J45 banner reissue or J45 legend（06~07）？

[Dylanfans]

Hello everyone, I am a Chinese acoustic guitar enthusiast and my English is not very good, so please excuse me if my sentences are not fluent. I own a J45 1942 Banner (Historic Collection), but I have heard that the J45 Legend is a fantastic J45 model (supposedly the best modern J45). It is difficult to compare the J45 Legend and Banner in my country, so I would like to hear from experienced players who have owned both models at the same time and their opinions on the differences. Additionally, I have heard that Murphy Lab will release a "relic" version of the J45 1942 Banner in July this year. I am not sure if this is just a cosmetic difference or if there will be improvements in sound (such as better wood selection and thinner finish). I am a huge fan of the J45 and would love to own one that will last me a lifetime. I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on this.

[Wade Hampton]

Dylanfans, all of the guitars you mentioned are fine instruments. There are no guarantees that trading off the banner model that you have will bring you a better instrument. There’s an English language expression that goes “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” which means that it’s often better to hang onto what you have rather than assume something else will be better.

So unless you’re dissatisfied with the banner model, I’d say keep it.

By the way, your English is fine, perfectly grammatical and spelled correctly - your post is better in that regard than many posts written by native English speakers.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Dylanfans]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Dylanfans, all of the guitars you mentioned are fine instruments. There are no guarantees that trading off the banner model that you have will bring you a better instrument. There’s an English language expression that goes “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” which means that it’s often better to hang onto what you have rather than assume something else will be better.

So unless you’re dissatisfied with the banner model, I’d say keep it.

By the way, your English is fine, perfectly grammatical and spelled correctly - your post is better in that regard than many posts written by native English speakers.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Thank you, Miller. You elevated my question to another level of discussion, but it was still very helpful to me. Also, thank you for acknowledging my English skills (I won't tell you that I had to rely on Google Translate to complete some of the complex sentences haha).

[zombywoof]

I play a 1942 J50. When it comes to Banners though they are as much the result of quirks and idiosyncrasies in the build as they are of design. You have to remember these guitars were built largely by what at best can be described as a semi-skilled workforce having to deal with shortages of materials. Made for, to say the least, some interesting guitars.

The J45 Legend, of course, was one of the few instances where Gibson borrowed an original guitar to copy. From what I can gather the earlier guitars are the more desirable. The only other instance I can think of though where Gibson copied borrowed instruments was a short 2013 run of three models produced as part of the "Kalamazoo Gals" project. This was the first time, as example, anyone had seen an all-mahogany X braced LG1 since 1942. The Historic Collection guitars are not meant to be spot on copies of any specific guitar so feature the standard Bozeman build you find in other versions. I know more than a few folks though who have told me they never cared for a J45 until they got their hands on a Historic Collection '42 Banner. Also, I would guess that a Tom Murphy relic finish will result in a standard Historic Collection J45 with different skin and a hefty price tag.

[Dylanfans]

Originally Posted by zombywoof

I play a 1942 J50. When it comes to Banners though they are as much the result of quirks and idiosyncrasies in the build as they are of design. You have to remember these guitars were built largely by what at best can be described as a semi-skilled workforce having to deal with shortages of materials. Made for, to say the least, some interesting guitars.

The J45 Legend, of course, was one of the few instances where Gibson borrowed an original guitar to copy. From what I can gather the earlier guitars are the more desirable. The only other instance I can think of though where Gibson copied borrowed instruments was a short 2013 run of three models produced as part of the "Kalamazoo Gals" project. This was the first time, as example, anyone had seen an all-mahogany X braced LG1 since 1942. The Historic Collection guitars are not meant to be spot on copies of any specific guitar so feature the standard Bozeman build you find in other versions. I know more than a few folks though who have told me they never cared for a J45 until they got their hands on a Historic Collection '42 Banner. Also, I would guess that a Tom Murphy relic finish will result in a standard Historic Collection J45 with different skin and a hefty price tag.

zombywoof, thank you very much. Indeed, the tonal memory that the Banner guitar brings us is more about "historical happenstance" than deliberate planning and design. The Murphy version of the Banner is indeed more expensive, and the dealer information I saw shows that it is about $1400 more than the regular version. That's why I'm hesitant, wondering if paying a higher price only gets me the aging appearance, or if there is also an improvement in sound performance.

[gfirob]

I think the most important thing to consider is that guitars are individuals, no matter the model, no matter the builder, no matter the age. Two guitars from the same assembly line from the same year from the same company can sound very different.

So guitars must be chosen by what you want and how they sound. There are bad original banner Gibsons. I promise you, no matter how much they cost. There are much better high end Chinese guitars because that is just how the random nature of wood and construction works. If you love the guitar you have now, then keep it. If you are venturing out into the world of a new guitar, take your time, play them and listen to how they do or do not move or touch you. To find a guitar that will really light your inner light, you have to play a lot of them and decide what you like and what you want. I don’t know how hard this is to do in China, but it is the only way to find your way to your own true guitar. Test them all.

[Dylanfans]

Originally Posted by gfirob

I think the most important thing to consider is that guitars are individuals, no matter the model, no matter the builder, no matter the age. Two guitars from the same assembly line from the same year from the same company can sound very different.

So guitars must be chosen by what you want and how they sound. There are bad original banner Gibsons. I promise you, no matter how much they cost. There are much better high end Chinese guitars because that is just how the random nature of wood and construction works. If you love the guitar you have now, then keep it. If you are venturing out into the world of a new guitar, take your time, play them and listen to how they do or do not move or touch you. To find a guitar that will really light your inner light, you have to play a lot of them and decide what you like and what you want. I don’t know how hard this is to do in China, but it is the only way to find your way to your own true guitar. Test them all.

Indeed, I completely agree with you. If you really want to find that "one and only" guitar in your life, you must actually try it out. Previously, I could only buy them and then compare and try them out, which was really expensive, hahaha.