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Old 10-31-2019, 02:01 PM
Bob from Brooklyn Bob from Brooklyn is online now
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Default Does anyone have a D18 and a J45?

So like most of us here I am always on the hunt for the 'next' one. I already have a D18 but I seem to gravitate towards a J45 when I'm out test-driving. I know I am the final judge but is there enough of a difference between the two to justify adding a J45 to the herd?
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Old 10-31-2019, 02:17 PM
Quake17 Quake17 is offline
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I have both though neither are standard mahogany/Sitka models. They really have a different thing going on due to the scale length and how Martin and Gibson go about building such iconic designs. A short answer is the D-18 is better for flat picking and the J-45 seems more pleasing for strumming. I have the Southerner Jumbo rather than the standard J-45 because I prefer the aesthetics.
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Old 10-31-2019, 02:50 PM
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Yes but no. My D-18 is from 1975 and my J-45 Custom, which has rosewood, is from 2014. A good 45 is a nice thing to own. I would try a Rosewood J-45 if you can. The short scale adds the Gibson mid-heavy growl. The Rosewood version, to me, really should be called the J-45 extra. It sounds like a great J45, but has extra of everything.
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Old 10-31-2019, 02:52 PM
leew3 leew3 is offline
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check in with Rokdog49 as he has both and will likely reply to your post soon. If not you could send him a PM.
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Old 10-31-2019, 05:23 PM
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I have a J-45 and a Martin D-18 Authentic 1937. The Gibson has been with me close to 5 years and it's primarily been my church service guitar. A great sounding, easy to play, mellow instrument, perfect for strumming and fingerpicking. The Martin I picked up a month ago, and it is a game changer. Not only is it a monster bluegrass guitar, but it is an excellent fingerstyle guitar and a decent strummer too. The volume and 'bigness' of tone is off the charts. Unfortunately for the J-45, it is now outclassed against the other instruments from Martin and Santa Cruz that I am blessed to own, and is not getting played very often.

It wasn't always this way. Against a standard D-18, I'd keep my J-45. I also once owned a Music Villa D-18 Sitka VTS custom and I still kept the J-45. And...yep same situation where I also had a J-45 Vintage for a bit and ended up selling that because I preferred the extra tonal coloring of the Sitka top over the cooked Adi on the Vintage.

But the J-45 is simply no match for the Authentics I have now, as different as they are.

Hope this helps.
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Old 10-31-2019, 05:25 PM
davidd davidd is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob View Post
So like most of us here I am always on the hunt for the 'next' one. I already have a D18 but I seem to gravitate towards a J45 when I'm out test-driving. I know I am the final judge but is there enough of a difference between the two to justify adding a J45 to the herd?
Yes, very different animals IMO. I have both. My D18 has a much bigger output, much more bass, more harmonics and overtones and is generally a more direct instrument. The longer scale gives it a stiffer feel.

My J45 is drier, balanced, more quiet and much better for vocals. The shorter scale gives a much softer feel and also makes it a more comfortable guitar, especially when seated.

They both could certainly be used for anything you throw at them but they have different personalities.
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Old 10-31-2019, 05:54 PM
Bob from Brooklyn Bob from Brooklyn is online now
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Ok, these are the kind of responses I'm looking for. Thank you. I'll take more.
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Old 10-31-2019, 07:39 PM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by leew3 View Post
check in with Rokdog49 as he has both and will likely reply to your post soon. If not you could send him a PM.
I’m replying
I own a standard D18 and a Standard J45
Everyone has their own opinions obviously. I don’t feel that one guitar is a better “anything” than the other. Both are great at anything in my book.
I dont agree that the D18 “has more bass”. The bass response in both is very good, it’s just different. D18 ...warmer bottom. Gibson ...thump!
As far as loudness, I would say the D18 gets the nod, but I don’t care, it’s not that much louder.
I think the J45 Standard is easier to play. It is a “dryer voicing” with less overtone clutter and has a certain sweetness. It is stellar for certain types of songs. The D18 a bit harder to play, but I use round core strings on mine to offset that. The longer scale isn’t that big of a deal to adjust to. It does have a rich pallet of nice overtones. It is good at strumming against bluegrass because it has that “Martin thing”. They are very different guitars that compliment each other and I am thrilled to own both.
In truth, the ratio of playing time for me is about 60-40 in favor of the J45.
Lately my recently purchase J15 has become a bit of interloper demanding some playing time too.
I don’t see any overlap with the D18 and the J45. I see two great guitars that battle each other for playing time.
My advice is add a J45 and you got it all.
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Last edited by rokdog49; 10-31-2019 at 07:58 PM.
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Old 10-31-2019, 07:43 PM
Bob from Brooklyn Bob from Brooklyn is online now
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rokdog49 View Post
I’m replying
I own a standard D18 and a Standard J45
Everyone has their own opinions obviously. I don’t feel that one guitar is a better “anything” than the other. Both are great at anything in my book.
I totally disagree that the D18 “has more bass” as well. The bass response in both is very good, it’s just different.
I think the J45 Standard is easier to play. It is a “dryer voicing” with less overtone clutter and has a certain sweetness. It is stellar for certain types of songs. The D18 a bit harder to play, but I use round core strings on mine to offset that. The longer scale isn’t that big of a deal to adjust to. It does have a rich pallet of nice overtones. It is good at strumming against bluegrass because it has that “Martin thing”. They are very different guitars that compliment each other and I am thrilled to own both.
In truth, the ratio of playing time is about 60-40 in favor of the J45.
Lately my recently purchase J15 has become a bit of interloper demanding some playing time too.
I don’t see any overlap with the D18 and the J45. I see two great guitars that battle each other for playing time.
This is a great answer! Thanks for taking the time to articulate.
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Old 10-31-2019, 07:48 PM
WordMan WordMan is offline
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I had a ‘48 D-18 and a ‘46 J-45. Both amazing but different - the D-18 had so much clean headroom, it could go as big as I wanted. My J-45 is more like playing through a tube amp: strumming past a certain force translates to more compressed mids and warmth.

I kept the J-45 and put the D-18 towards a ‘30 0-21 which is the best parlor/fingerstyle guitar for me I’ve ever played.

If you’re in Brooklyn, have you been to Retrofret?
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Old 10-31-2019, 08:04 PM
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I have two variations of the D-18 and have owned a standard J-45. Only reason I sold the J-45 is because I found a great used Kopp K-35 and didn't need both. I think there is enough difference...one sounds like a Gibson...the other like a Martin. If you've found a great J-45 I say get it. Killer guitars!
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Last edited by llew; 10-31-2019 at 08:15 PM.
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Old 10-31-2019, 08:15 PM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brooklyn Bob View Post
This is a great answer! Thanks for taking the time to articulate.
You’re welcome
Both guitars are like comfort food...meatloaf and fried chicken.
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Old 10-31-2019, 08:16 PM
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DenverSteve DenverSteve is offline
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While I am never in search of the next one and I'm not a herd mentality guy, I never shy away from a great guitar. If you are in a position to buy another guitar, and the J-45 is special enough for you to want to buy it, then it's your decision. I've never played a D-18 that sounded or felt like a J-45 and vice versa. For me the D-18 has always been the sweeter easier playing go-to guitar. The J-45 is drier and more fundamental and isn't as well-rounded for my playing. Both can be lifetime no. 1 guitars for different people. I have always had to play more J-45s to find a special "got to have" one than D-18's.
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Old 10-31-2019, 08:29 PM
zoopeda zoopeda is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DenverSteve View Post
I have always had to play more J-45s to find a special "got to have" one than D-18's.
+1. For years I thought J-45s just weren’t for me. I had to play at least ten of them before I heard one that really sang. I thought “so THIS is what everyone’s talking about, but why don’t they ALL sound HALF this good???”
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Old 11-01-2019, 06:12 AM
rokdog49 rokdog49 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zoopeda View Post
+1. For years I thought J-45s just weren’t for me. I had to play at least ten of them before I heard one that really sang. I thought “so THIS is what everyone’s talking about, but why don’t they ALL sound HALF this good???”
I only had only played a few and that was a quite a number of years ago. Only one was a real dog and the strings were shot on it so I’m not sure. A couple of the others sounded pretty good, but not enough for me to want one.
In my heart I still wanted that iconic guitar so about two years ago I went looking again at a GC about an hour from where I live.
There was one hanging way up high on the wall so I knew it hadn’t been in the hands of the young and the feckless.
I asked the sales guy to get it down for me. He said it had only been there for a couple of weeks.
At first strum it was Boom!
Just to be sure and at the suggestion of the salesperson, I also tried another new one right out of the box while I was there. It sounded really good but the one from the wall was “one of those.”
I even played them against each other and asked other folks nearby for their opinions. I really didn’t have to ask, I could tell by the looks on their faces. One guy across the room smiled and said “ you already know the one.”
I can’t and won’t argue that there seems to be a “performance disparity” with J45’s. They were all nicely built and played great. I really don’t know why ones like mine just shone above the others.
All I can say is, you’ll know the difference when you experience it and if you’re lucky, it might be the first one you pick up
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