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Old 12-14-2008, 12:04 PM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
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Ya need a scorecard these days to keep up with all the different variations Gibson comes up with on their guitars. In addition to the regular series there are limited edition versions constantly popping up.

In some ways the J-45 TV is a hybrid. I believe both the AJ and J-45 TV have the same AJ-style forward shifted scalloped X bracing (this was not originally found on J-45s). The J-45 MC has the standard modern style Gibson bracing which is more Martin-like as opposed to the style of scalloped bracing Gibson used up to the 1955 when they went to straight bracing. The MC also has a thinner neck.

The J-45 TV has the thicker style neck and look of a 1940s slope shoulder Gibson. It also has the thinner style back braces which when combined with the AJ style top bracing gives the guitars a boomier bass and somewhat brighter upper end than the originals. It is not an old school J-45 tone but that only matters if that is what you are after. The TV also has a bone nut and saddle.

A Southerner Jumbo (Gibson never originally called the guitar a Southern Jumbo) is just a duded up version of a J-45. Structurally it was no different from a J-45. The Bozeman version has the same bracing as the AJ and J-45 TV which again is not a reproduction of the bracing originally found in the guitar.

The Legend Series is a breed apart. They are as close as Gibson can come to the originals but ya pay a pretty hefty price tag for that. But they are amazing guitars and in a league of their own. I have seen these things in "shootouts" with originals and it is darn hard to tell the difference. You will not have this problem when comparing say a J-45 TV to a late 1940s original. Very different sound,

Between the AJ and J-45 TV, I prefer the AJ and think it is the best out of the box Gibson acoustic out there. They also seem to be more consistent in tone than most Gibsons coming out of Bozeman which vary all over the place in sound. It may take ya awhile to land a J-45 or SJ that you like.
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Last edited by zombywoof; 12-14-2008 at 12:11 PM.
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