brannon67 Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Im trying to decide between the Gibson AJ PRO(sunburst) or the J45 Classic both $1999.00 at GC. I sold another electric, so I have the cash to buy. Help me out, help me decide. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedzep Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Hey Brannon...if you throw a couple hundred more bucks into the pot you could score a late 50's, pre-adj bridge J45. I don't know why anyone buys new when it takes so long for the tonewoods to open up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Jedzep, can you fill us in on where you're finding '50s J45s for $2200? It's impossible to find any '50s J45s that are anywhere near playable in the UK for less than £3000 ($4500). It's worth mentioning that if someone wants a guitar to be a working instrument, doing 200+ gigs a year, a vintage instrument isn't an option. Too much opportunity for damage, and, in general, a 50/60yr old guitar is just too fragile for this kind of work. I know plenty of players who use vintage instruments (I have a 119yr old Lyon & Healy parlour), but none of 'em take out their old warhorses for regular live work. I agree that vintage generally=better tone and maturation of tonewoods, but I'd far rather take my AJ out for a gig, just for peace of mind. Brannon, I'd go for the AJ. I adore mine, it's so good that it's ruined other guitars for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Bran, while either of those has that certain ineffable Gibson quality, they really are different beasts. One's a short-scale sweet voiced hog-back. The other is a long-scale up front rosewood job. Listen to some J45s and advanced jumbos on ytube--you'll hear what I mean. The cliche is J45 for folkie/blues/roots music and for singers; AJs for leads and string bands. But our man Jinder is more in category 1, and he loves his AJ, so dont believe everything you hear. Edit: I see from another post you are into DADGAD, Bran. That might incline you to the AJ (more string tension=pitch stability). But listen first. Look on YT for a clip of Bron-y-ar (however that goes) in low C and of When a Knight has Won His Spurs, also low C bass, on a J185 (like the J45, a short scale Gibson). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Hey Brannon...if you throw a couple hundred more bucks into the pot you could score a late 50's, pre-adj bridge J45. I don't know why anyone buys new when it takes so long for the tonewoods to open up. If you can let me know where you can find those for that price, let me know. I'll take a dozen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Bran, while either of those has that certain ineffable Gibson quality, they really are different beasts. One's a short-scale sweet voiced hog-back. The other is a long-scale up front rosewood job. Listen to some J45s and advanced jumbos on ytube--you'll hear what I mean. The cliche is J45 for folkie/blues/roots music and for singers; AJs for leads and string bands. But our man Jinder is more in category 1, and he loves his AJ, so dont believe everything you hear. Edit: I see from another post you are into DADGAD, Bran. That might incline you to the AJ (more string tension=pitch stability). But listen first. Look on YT for a clip of Bron-y-ar (however that goes) in low C and of When a Knight has Won His Spurs, also low C bass, on a J185 (like the J45, a short scale Gibson). I know those Youtube videos, Rambler. That 185 sounds nice to me - presumably the one that got away from EuroAussie. Still, I wouldn't swap my Woody for it - hog still wins for me. On which note, I have to say that my SJ holds DADGAD tuning better than my old long-scale beater. Of course quality counts and the general intonation is notably better on the Gibson, but in standard tuning the beater stays in tune a long way up the neck too. That stability disappears surprisingly quickly in DADGAD - fret 10 is already buzzy and somewhat out. At the octave things are decidedly dodgy. On the SJ no such issues, and when I first tried it in DADGAD, I forgot to compensate for the half-step that I'd already tuned down, so it was actually in flat DADGAD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Im trying to decide between the Gibson AJ PRO(sunburst) or the J45 Classic both $1999.00 at GC. I sold another electric, so I have the cash to buy. Help me out, help me decide. Thanks. A month or so ago I was looking to buy either one of these guitars. When I tried to buy the AJ Pro from Guitar Center (online) I received an email saying that they were no longer selling them. Then I saw the J45 Modern Classic, new, on the Musician's Friend site for $1,999. I actually like the look of the old style tuners, nut and Gibson decal, so I ordered it only to find that it was not in stock, but they would let me know when a used one came in. I ended up buying a new, J-45 Standard from Musician's Friend and it is a great guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ataylor Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I'd say to go with the venerable J-45, if only because it's a classic. To further dilute things, you might consider auditioning a J-45 True Vintage and an Advanced Jumbo -- both of which might require you to save a few more nickels and dimes, but since you're already at two grand with your budget, you might as well be sure you get exactly what you want! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Scratch both of those. I found a CF100E I want now. Case closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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