PickitPaul Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Just got a J-45, a later in the year 2011 and I really love it. I could tell this one was a thumper, and the other one i tried right next to it was an early 2012, was nice too, but a bit brighter. The one that I ended up with has a slightly darker tone and the bass is more evident, while still being balanced. When I changed the strings for new ones (phos bronze Daddario Lights) it suddenly lost the thump on the bass strings that i was digging. But, I think that will come back after the strings wear off the newness. (I Hope) I played many different kinds of acoustic Gibsons, was a hard choice, being in the co. of the SC SJ, the AJ and a custom shop J45. There were no J45TV to try. I almost fell for the AJ, but already have a long scale Gibson, the J60 with adv. jumbo bracing. I was looking at the x below the sound hole, and it looks just like the advanced bracing of the AJ. I thought the x was set further back on the J45? Most of these were light weight except for the custom shop J45 which had a pickup. All were on the bright side of tone, and this J45 i got was just a bit darker. I am sure that after playing them in, all of them would get less bright sounding. I really do not need/want the pickup, as i think the ribbon under the saddle has to interfere with tone? How does one take out the saddle ribbon? If it need to be cut? What you all think? Didn't have a Gibson mahogany short scale ever before...& glad i got one now, its beautiful. Looks like they've been spraying the burst darker / more brownish over the last few years, away from the yellow/reds. With the long scale J60 Rosewood Bonecrusher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonCarlos Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salfromchatham Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Congratulations! If you do not need the pickup, you can definitely take it out. You will need an over sized end pin to replace the 1/4 inch jack, and you will likely need a thin mahogany shim to glue to the bottom of your saddle if the action is too low from removing the UST. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salfromchatham Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Actually the action on my 2012 J-50 is high, and I sanded the saddle down (lots of room - tall saddle). You may not need the shim if you like lower action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickitPaul Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 How did you remove the UST, did you have to cut it, or can you pull it through the hole in the bridge? I bet guitar feels alot lighter if its taken out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duluthdan Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I have done this, exactly once. It is easy. - Loosen all of the strings. - Place a capo on about the 10th fret, the goal being to manage the loose strings - remove bridge pins - bend the loose strings back towards the neck - clamp them down to the neck with a 2nd capo on about 3rd fret - remove the saddle - reach inside and usually on the treble side the UST ribbon sticks thru and you can push it up thru the bridge - now push the rest of the ribbon back down the bass side of the bridge into the guitar body - Undo the endpin nut. Probably 2 pieces here - unscrew the endpin strap button to reveal the nut. - Remove the nut - reach inside and carefully remove the tranceducer from the end pin - there are clips inside the body that manage the wires in there - remove wire from all the clips - carefully remove the whole assembly - transducer, wires, ribbon, and battery bag (which is either secucured in a bag velcroed to the side or the neck block) - replace the saddle, strings, etc. - leave the endpin hole open until the new endpin arrives from StewMac http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware,_parts/Acoustic_guitar:_Bridge_and_endpins/NoJak_Endpin.html - the end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I removed the pickup from my J-45 a couple of weeks ago because I didn't need the pickup in there, I wanted a lighter guitar, and I think that something soft and spongy between my saddle and the soundboard doesn't help the tone. You can feed the UST back down through the hole it came through but it is a tedius process. Take your time and be patient. One thing I saw mentioned here about doing this though is that it might reduce the resale value of the guitar if you take it out. Something to consider. As for the saddle height after you remove the pickup, you will probably need to make a new saddle or take it to someone that knows how to. You could shim it but once again are getting another something between the saddle and the bridge wood. I got one of those endpin expansion plugs in ebony from Stewart-McDonald to replace the endpin jack that came out. It went in perfectly and does the job. Bob Colosi has a great oversized endpin plug that is solid wood or bone that is way cooler but at the time I was doing my conversion he was going on vacation and I didn't want to wait. But someday I'll go that route when I'm placing another order with him. For now what I have works and I'm way happy with the old pickup out of my guitar. Congrats on your new guitar. You're gonna get addicted to that bottom end you have and I think the new strings you put on will stretch and mellow in a couple of days and you'll get back the thump you noticed at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickitPaul Posted March 15, 2013 Author Share Posted March 15, 2013 Did you notice a big difference in the tone after taking out the UST from under saddle? What are you doing with the UST now? Did / can it be sold, or not really? How about the tuners? There is alot of weight on those too. I was thinking of replacing just the buttons that screw off with ebony buttons, and leaving the rest alone, so no need to drill new holes. Anybody tried that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 . Your J-45 looks great. . Congrats. Good luck with the UST surgery. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Congratulations! If you do not need the pickup, you can definitely take it out. You will need an over sized end pin to replace the 1/4 inch jack, and you will likely need a thin mahogany shim to glue to the bottom of your saddle if the action is too low from removing the UST. Congrats! Stewmac sells a nifty little device called a No Jak Endpin - a regular size pin with an expansion sleeve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motherofpearl Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 Nice 45. Btw that's a beauty of a J60 I had a walnut one excellent guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shish Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I took the LR Baggs element out from under the saddle on my J45 and didnt really notice much difference in tone. My theory is that string tension puts most of the sound through the sides of the saddle which are tightly locked against the bridge by the string tension angling the saddle in the slot. my $0.02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubee Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Nice guitars there! As far as the UST vs guitar tone: I'd just leave it in if you like the guitar tone & wouldn't expect much tonal impact if you remove it. I used to buy/sell quite a few old guitars & putzed around with saddle shims etc & you'd be surprised how many old things had a UST put in that nobody had used for ages. On shims I used everything from bone to celluloid sheet to hard cardboard & the important thing IME was having good full & firm contact with a very thin shim, not the material. If I needed anything thick then I'd make a new bone saddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Honestly, I couldn't tell any difference in the tone of the guitar once I got the UST out....which surprised me, but it's true for me. As for the pickup I just put it in a box and probably about twenty years from now someone will find an "antique" and sell it on ebay or whatever is around then. But it did make my guitar lighter and I believe that that matters. I also made a new, compensated saddle out of bone for it and now this guitar really sounds much better. It had been unplayed for so long that it's needing to wake up and come to the party and I have every confidence that it will. My 2006 J-50 has. I get tons of enjoyment from owning these instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Oh yeh, tuners. I encountered Grover clones on a little Eastman I own and after trying to replace the buttons and having them break I just removed the incredibly heavy stock clones and went with Tonepro's rebuild of a Kluson. Can't say enough good things about them. I halved the weight at the headstock and got amazingly smooth and precise machines. The post height was also lower so I got better break angle at the nut too. Tonepro Klusons come in a variety of configurations and I was able to get bolt on tuners that even fit the mounting screw holes perfectly so no ugly holes showing. I like the white oval button look on my Gibsons and Tonepro had kind of an antique white that just buffs the look of my little Eastman. For what it's worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brannon67 Posted March 16, 2013 Share Posted March 16, 2013 Congrats on the new J45. Hope you really bond with her, and play her like she was meant to be played. I know I LOVE mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PickitPaul Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 Thanks for the info. everybody. I'm just going to leave the pickup in. Probably no noticeable difference in tone if taken out, besides a bone saddle would make it brighter, and i want a darker tone, so the stock is it. As for the tuners, they are heavy but they work. What do you make of this comment that I'd read on one of the forums: Gibson bracing of today is basically similar to Martin's bracing, whereas in the old days, in the early 50's or so the bracing was very different, and the sound of Gibson acoustics were more thumpy and percussive than today's models. There is a touch of that in my J45, but not very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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