is a Kalamazoo are a Nashville? Were J45s (or indeed any acoustics) ever made in Nashville? If so, not before the 1980s, surely? By which time the round shoulders had long disappeared. Must be a Kalamazoo Gibson, I'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spot Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 It's definately a late '60's model w/ Narrow nut, Adj bridge and logo on the pick guard...Get the Serial number when you can but I'd pretty much for sure say it's a '68.. It's value? Depends on who you speak to but these models are NOT in high demand. I'd say US$ 1,000 to 1,500 on EBAY and a bit more in a shop. Condition should help a bit... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Marsh Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I'd jump on it if the price is right. The adjustable bridge/saddle is a non-issue as you can have it converted to a non-adjustable without altering the originality (Just in case any prospective buyer argues the point) - We've converted so many adjustables and Norlin era plastic bridges at the shop that it could qualify as a career in itself. Beautiful old axe - I envy you! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 The guitar has an odd combination of features, but I'd say between '66 and '68. The belly-up adjustable bridge says earlier rather than later in this period period. Logo on the pickguard suggests '66 or later, but clearly no later than '68 due to the body shape. The fact that its a darkburst rather than a cherry burst is a huge plus. My '48 J-45 was re-topped by Gibson in '68, and came back with a cherry burst top and thick pickguard like this, plus double purfling on the soundhole. However, they also put on a belly-down adjustable bridge (just shoot me at this point), rather than this belly-up, which mimics the shape of the fixed bridges used in the early 50's. It isn't clear, however, that the work done in the Gibson repair shop in this period exactly tracked the combination of features found on production guitars at the same time. I can't judge the nut width from the photo, but it actually looks wider than 1 9/16". (I have multiple Gibsons with both 1 9/16 and 1 11/16 nuts, so I'm pretty tuned in to the visual differences.) If the price is right, I'd go for it, and look at replacing the bridge with a non-adjustable bridge on the same footprint. Keep the old bridge, just in case at some point in the future adjustable-bridge J-45s from the late 60's become collectible. Can't imagine why they would, but when I bought my '48 J 45 in 1966, it was just a beat-up old guitar worth just about the $50 I paid for it. Still have it, too. And, by the way, the narrow-nut guitars are playable, but are better for flat-picking than finger picking, IMHO. I just bought a 000-28 EC for fingerpicking (Lord forgive me: I now have two guitars from CFM), but I actually prefer my 1 9/16" neck J-45 (and that's another story: how I ended up with a 1 9/16" 20-fret neck on a '48 J-45) for blues flat picking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spot Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I can't judge the nut width from the photo, but it actually looks wider than 1 9/16". I've NEVER seen a late 60's j-45 or j-50 with a wider nut. Saying that, we still don't have a serial to date her, however, if she is a '66-'68 I'd bet the house on nothing wider than 1 5/8! Which may work fine for some folks, and will sure help in your price negotiations... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 Okay guys so my next door neighbor has an old J45 that is in MINT condition with the exception of one small scuff on the back of the guitar. .... Nice. . . So, after all this info, what do plan to offer for her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 I've NEVER seen a late 60's j-45 or j-50 with a wider nut. Saying that, we still don't have a serial to date her, however, if she is a '66-'68 I'd bet the house on nothing wider than 1 5/8! Which may work fine for some folks, and will sure help in your price negotiations... Generally, I agree with you, but I wouldn't be rash enough to "bet the house" on anything with regard to the year the Gibson made specific changes on individual guitars. At least for ES 335 electrics (which I also play and collect), sometime during the nominal 1965 model year was when the move to narrower nuts began, and I suspect the same holds true for acoustics. Some marketing genius probably came up with that one, but he must not have been a guitar player, or he must have had small hands and really skinny fingers. When buying ANY vintage Gibson--acoustic or electric--I would take nothing for granted, and would want an accurate nut measurement, particularly if you absolutely cannot live with the narrower nut that prevailed at least from the late 1960's through the early 1980's. I definitely agree that a 1 11/16" nut width on a short-scale guitar (like most Gibsons) gives ideal string spacing up and down the neck, and I have pretty average-size hands. By the time you get to the fifth fret or so, the string spacing difference between a 1 9/16" nut and a 1 11/16" nut isn't that important for most people. It's fifth-string barre chords on the first frets that tend to give people trouble with the narrower nut width: there ain't a lot of room to crowd your fingers in there. And you'd better learn to be pretty accurate with your pickin'. Having said all this, that J-45 looks pretty damn nice, despite the adj bridge and the potential for a narrower nut. By the way, a 1 5/8" nut feels surprisingly wider than a 1 9/16" nut despite being only 1/16" wider. And the 1 3/4" nut on my 000-28 EC seems huge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-1854Me Posted May 17, 2011 Share Posted May 17, 2011 My guess is '67 or '68, based on the round-shouldered body, that oh-so-cool pickguard (love those!), and the sunburst pattern. Other information would be helpful too, but the serial numbers were recycled to a degree during that period, making it a bit trickier to rely on them. I don't believe that the stencilled-logo pickguard was used as early as '66 and I don't think it was used after '68 either, which also happens to (roughly) coincide with when the square-shouldered J-45 appeared on the scene. Fred Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyJ-45 Posted May 17, 2011 Author Share Posted May 17, 2011 Wow! Thanks so much for all the information guys! I'll post up what I offered him after I buy it! I told him my offer...he said he'd have to sleep on it. Hopefully he ends up wanting to give it to me. We shall see. I will post up some very nice pictures when / if i purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fp Posted May 18, 2011 Share Posted May 18, 2011 It's a 67 or 68 for sure. I've seen lots of these pickguards and every one was a 68. The non cherry sunburst was used in 67 and 68. Serial # on back of headstock will let you know for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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