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Old 04-19-2015, 10:17 PM
Cibby Cibby is offline
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Default Anyone played a Gibson J35 1935 Collectors Edition

This remake of the 1935 Gibson J35 has a Adirondack Spruce top mahogany back and sides sunburst finish and according to Gibson specs a 1.77 nut width with a bone nut and saddle. I found a couple videos by Wildwood Guitars on YouTube nothing however on Gibsons webpage. I'd like to know the neck shape and string spacing at the saddle also how it sounds and plays. In the videos they can make most anything sound good. Looking at the Custom shop specs and the wood I would think it could be fantastic. There are no reviews to be found so I don't know if many have been sold or is it a special run for a big box music store. Any feedback would really help as I would have to buy it without playing it but the place selling it is real flexible in taking returns. I know because I have sent one Gibson and a Martin D28 back with no problems.
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Old 04-19-2015, 11:04 PM
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brencat brencat is offline
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Hi Cibby. I played one of these at Russo Music in Asbury Park NJ last year and believe the run was limited to 75 guitars. It's a nice guitar and like you mentioned, it has the Luthier's Choice 1.77 nut chunky neck. If you are used to the scrawny necks of most Gibson J-45s and J-45TVs, this one will be a bit of a handful at first. It is a medium-fat C shape but I liked it a lot.

As for the tone, it's fairly lively and airy sounding, but that particular day I played it, I remember saying to myself that a J-45TV was probably the better buy, given that the J-35 Collector's Edition was selling for similar money but would likely take a bigger hit in a resale situation given it is a custom run. In other words, it wasn't special enough in my view to make it a 'gotta have' if that makes sense.

The two that Wildwood Guitars has/had have been there at least 9 mos, FYI.

Personally, I might consider waiting just a little while longer before buying anything until the new J-45 Vintage shows up...any day now. That will be the replacement for the J-45TV and it will have the torrefied Adi top.
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Old 04-19-2015, 11:24 PM
pjroberts pjroberts is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brencat View Post
Personally, I might consider waiting just a little while longer before buying anything until the new J-45 Vintage shows up...any day now. That will be the replacement for the J-45TV and it will have the torrefied Adi top.
Mmmm, instant gratification! Any other news about the new Vintage? I will have to learn more as my fascination with Gibsons is beginning to spiral out of control, in particular the J45 TV -- 3 played last 4 weeks (multiple times each), all awesome, and unusual compared to my previous Gibson experience, mostly consistent.

One thing I do not dig about them though is the narrow nut, I need some more space ... any ideas out there ?
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Old 04-19-2015, 11:38 PM
Cibby Cibby is offline
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Originally Posted by brencat View Post
Hi Cibby. I played one of these at Russo Music in Asbury Park NJ last year and believe the run was limited to 75 guitars. It's a nice guitar and like you mentioned, it has the Luthier's Choice 1.77 nut chunky neck. If you are used to the scrawny necks of most Gibson J-45s and J-45TVs, this one will be a bit of a handful at first. It is a medium-fat C shape but I liked it a lot.

As for the tone, it's fairly lively and airy sounding, but that particular day I played it, I remember saying to myself that a J-45TV was probably the better buy, given that the J-35 Collector's Edition was selling for similar money but would likely take a bigger hit in a resale situation given it is a custom run. In other words, it wasn't special enough in my view to make it a 'gotta have' if that makes sense.

The two that Wildwood Guitars has/had have been there at least 9 mos, FYI.


Personally, I might consider waiting just a little while longer before buying anything until the new J-45 Vintage shows up...any day now. That will be the replacement for the J-45TV and it will have the torrefied Adi top.
Thanks that helps a lot. It sounds like the neck I'd be happy with but I agree that they don't appear to be selling very fast. I'm in no rush to get one as I've been looking at them for a couple months and it does not appear they have sold any.
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Old 04-20-2015, 01:01 PM
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brencat brencat is offline
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Originally Posted by pjroberts View Post
One thing I do not dig about them though is the narrow nut, I need some more space ... any ideas out there ?
Unfortunately, most Gibsons come with either 1.725" or 1 11/16" nut. The Luthier's Choice neck on the J-35CE discussed above, some of the Fullers customs, and limited edition runs Gibson's custom shop does from time to time will have the 1.77" nut.

I think it's best though to get out and play a bunch of Gibson necks. They can feel radically different based on the profile. For example, the AJ has a mod-v neck but it's one of the shallowest depth wise in Gibson's lineup. The Hummingbird and the J-200 have a rounded C shape neck that feels fuller because of added thickness in the cheeks/shoulders of the neck.

I personally own one of the Wildwood Guitars 1960s style J-45s (the one with the ugly white Pickguard...which I swapped out). It's got a 1.725" nut, 2 3/16" string spacing, and a medium fat-C neck with good depth that really fills the hand. I'm super sensitive to neck profiles and this one is a killer sounding J-45 that also has the best neck for my needs.

Check it out. And good luck!
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Old 04-20-2015, 02:00 PM
Jimd826 Jimd826 is offline
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I just bought the J35 CE two weeks ago. I was looking for J45TV but when i compared the two, the J35 had more volume and mid range punch. I read on a website that 65 was the number that they made of these and i feel lucky to have one. The neck took a day or two to get used to as it is chunky but now i love it. The sound is loud and raw Gibson. Maybe i got lucky and got a good one, but i'd take mine hands down over the few J45TV's that i A/B'd with it. I was concerned about resale value at first, but then convinced myself to buy the better sounding guitar and not to worry about a time when i might sell it. It's a keeper for me. If you can return it and its eating at you, give it a try, you've got nothing to lose. Good luck.
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Old 04-20-2015, 04:12 PM
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I was considering the J-35 CE but opted for the standard one instead because I couldn't hear much difference in tone, and that left paying $1k+ for the wider fingerboard and the sunburst finish. I like the standard 1.725 width just fine, and the sunburst finish I'll get in a different model, specifically, a model that doesn't have an equally good version for less money in a natural finish.
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Old 04-22-2015, 07:47 AM
Drewski Drewski is offline
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I played one at Fullers a while back, and loved it. Loved the neck on it, a lot. Ive thought about that guitar for a while.

So I just bought a used one this morning. I hope it sounds like the one at Fullers!

Should be here next week!
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