RichG Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I have been yearning for a used J45 TV and have started looking half seriously, which means I am waiting for one to come around that's close enough to see an touch before I buy. While searching I came across an ad for a J45 Legend that is a few years old. Obviously more expensive. From what I've read the Legend has a thicker neck. Is that true? How else would you guys compare the two? Thanks Rich G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I have been yearning for a used J45 TV and have started looking half seriously, which means I am waiting for one to come around that's close enough to see an touch before I buy. While searching I came across an ad for a J45 Legend that is a few years old. Obviously more expensive. From what I've read the Legend has a thicker neck. Is that true? How else would you guys compare the two? Thanks Rich G Given my location, I have not had the pleasure of trying either. But legend has it that the Legend really has a baseball bat for a neck, whereas the TV has a profile much like any other modern Gibson. In any case, the Legend is a copy of a genuine, individual 1942 J45. The TV is not. How is the neck on your J55? Word is the '30s necks are not quite as chunky as the wartime ones, but I don't know whether that makes them closer to current profiles or still thick enough to make the '40s necks a nearer relative. Do you want to get close to the 55's feel, or do you want different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I havent played a Legend, but my understanding its the same neck as J-45's from the 40's and Ive played a couple of them. I cant tell you those necks were real chunky, uncomfortably chunky. I also played a J-45TV at the same shop where I played those vintage babies and found the J-45TV neck much more 'user friendly'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I havent played a Legend, but my understanding its the same neck as J-45's from the 40's and Ive played a couple of them. I cant tell you those necks were real chunky, uncomfortably chunky. I also played a J-45TV at the same shop where I played those vintage babies and found the J-45TV neck much more 'user friendly'. Yeah, but you're a Taylor player at heart, Ozmeister! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Really .... What you been smokin' Mojo ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mojorule Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Really .... What you been smokin' Mojo ? Fish mainly. Some ham. Only thinking of your previous moniker - and being a tease EA. We've missed you. Would dearly like to try out a club neck just to see how it feels. Still weirded out that I found the bigger neck on my electric faster than the smaller one on its predecessor. Much faster. Perhaps the same could be true on acoustic. You never know - all hands are different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 The J55 neck is the most playable of all my guitars. I love it. It is slim, but not too much. So, I guess my question is answered. The J55 is very easy to play in a finger picked style. I find I make fewer mistakes on it. My D18GE had a baseball bat neck, but it doesn't bother me, but I play flat picking or rhythm mostly. My HD28P has a low profile neck, but it has become my last choice to play. It is difficult for me to play it cleanly as I can the Gibson, hence my desire to find another Gibson that plays in a similar way to the J55. BTW, another thread talked about getting spoiled by the sound of a vintage Gibson. I can attest to that. My first good guitar was a 1966 Guild D40. I thought it sounded great until I finally got enough spare $ to buy the HD28 in 1991, which caused me to put the Guild under the bed. Then I played the D18GE and heard what a decent mahogany guitar could sound like. Well, neither Martin can hold a candle to the J55. I don't expect a J45 to sound as good, but if the playability is close, I will be happy. Thanks for the feedback. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I played a J45 Legend in the shop a few years back and still remember it - though the price was as much as a shock in Aust. as the baseball bat neck.... After playing my 35 L50 with it's huge V neck for a month or so, and my 54 ES125 with a large 50s neck, I am finding I arch my left hand fingers a lot more - possible a good thing - while on my J45 Standard I cheat and lay fingers across the strings a bit...both slightly different styles of playing. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I havent played a Legend, but my understanding its the same neck as J-45's from the 40's and Ive played a couple of them. I cant tell you those necks were real chunky, uncomfortably chunky. Gibson necks were all over the place in the 1940s in terms of what they were made with and how they were made. The profile would depend on the year the guitar was made as those guitars not having truss rods had beefier necks than earlier or later guitars. A '42 would have a truss rod so any accurate reproduction will not sport the chunkiest neck found on those guitars in the 1940s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 I guess it is all frame of reference but it is a rare Gibson I would put in the same sentence with baseball bat neck. I own a Banner J-50 and a mid-1930s Kay Kraft. While the J-50 has a nice round fat neck, the neck on the Kay absolutely dwarfs it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Played one a few years back and liked it. A lot. Much better than some OJ/Ajs in the shop that had wide flat C necks. The '42 filled my hand in a good kind of way, while with the other, I felt I was climbing hurdles. Keep in mind, tho that I'm a fingerpicker, like to do fun things like thumb over bass notes, and never ever ever play a barre chord (if I can help it). So your mileage may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I have to admit that the description of the J-45 Legend neck on the website put me off a bit, but I don't know how much stock to put into it. As has been mentioned, Gibson necks in the 30's, 40's (and probably early 50's) were all over the map. Perhaps the most comfortable vintage Gibson neck I have is on my '47 L-7. It's a full, round neck, but I would not call it a baseball bat by any means. Because the Legend neck description is so non-descriptive, I'd prefer to have the guitar in hand (in a manner of speaking) before dropping the big bucks on the J-45 Legend. My L-OO Legend has a fairly pronounced v-neck, and I've adapted to it just fine, although it would probably not be my first choice. I prefer a round neck section, but have no idea how the "wartime exact replica large round" neck of the J-45 Legend would feel like. "Fabulous Flat-tops" is pretty vague about the variations in neck profile during the war, but state that they definitely changed several times during the war, so who knows what "exact replica" neck the Legend has? I know there are several forum members that own J-45 Legends--one bought a guitar I was thinking of buying--so maybe they will chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I recall "GotTheSilver" liked them so much he bought all of them! He must be fishing....... PLUS it would be no surprise would it, if each individual J45 Legend had a different neck in Gibson fashion. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I have a Legend and a J-45 TV. The Legend's neck does have a much fuller profile, but I personally find it very comfortable to play. Then again,I have guitars with varying profiles and widths, from the extra wide maple AJ to the slim Texan, and usually don't have trouble adjusting. I guess that's an advantage of beinga mediocre player--I'm just as bad no matter what I play. I don't have any proof, but I surmise the extra mass also contributes to the Legend's wonderful sound. Best guitar I own. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I have a Legend and a J-45 TV. The Legend's neck does have a much fuller profile, but I personally find it very comfortable to play. Then again, I have guitars with varying profiles and widths, from the extra wide maple AJ to the slim Texan, and usually don't have trouble adjusting. I guess that's an advantage of beinga mediocre player--I'm just as bad no matter what I play. I don't have any proof, but I surmise the extra mass also contributes to the Legend's wonderful sound. Best guitar I own. Red 333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I have a Legend and a J-45 TV. The Legend's neck does have a much fuller profile, but I personally find it very comfortable to play. Then again, I have guitars with varying profiles and widths, from the extra wide maple AJ to the slim Texan, and usually don't have trouble adjusting. I guess that's an advantage of beinga mediocre player--I'm just as bad no matter what I play. I don't have any proof, but I surmise the extra mass also contributes to the Legend's wonderful sound. Best guitar I own. Red 333 Now I remember, Red. You bought the one I was interested in. That was a great buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 ... who knows what "exact replica" neck the Legend has? The Legend has an exact replica of the neck on Eldon Whitford's "1942" J-45. (Quotes because of JT's improved dates for J-45 manufacture.) My "1942" J-45 has that same profile. Anyway, the profile is as baseball bat-ish as Banner J-45s get. -- Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red 333 Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Now I remember, Red. You bought the one I was interested in. That was a great buy. You saw that auction? That's the only time I ever bought a guitar on eBay*. I'm glad I did. It was a good deal, I think. I don't think anyone even placed another bid, either. I only bid on a half-whim, expecting to be outbid at the last minute. I was surprised I won, and as much apprehensive that I made such an impulsive purchase as glad. I shouldn't have worried. What a sound. It exceeded my expectations. Plus, the guitar's condition was just as described in the auction description, and perfectly set up. The seller was great, too. I think he really felt bad to part with the Legend (I think he used it in the studio to record). I remember he wanted it to go to a home where it would get played, and not get bought just to be collected or flipped again. He followed up after I got the guitar to make sure I was playing it and was happy with it. Very nice guy (though not, apparently, someone on our forum). I know you already have a terrific J-45, but you should check the Legend 45 out, if only to compare it to yours. I haven't ever had an L-00 Legend in my hands, but I would imagine the necks have to be in the same ballpark. Red 333 *EDIT: Now that I think about it, I did buy an Epiphone Zephyr Blues Deluxe on eBay. But until the Legend, no acoustic guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I have to admit that the description of the J-45 Legend neck on the website put me off a bit, but I don't know how much stock to put into it. As has been mentioned, Gibson necks in the 30's, 40's (and probably early 50's) were all over the map. Perhaps the most comfortable vintage Gibson neck I have is on my '47 L-7. It's a full, round neck, but I would not call it a baseball bat by any means. While I do not have a ton of time under my belt with atrchtops, I think that the necks on those things may have been a whole other ballgame. Last year I got my hands on a 1937 L-12 and the first thing that popped into my head was how modern the neck felt. It was totally unexpected and unlike anything I had ever run into on a 1930s or 1940s flattop. But it really was a very comfortable neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotTheSilver Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I recall "GotTheSilver" liked them so much he bought all of them! Ha ha!!! I wish! I do really love mine. I considered bidding on the one that Red 333 eventually won on eBay, but I didn't have the funds at the time. Oh well, I'm glad to see it went to a good home.* As for the neck on the J-45L, they are pretty large. Quite a bit larger than the neck on a TV, though I do not own a TV. Since I bought the Legend, I have played a handful of banner J-45s and I think every single time I have played a banner, I felt like the neck on the banner was actually a tad smaller than the neck on my Legend. I have not been able to do a side by side comparison, though, so I don't know if this is really true or not. Like Red 333, I find the neck on the Legend to be surprisingly comfortable. It was a bit of a shock at first, but I got used to it quickly. I have no problems switching between my Legend and my AJ, which has a much, much thinner neck (thinner than that on a J-45 TV, I believe). The only two problems I really have with the neck size on the Legend are: 1) I sometimes have trouble getting my thumb over the top to fret the low E string, and 2) none of my capos will fit on it! Other than that, the guitar is great! *Update: Actually, come to think of it, what I did was this. When I saw the auction on eBay, I started calling around to luthiers to see if it would be feasible to essentially turn the J45 Legend into a Southern Jumbo Legend by replacing the fretboard with one with split parallelogram inlays and binding. I quickly found out that this was not a feasible idea. I would absolutely love to have a Southern Jumbo Legend, but I am not about to ask Gibson how much it would cost to have them make me one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 *Update: Actually, come to think of it, what I did was this. When I saw the auction on eBay, I started calling around to luthiers to see if it would be feasible to essentially turn the J45 Legend into a Southern Jumbo Legend by replacing the fretboard with one with split parallelogram inlays and binding. I quickly found out that this was not a feasible idea. I would absolutely love to have a Southern Jumbo Legend, but I am not about to ask Gibson how much it would cost to have them make me one! Be patient, such a thing may be coming. But if it were a true SJ Legend like the J-45 Legend, it would not have a bound fretboard. It would actually be pretty easy to turn a J-45 Legend into a reasonable approximation of an SJ Legend, but not cheap. If you were willing to live with the single-ring rosette of the J-45, it would essentially mean removing and plugging the round dot fret markers and replacing them with parallelograms. Unfortunately, you would end up with a guitar that was neither fish nor fowl, and probably compromise the value. I can't help but believe that with all the interest in more historically-accurate Gibsons, there would not be a market for an SJ Legend. Picking the feature combination might be a bit tricky, and you'd probably want to do a rosewood one (batch 910) as well as a 'hog one. I'm drooling just thinking about it...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotTheSilver Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Be patient, such a thing may be coming. But if it were a true SJ Legend like the J-45 Legend, it would not have a bound fretboard. It would actually be pretty easy to turn a J-45 Legend into a reasonable approximation of an SJ Legend, but not cheap. If you were willing to live with the single-ring rosette of the J-45, it would essentially mean removing and plugging the round dot fret markers and replacing them with parallelograms. Unfortunately, you would end up with a guitar that was neither fish nor fowl, and probably compromise the value. I can't help but believe that with all the interest in more historically-accurate Gibsons, there would not be a market for an SJ Legend. Picking the feature combination might be a bit tricky, and you'd probably want to do a rosewood one (batch 910) as well as a 'hog one. I'm drooling just thinking about it...... Yeah, I know that a 1942 SJ would not have neck binding, but I was not going for historical accuracy. I just really love the look of the split inlays and the neck binding, so that is what I wanted. Actually, if you changed the pickguard on the Sheryl Crow SJ to a firestripe one, cosmetically it would be exactly what I want! That is an easy replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseybeat1963 Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I have been yearning for a used J45 TV and have started looking half seriously, which means I am waiting for one to come around that's close enough to see an touch before I buy. While searching I came across an ad for a J45 Legend that is a few years old. Obviously more expensive. From what I've read the Legend has a thicker neck. Is that true? How else would you guys compare the two? Thanks Rich G If you are nearby the seller you should audition it. I think you may like it. I like fat necks a lot..medium necks but I would not take a Martin low profile necked guitar for free. Worse neck I ever felt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Yeah, I know that a 1942 SJ would not have neck binding, but I was not going for historical accuracy. I just really love the look of the split inlays and the neck binding, so that is what I wanted. Actually, if you changed the pickguard on the Sheryl Crow SJ to a firestripe one, cosmetically it would be exactly what I want! That is an easy replacement. Sort of like this one? (Fuller's 1943 SJ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotTheSilver Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Sort of like this one? (Fuller's 1943 SJ) Exactly like that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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