Anyone here played a Gibson G45?

[ahorsewithnonam]

Lots of good reviews.

[Wade Hampton]

I've played several of them at different music stores in different cities, most recently at the Guitar Center in Anchorage, Alaska. I found them fairly underwhelming, frankly. None of them really had as much tone or volume as the J-45's and other Gibson acoustic guitars the stores had on hand.

But even so, my experience with the is admittedly limited. I just haven't played any yet that I really liked.


Wade Hampton Miller

[cyclistbrian]

Originally Posted by ahorsewithnonam

Lots of good reviews.

Have a standard purchased in January. Love it. Sounds great, plays great, vety happy.

[Arthur Slowhand]

I've owned both the Studio and, later, a Standard. I sold the Studio to buy a Telecaster, which obviously wasn't a reflection on the Gibson, but on my fickleness.

I had the Standard for a couple of weeks, recently, to compare with a Taylor 214ce Koa. The Standard has a fuller sound than the Studio, which I wouldn't have imagined was just down to the gloss finish and Richlite board, but the difference is definitely there (as other people have also confirmed). The G45 has a sound all of its own, really nice mids, but overall thinner than the Taylor, with less low end. I'd describe the tone as 'distant', 'vintage', and maybe a little boxy. It's more of a pickers and light strummers guitar, IMO. I much prefer the G45 to some of the price-comparable Martin's that I've played - D10e, or any of the X series guitars - which lack the overall articulation and pleasing mids of the Gibson. If you love the Martin sound, you might hate the Gibson, or prefer a J-15. I liked the playability of the G45 - slightly chunkier neck than the Taylor, but not quite 1 3/4" at the nut, and a matt finish. The relatively shallow body of the G45 is comfortable on the couch. The mini Grover Rotomatics were awful - small, fiddly and inaccurate... I like Grovers, but not these. I thought the headstock looked cheap, with a wishy-washy silkscreened logo and truss rod cover that looked like thin Formica.

There's a lot to like about this guitar - it has a charm that perhaps the more pristine Taylor doesn't, but I returned the Gibson mainly because of build quality (although looking back, the Taylor was a better all-rounder, tonally, as well as in build quality). I put up a thread asking about this, but the G45 had a pronounced, what I now know to be called 'fall away', of the fingerboard*. I don't remember the Studio being that way (or any other guitar I've owned), but I saw no reason why Gibson couldn't, if necessary, shim the fingerboard to keep it flat. Don't let this put you off - it might have been a one-off, or they might just be made like that (I didn't ask Gibson).

In summary, the default answer to your question is, you need to try a few and look over them carefully, before you buy one.
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* PS. Just enquired about another G45, out of curiosity, and photos of that one didn't have such a pronounced fall away. Maybe I got a bad one, maybe they're inconsistent.
.

[MickZ]

I tried a J45 Studio, which is ostensibly the same thing, and agree with Wade that it doesn't stack up to other Gibsons I have sampled and own. I also found the tone lacking and the quick decay may be the cause of it sounding somewhat boxy for its size. Granted, it was a sample of one and I don't have much experience with Walnut, but it doesn't sound like a Gibson to me (more "modern," actually).

I do like the slimmer profile, however, and the build quality was good. But if you like the Martin tone -- or Gibson's for that matter -- you probably won't be happy with this one. I think it's more of a starter guitar. I would wait until you get a chance to try one before you buy.

[TBman]

I tried one at GC when they first came out. I prefer the sound from a deeper bodied guitar - at least I think I do. I had read before playing one that it wasn't as deep as my J-45 so that may have prejudiced my "review." Now I'm not even sure where I read that.

[rstaight]

I played one at a Sam Ashe while on vacation in Sarasota last year. There was a lot of activity going on where I played it. So I can't really comment on the tone. But it seemed to play just fine.

I would give it another look if I was buying.

[lapetrarca]

Just received mine last Friday.

Right out of the case it was setup perfect. Action was perfect for me and intonation is spot on.

Plays, looks and sounds great....no regrets!

[rstaight]

Tried one last year on vacation. Was OK but not one I can't live without.

These are Gibson's entry level. Would be a good step up after playing a couple of years when starting on a $500 or less guitar.