J45 Best Years

wezzywest · #1 10-15-2011, 02:41 AM

Hi, is there a certain period of Gibson J45`s to avoid. The reaso i ask this is ,i keep hearing about some periods of production was better than others. Is this true or just a myth.I am looking at a 1997 Historic series, would there be a better era to chose within a reasonable price range. Cheers.

GibbyPrague · #2 10-15-2011, 02:44 AM

Anything from the 70's ..... but not just J-45's but anything from Gibson during that decade, and you can probably add 80's to that also. Exceptions do exist of course.

The Ren Ferguson era is very good in general, that started at the beginning of the 90's so you should be fine. Like a lot of others I do recommend to play it first as Gibson can be inconsistent within the same model.

Personally J-45's / SJ from the 50's are my favourite in terms of of a vintage tone.

wezzywest · #3 10-15-2011, 03:16 AM

Thanks for that, how do you find your Aaron Lewis? How does the SJ differ from the standard J45, please excuse my ignorance if it is something blindingley obvious. Finally if possible has the width of the neck at the nut varied at all? Cheers .

GibbyPrague · #4 10-15-2011, 03:22 AM

The SJ is my 'go to' guitar in the stable, hence probably my favourite. The SJ is just a more blinged out version of the J-45, generally there are no structural differences.

The AL SJ is somewhat different in that it is based on his 51' SJ and has lighter bracing, thereby giving more resonance, vibration to the top. Then there are the additions like bone nut and saddle, but these are easy modifcations. The lighter bracing is what attracted me to this model the most.

Personally I love the guitar as, like all J-45 it really does everything well from strumming, flatpicking and with fingers. Particularly good for suppporting a singer.

The width at the nut has indeed varied and I think since Ren took over it is currently now 1.725mm or just a shade under 1 3/4. I prefer it to the early J-45's which had a 1 11/16 width.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wezzywest

Thanks for that, how do you find your Aaron Lewis? How does the SJ differ from the standard J45, please excuse my ignorance if it is something blindingley obvious. Finally if possible has the width of the neck at the nut varied at all? Cheers .

jackcooper · #5 10-15-2011, 04:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wezzywest

Hi, is there a certain period of Gibson J45`s to avoid. The reaso i ask this is ,i keep hearing about some periods of production was better than others. Is this true or just a myth.I am looking at a 1997 Historic series, would there be a better era to chose within a reasonable price range. Cheers.

Every single guitar is individual. I've played some great and bad Gibsons (and Martins) from each decade.
In my experience you are just as likely to get a bad one from the "good" years as you are the "bad".
If you read Acoustic Guitar Magazine you will be surprised at how often the stars of the acoustic world are using 70's Gibsons and Martins as their main instrument. I think the internet has blown the "bad" years out of proportion.

My motto is try before buying, and if that really isn't possible then buy for a good price and sell for minimal loss (if it's not a great guitar). Trying before buying is always the best option though. There are some real dogs out there.

J185-4Me · #6 10-15-2011, 10:37 AM

*In general*, the Bozeman years are a darned sight better than the 20-year period preceding it, i.e., roughly the late '60s to late '80s. (Bozeman production began in 1989.)

But there are plenty of exceptions to the "Bozeman=Good" concept, as you could probably expect.

The production quality was 'spotty' during the mid-'90s, and they crammed a ton of guitars into production during and leading up to the Centennial Year (1994). So although there are indubitably good guitars to be found from those mid-'90s Bozeman years, there is also more than the fair share of dogs too.

There is no hard and fast rule for a 1997 Bozeman guitar -- it could be 'meh' or it could be great. I've had a number of Gibsons from that period, probably the best one was a '96 Hummingbird (shoulda kept that one!!). But I've played lots of duds from those years too.

After about 2000, consistency and tone improved significantly, and that says something about the roughly 5-6 year period prior to that.

Play it if you have the chance!

Fred

Larpy · #7 10-15-2011, 02:22 PM

What year did Gibson go to the adjustable saddle? I tend to associate Gibson's "dark years" with that bridge design, rightly or wrongly.

But as folks have pointed out, this doesn't mean every Gibson guitar with an adjustable saddle is a dog. But I don't think anyone disputes that it was a tone-killing design.

wezzywest · #8 10-15-2011, 02:38 PM

Thanks to you all for the information, sorry it took a while to reply, i have just got home from work.(somebody has to drive the trains). Some really interesting stuff to digest. The guitar i am looking at on ebay is a good 3 hour drive away. So it`s take a chance time whether i go for it or not. The other thing the poster has put is `ceder top `, i thought all J45`s were spruce top. I have left a question but no reply yet. So thanks once again.

J185-4Me · #9 10-15-2011, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Larpy

What year did Gibson go to the adjustable saddle? I tend to associate Gibson's "dark years" with that bridge design, rightly or wrongly.

But as folks have pointed out, this doesn't mean every Gibson guitar with an adjustable saddle is a dog. But I don't think anyone disputes that it was a tone-killing design.

The ADJ saddle was available starting already in the second half of the 1950s, say '57-ish. It became more common in the 1960s.

I've played a few with the ADJ saddle, and even one or two equipped with the "tone-sucking" Tune-o-Matic bridge which were nonetheless still very good-sounding guitars.

Fred

Wade Hampton · #10 10-15-2011, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wezzywest

The other thing the poster has put is `ceder top `, i thought all J45`s were spruce top. I have left a question but no reply yet. So thanks once again.

I've never heard of a J-45 with a cedar top. That's not to say that Gibson has never made one, but if so, it would be extremely rare.

What's far more likely is that the seller is mistaken about the species of the wood of the top.

whm

wezzywest · #11 10-15-2011, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

I've never heard of a J-45 with a cedar top. That's not to say that Gibson has never made one, but if so, it would be extremely rare.

What's far more likely is that the seller is mistaken about the species of the wood of the top.

whm

Yes, i thought the same myself, it actually looks Spruce in the pictures. I will see what the seller replies with.

sfden1 · #12 10-15-2011, 03:11 PM

For what it's worth, one of my very first "good" guitars was a 1997 J-45 Historic series. Excellent guitar, but do take into consideration the advice of J185-4me. These can vary all over the place.

Personally, if I were going to buy another used, non-vintage, J-45, I would be looking for a post-2000 guitar, preferably a recent J-45 TV.

GibbyPrague · #13 10-15-2011, 04:11 PM

I agree about the True Vintage models. Apart from one J-45 TV that was a zombie dog all the TV's Ive played, across various models have been nothing short of oustanding.

A J-45TV is simply a dream guitar. If I was to buy a new Gibson now I would not hesiate in paying the premium and getting a TV model, it is by faaar worth the extra cash, mainly due to the lighter bracing which makes all the difference in the word in my opinion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfden1

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Personally, if I were going to buy another used, non-vintage, J-45, I would be looking for a post-2000 guitar, preferably a recent J-45 TV.

bohemian · #14 10-15-2011, 04:18 PM

My 1946 was excellent... my 2000 WM-45 was excellent.
I have played some not so good ones... case by case.

Avoid the square shoulder J-45's.

zabdart · #15 10-15-2011, 06:19 PM

Generally speaking, J-45's and J-50's from the period just after World War II up until 1958 or so are the most prized versions of the model. At that point, Gibson replaced their solid-maple bridge pads with larger, laminated ones, which either came unglued or cracked. That's about the same time that the 20-fret fretboard began to appear (although it may have been a few years earlier).
If you can find a J-45 or J-50 from this era, with the teardrop pickguard and the 19-fret fretboard, GO FOR IT! They're hard to find. Most of the people who have them bequeath them, rather than sell them.