NGD: 2019 Gibson J-45 Cutaway !

[uriah1]

I have
last years J45 cutaway. Great ..
I did put in K&k since I do like those in acoustics,
but that is me.
Enjoy!!

[Groberts]

Originally Posted by uriah1

I have
last years J45 cutaway. Great ..
I did put in K&k since I do like those in acoustics, but that is me. Enjoy!!

Mine came with the Baggs Element VTC. It works well enough and there were no "hot" spots like some UST's exhibit. But I felt it lacked a little 'air'. I am tempted to swap and upgrade to a Baggs Anthem, but need to give it some time.

I have a K&K in another guitar and it is very musical, but it can be prone to feedback on a guitar with a prominent bass/low end response in my experience. Do you play yours amplified much?

Curious if there are any differences between the 2018 Cutaway J-45 that you have versus this 2019 collection?

[Shades of Blue]

I’m so glad you dig it Gary! My J-45 replaced my D-18 simply because I felt that the J-45 did the Mahogany thing better. I’d put the D-18 up against any guitar, but my particular J-45 just sounded “right” to me. It’s such an expressive instrument and sounds great and dynamic depending on where you hit the strings. Ring out a chord more towards the saddle and you’ll hear what I mean....GROWL!!!!

[archerscreek]

Man, you J-45 guys (and perhaps gals) are killing me here. I mean absolutely killing me. A J-45 or variant has always been in the back of my mind. They’re really getting high praises lately. Look and sound nice. And are absolutely killing me. Argh. Haha.

[guitar george]

Congtratulations. It's a beauty! Enjoy playing it.

[Groberts]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

I’m so glad you dig it Gary! My J-45 replaced my D-18 simply because I felt that the J-45 did the Mahogany thing better. I’d put the D-18 up against any guitar, but my particular J-45 just sounded “right” to me. It’s such an expressive instrument and sounds great and dynamic depending on where you hit the strings. Ring out a chord more towards the saddle and you’ll hear what I mean....GROWL!!!!

Thanks Johnathan. I am still getting acquainted, but really loving the classic sound and feeling the depth of bass and the growl you mentioned. Super expressive and fun guitar to play. This is my first short scale with light gauge strings.

I may follow Rev Roy's lead and try a set of Santa Cruz Mid tension strings on it. But ...when the time comes. Whatever strings are on this guitar now sound great and feel good too. I think they are "Cleartone?" What strings do you use? I assume you are using light gauge?

[brencat]

Originally Posted by Groberts

One more Demo in Drop D. Seems like the right vibe for the Gibson.

Hi Gary, a touch late in responding, but yeah...I'd say that's EXACTLY the vibe for a J-45.

You got a great sounding example too, based on what I can hear from the recordings. Enjoy!

[Groberts]

Thanks Guys. I recently discovered the fingerboard drops lower where at the neck/body joint. Not sure yet how much of an issue that will create for the set up I like. Plays great now, but single note runs on the high E String near the 12th fret are a bit buzzy and fretting out. Hmmm. I LOVE how this guitar sounds and want it to work out. But not sure if that will be a problem or get worse.

Question for J-45/Gibson owners. Is it common for the fingerboard to drop lower above the neck/body joint going toward the soundhole?

[ii Cybershot ii]

Originally Posted by Groberts

Thanks Guys. I recently discovered the fingerboard drops lower where at the neck/body joint. Not sure yet how much of an issue that will create for the set up I like. Plays great now, but single note runs on the high E String near the 12th fret are a bit buzzy and fretting out. Hmmm. I LOVE how this guitar sounds and want it to work out. But not sure if that will be a problem or get worse.

Question for J-45/Gibson owners. Is it common for the fingerboard to drop lower above the neck/body joint going toward the soundhole?

Funny you mentioned this. I have noticed on some Gibson acoustics that there is excessive fall-away in the fingerboard. There's a 2016 J45 Cutaway at a local music shop of mine and it has a ton of fall-away, probably too much. Generally fall-away is actually a GOOD thing, it should technically prevent buzzing and fretting out. The drawback is increased action. So there's a fine line between too little and too much. I find that Taylor's are extremely consistent with just the right amount of fall-away. Gibson acoustics tend to have a LOT, and Martin's vary anywhere from a lot to none at all. Those are my observations at least! On any non-cutaway model you'd probably never notice, but now with access to those upper frets it's definitely a thing to watch out for. Of course the reverse of too much fall-away is a hump in the fingerboard, which is slightly more damming since every high note will bottom out on the frets and have no sustain.