Gibson j15

[Pickcity]

Like you, I had my heart set on a J-45 for a year and had the money set aside for one when I picked up the J-15 instead. I just liked it better than the J-45's that I played and were available to me here locally. Cost was not a factor, but it was nice paying less.

The guitar is gorgeous, in a simple way. It plays like it was made specifically for me. It sounds wonderful. The price was great. I have no regrets whatsoever.

I've heard it said before and I will repeat it, the guitar picked me. I had my sights set on something else and ended up with the J-15. I am very glad I did.

[hardycreek1]

sorry to see the J-15 is no longer in production. Not sure how this will affect the resale value going forward?

[zombywoof]

Oddly the one thing not mentioned in all of the opinions provided is neck carves. The J15 has a Slim Taper neck. So as the name implies, the neck is pretty skinny clocking in at .800" at the 1st fret. But because the taper translates into how quickly the neck curves under the fingerboard, even if the neck had the same thickness as say a Flat C it still feels slimmer. Not a good or a bad thing just a matter of preference.

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Oldguy64

First off, Gibson makes some fine guitars.
The J15 is "all Gibson". It has that growl at about half the cost of a J45.
I've not owned a Gibson. But I've played a pallet load of them. My personal fave will always be the Gospel model.
But among the "J's" I think that unless you own them all, the 15 is close enough to the 45, to do the job and do it well.
IMHO it falls between the 35 and 45 tonally.

For what it is worth, in the early-1970s I had finally scraped together the cash I needed to buy a new guitar. Even though I had not spent enough time with Gibsons to really know a good one from a can of tuna, the Gospel was the only one I even considered buying. No mystery about the reason. It was the arched laminate maple back which made it stand out of the crowd. But with a price tag closing in on $500 it was not about to happen. If I recall that trip I ended up with a slightly used Martin D18 which was more in tune with what I had to spend. I only owned it a year or two when I sold it and started buying older Gibsons culminating in a 1942 J50 and 1932 L1.

[TDavis]

Sad to see Gibson has halted production of the J-15. It’s a well loved model around this forum, and pretty much every report is that it punches way above its price point. Maybe that’s the reason Gibson...who does a lot of weird stuff lately, took it out of its lineup.

It was simply too good of a guitar for the money.

[Mark E]

I love my J-15. It was one of the first Sunburst that wasn't "official" , that made it out of the factory. It ended up at Music Villa, and I grabbed it from them. I used to go play J-45's to compare, but I couldn't find a reason to change to a 45. So the J-15 is still here.

[Sax Player Guy]

I love mine, too. It is my favorite. Feels great, sounds great, and is happy to be strummed, picked or fingerpicked. Gibson did a good thing when they came up with the J-15.

[Maicobmw]

Yeah, count me among the J-15 fans.

[rokdog49]

Mine will be five years old in August...hard to believe. I bought it gently used in near new condition. Let’s just say I paid a lot less than the new ones and they were reasonable back then.
I thought it was a steal when I bought it and I still do.

[hardycreek1]

I out a bone nut & saddle on mine...wow! It sings!

[PeterD18DK]

Originally Posted by paul76

im sure theres a million threads about this on here but....would like to hear about the pros and cons of the j-15, is it any good or should i keep saving for a j45----i played em both at GC and l think i liked the feel of the 15 better but im not sure why haha

I recently got my first Furch spruce/walnut and I really like the wood combination. It is loud and good flat picked, it records good, highs are clear and bass is tight, woody and sits between Mahogany and Rosewood.