Lars68 Posted December 28, 2012 Share Posted December 28, 2012 When I recently went shopping for a modern SJ (shopping by specs only since there are no guitar shops were I live) I eventually decided on the fairly new Sheryl Crow SJ, the version without electronics. I have experience playing a 2010 J-45TV, which I think is a very good guitar. So when I got my Sheryl Crow SJ for a 15 day trial period I was expecting a very similar sounding guitar, but boy was I surprised. As I posted about a couple of weeks ago, the SJ is simply a monster of a guitar and the most impressive modern guitar I have ever had the good fortune to play. The only structural difference that I know of between the Sheryl SJ and the TV is the straight bridge, compared to the belly-up version. I have read the specs of both guitars on the Gibson site, and I can honestly not get much factual information out of the "marketing lingo". Are there any real differences between these two types of guitars that you know of, or have I simply experienced a real life proof of the saying that "no two guitars are the same?" Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 From reading the specs, the construction details seem to be identical. It's sometimes hard to decipher the top bracing details, since the SC says 30's advanced, while the TV specifically says same bracing as when issued in 1942. The bridges are obviously different, but it's hard to know how much difference that makes. I assume you are comparing apples to apples by using the same strings, changed at the same time, on the two guitars. If so, the logical conclusion is that you are just seeing the difference between two nominally virtually identical guitars. One of life's great mysteries, perhaps. The SC is also about $400 more list price than the TV. Maybe it comes with those special edition Sheryl Crowe tuners that Wily (and others) are so crazy about....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuroAussie Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 There shoudn't be a difference, but I swear I found on numerous occasions SJ's to have more midrange and high end focused, a bit more bark ,while J-45's have a dryer, woodier tone. In particular genuine vintage models and the TV models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 Ah now I get it, the difference is all in the tuners. Why didn't I think of that! Joking aside, my common sense tells me the guitars are basically the same, but the differences I perceive are not subtle, as one would expect, but rather obvious. It is kind of hard to take in. By the way, the strings are indeed the same brand and age. As I said above, there are no shops where I live, so my opportunities to test drive multiple guitars of the same model are basically non existent. I have bought all my guitars long distance, and this recent experience has really opened my eyes to the possible limitations of that approach. Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 If I am not mistaken, the Crow has heavier back braces. That would make the sound change you hear. Also, the TV is all hide glue. Not sure about the Crow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotTheSilver Posted December 29, 2012 Share Posted December 29, 2012 Not sure what the specs say, but I got to play these two models side by side recently. The two guitars I played sounded quite different, within the spectrum of the J-45 tonal palette. The SJ was VERY light, lighter than the TV, so I would assume there are some differences that do not come across in the specs. The SJ really sang! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 That is my experience as well. The SJ is much lighter. In fact it is the lightest modern guitar I have experienced. Again, I have only tested this one SJ against one TV... Lars Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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