baimo Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I have been selling off my electric guitars with the exception of 3 I cant part with. I just find myself using the acoustic much mre often. I had enough electrics to afford me some very nice acoustics, My main stable of acoustics was Santa Cruz ooo 12 fretter, Taylor 914ce (a little bling) and most recent pickup was a huss and dalton OM-C engleman top with walnut sides and back. I have shyed away from dreads because they bothered my shoulder and neck but recently have switched to playing with guitar on my left(I am righty) leg. It has given me plenty of rooom to comfortably play a dread. My H&D blew away my 914ce so I decided to trade it and get a dread. Dont get me wrong, the 914ce is a fine instrument. It is beautiful and had the best action of any accoustic I have played. I just was not crazy for the sound. Sorry for the long background. I took a beating on the 914ce but had a 2400 credit at GC. I have liked the sound of Gibson accoustics for the past year but was a little concerned with quality control. Last night I went to GC and tried hummingbird, j-45 and AJ (GC special model) along with AJ pro. I went home with the AJ (GC custom) and opened it up this morning to clean it up and play it. Under the morning NJ light I noticed a crack in it. So I went back to GC and they had no more AJ's. I decided I really like the J-45 standard even more than the vintage and said i will take it. I think the shorter scale really made it more comfortable for me. The salesman brought it up front and started to clean it up when we noticed the lamination had a couple lines in the front and the wood was actually dented. OH Boy. I asked him to check the inventory in the area stores for another j-45 or aj. No store in NJ had a J-45 but NYC had 4 including 1 in the box. I said write up the one in the box and tell them I will come pick it up if it plays and looks to be in good shape. But I told him I wanted to see all of them and be able to choose whichever one I like best. No problem. 30 Minutes later I was parked in front of the 14th street manhattan store. They only had 3 j-45's,1 aj and a j-45 true vintage. I tried them all and had the tech go over two of the instruments with me. They were both in great shape, but I decided on the J-45(It was the uglies J-45 of the group. The saddle and neck color are very light and I feel the darker colors are more elegant. Just a diifferent shade of wood and the guitar sounded the best. He said it could use a little fret work on some of the higher frets but the neck was in great shape and it sounded terrific. I am happy and here it is It was a PIA to get the J-45 but I have been playing it all afternoon and it compares and compliments my other more expensive accoustics. I know i should not give a review after 8 hours. But I know this is a keeper. I have an appointment on the 25th to adjust the frets and am tickled to death to own this guitar. Gibsons have a sound that is all their own. I am a happy j45 owner tonight Here it is http://www.flickr.co...ime/6656587229/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Another black nut 45 person aboard. Congs on the guitar and welcome. An excellent place to start – let's hear from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Congrats Baimo, on FINALLY finding the right Gibson for you! Your story is rather dis-heartening though. It sounds like Gibson QC is not what it should be. That is a lot of issues for new guitars! Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ataylor Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Congrats on the guitar! Can't go wrong with a good J-45. It sounds like Gibson QC is not what it should be. That is a lot of issues for new guitars! Those issues sounded more like issues with shop wear and/or humidity -- perhaps it's Guitar Center's QC that is more to blame here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baimo Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 Congrats Baimo, on FINALLY finding the right Gibson for you! Your story is rather dis-heartening though. It sounds like Gibson QC is not what it should be. That is a lot of issues for new guitars! Rod I have avoided gibson specifically because of QC. I went through 4 61 reissue sg's before I found one that had a good neck. I looked up a couple online repair places and there were a fair share of wood problems with the Gibsons. My luthier feels that there is such a demand for Gibson accoustics that they do not let them age long enough. I don't know if it is true or not. The one lesson I learned is that if you were able to choose your accoustic blindfolded you would be better off. This one sings to me. I couldnt be happier. i am glad I did not need to order this online Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baimo Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 Congrats on the guitar! Can't go wrong with a good J-45. Those issues sounded more like issues with shop wear and/or humidity -- perhaps it's Guitar Center's QC that is more to blame here? It might be GC QC(maybe even in their main warehouse). But the J-45 had laminate lines on the front of it. it was kept in a properly humidified room. I have bought Martins from them without issues. In New Jersey there are only 2 authorized gibson dealers. GC and sam ash stores. Gibson requirements have removed the smaller dealers from player's choice. Even mandolin brothers in New York had to drop gibson because of the prohibitive cost and inventory requirements Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I have avoided gibson specifically because of QC. I went through 4 61 reissue sg's before I found one that had a good neck. I looked up a couple online repair places and there were a fair share of wood problems with the Gibsons. My luthier feels that there is such a demand for Gibson accoustics that they do not let them age long enough. I don't know if it is true or not. The one lesson I learned is that if you were able to choose your accoustic blindfolded you would be better off. This one sings to me. I couldnt be happier. i am glad I did not need to order this online "end game" is what really matters! It is aggravating to have to jump thru all the hoops to get there though... RRod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baimo Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 "end game" is what really matters! It is aggravating to have to jump thru all the hoops to get there though... RRod you hit the nail on the head. it was all worthwhile and in erospect,a little fun and educational Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dchristo Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 congrats on the new 45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 . I'm glad to read you stuck with it until you found one you're happy with. She looks beautiful. Congrats on your new J-45. B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Great story, and really good to hear that you stuck it out and in the end had the opportunity to cherry picks several J-45's. Im sure you will enjoy this iconic Gibson, and yes, looking at your stable I think a J-45 will really complement your other guitars. Every guitar player should own at least one Gibson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 It might be GC QC(maybe even in their main warehouse). But the J-45 had laminate lines on the front of it. it was kept in a properly humidified room. I'm not sure what you mean by "laminate lines", since the J-45 has a solid top. If you are referring to the grain lines that typically show to some extent on the top of a guitar with a thin nitro finish, I would not refuse a guitar just on that basis. Those "lines" can and do come and go with changes in humidity. Spruce absorbs and throws off atmospheric moisture like a sponge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe M Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 The saddle and neck color are very light and I feel the darker colors are more elegant. The bridge and fretboard of my new J45 are also very light in color, which put me off at first. The guitar played and sounded so good, I overlooked the light color and bought it anyway. I'm beginning to really like the difference between the dark rosewood and what I have now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwheat Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Welcome to the Gibson acoustic world. No other sound like it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guth Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 balmo, Congratulations on the new J-45. Take your shopping experience and extend it out over a few years time and that is how my search went. Even after all of that effort/disappointment/frustration/anticipation, I feel that it was well worth it to find an example that I truly connected with. In my case, I had a particular "tonal ideal" in mind and wasn't going to buy until I found what I was looking for. The more guitars you have at your disposal to compare and play, the more obvious it becomes when you find one that really stands out from the rest. I can really appreciate your comment about choosing a guitar while blindfolded. Like you, I always place tone at the top of my list of priorities when choosing amongst guitars. I've mentioned here in the past that when stopping in at my local dealer the best sounding Gibson (to my ear) of those on hand turned out to be a standard J-45 even though they had True Vintage and a host of other more expensive models in stock. It all comes down to the individual guitar. In the case of your J-45, I think that the lighter rosewood contrasts nicely with the overall darker nature of the sunburst finish and makes for a beautiful guitar. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Sounds like me, Read my( What is wrong with me post.) I can relate for sure. I thought I was the only person doing that and feeling like that, Ha. Congrats on the J45. I love mine, and many many people on here love theirs also. You just cant go wrong with the J45. Welcome to the forum also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Yes the Taylors are nice playing guitars, but Like you, I sold mine and bought another brand. Taylors just dont have the tone I like in a acoustic guitar, to jingle jangle sounding to me or something. Anyway, Bob makes some great guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Glad you found the guitar for you. ALWAYS check any GC guitar you want to buy. The high end guitars get the crap beat out of them if they're on the floor for more than a few weeks. I see it all the time at GC. I saw my J45 come right off of the truck and out of the box. Otherwise, no telling what it might have looked like. GC can be a good deal, but one must know what he is looking-for and looking-at. You obviously did. And not a thing in the world wrong with Taylors. Nicely made instruments. Taylors are like the girl you take home to meet mom and dad. Gibsons are the girls you take to the bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baimo Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 [quote name='MissouriPicker' timestamp='1326064961' post='1089939' And not a thing in the world wrong with Taylors. Nicely made instruments. Taylors are like the girl you take home to meet mom and dad. Gibsons are the girls you take to the bar. Ill drink to that. Thankas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sboiir Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 congrats on your Gibson acoustic. Play it.......play it...........play it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windwalker9000 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Welcome to the board the J-45 is a good start they have a good sound I have played my cousin's and enjoy the way it feels and plays!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahler Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 First, and probably will not be your last. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Congratulations -- beautiful guitar! I'm about a month into my J-45, and I just love it. By the way, what is the story with the black nut? What material is that? Do the new ones have the black nut instead of bone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Congratulations -- beautiful guitar! I'm about a month into my J-45, and I just love it. By the way, what is the story with the black nut? What material is that? Do the new ones have the black nut instead of bone? when i was looking my j45 i seen two on ebay with black nuts . graphite apparently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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