J-45 Mahogany

[kswilson89]

Hello

Has anyone played a J-45 with an all mahogany body? How did it sound? Did it lack bass and emphasise midrange? Do you think it would be suitable for flatpicking? There's one locally going for a decent price but I'm looking for something comfortable that will give me decent projection and bass response.

[Looburst]

I don't know, a solid mahogany body J45 might be a bit muddy.

[Nctom]

While not a J-45, my all mahogany Waterloo sounds subdued compared to one with a spruce top. That's not to say it doesn't sound good, but it just doesn't have the volume or presence of the mixed-wood models. It does have plenty of bass, however.

Gibson has built mahogany topped guitars for years, particularly during the shortages of WWII. Many have gained fame and are not always differentiated from the mahogany/spruce models.

[Looburst]

Yes they have. I own a 1943 all hog Banner LG2 and it sounds great but it's the smaller guitar size that makes the difference, IMO.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

I've played an all-mahogany J45 and I have to say it was a BEAUTIFUL sounding guitar. It was very mellow and smooth, but far from muddy.

I think Gibson has done two special runs of these, one in a more natural finish with gold tuners and the other in the more traditional Gibson burst with the white button tuners.

[Static]

I AB'd one with a new Martin D-18 and it had the same focused clarity of the D-18. It also had that Gibson 'thump' in spades with a really full pop to the lower register and really silky sounding highs. It is right up there with the new D-18 in terms of sound and the thing played like butter. My favorite J-45 I've played this year, by far.

To echo Vinnie's sentiment, it is FAR from muddy. Sweet sweet sounding guitar.

[Steel and wood]

Had no idea they made an all mahogany J45. (Learn something new on this forum all the time).

[eljay]

Wildwood has 4 on their website; here is link to one of 'em . . .

https://wildwoodguitars.com/product/...-2/?cat_id=368

[Br1ck]

I was playing my 00 15 custom 12 fret all week, and I've come to the conclusion that if you are on the top of your game, the clarity of all hog can't be beat. The relative absence of overtones allow the most rapid fire picking to come across clean. If you are sloppy, there is nowhere to hide.

[Wade Hampton]

kswilson wrote:

Originally Posted by kswilson89

Has anyone played a J-45 with an all mahogany body? How did it sound? Did it lack bass and emphasise midrange? Do you think it would be suitable for flatpicking? There's one locally going for a decent price but I'm looking for something comfortable that will give me decent projection and bass response.

To which Steel and Wood responded:

Originally Posted by Steel and wood

Had no idea they made an all mahogany J45. (Learn something new on this forum all the time).

Steel, the first all-mahogany J-45's I'm aware of were made during WWII, when there difficulties in getting a regular supply of woods. I've played a couple of the originals and maybe three modern reissues.

They're nice-sounding guitars, but as with any hardwood-top guitar, you've got fewer tone colors that can be pulled out of them.

As for projection, even with a spruce top the J-45 is not a projective guitar design. If you want a projective Gibson you want to look into an Advanced Jumbo or a Songwriter. J-45's have an enveloping sound, a SurroundSound sort of enveloping presentation that's more for the player than it is for anyone in front of the guitar.

The Martin D-18 is a considerably more projective guitar than is the J-45, whether it's a spruce-topped J-45 or an all-mahogany version.

Getting to the tone of those all-mahogany J-45's, the ones I've had a chance to play have had a nice tonal balance: not too bassy, not too trebly, not too mid-rangey. They're very even-toned guitars, again, whether all-mahogany or spruce-topped. Which makes them record beautifully, and makes them easy to mic onstage, as well.

But they don't cut well through a crowd of other instruments, not when you're in a purely acoustic environment with no pickups or amps.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[zombywoof]

Only one and that was a Gibson Banner so I am not sure how representative it is. The upper end was really nice and crisp with some decent snap to it. But the low end while not muddy was more subdued sounding than a guitar with a red spruce top version.

[Mr. Paul]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

..... J-45's have an enveloping sound, a SurroundSound sort of enveloping presentation that's more for the player than it is for anyone in front of the guitar.

Never heard that before and would be surprised to hear it again.

[sid45]

do you mean M top ? the body is allways M

[Steel and wood]

I was talking about an all mahogany J45 which I'd never seen or heard of but thanks to those in the know on this forum.

This guy seems to be enjoying his!