Time to Upgrade. Gibson J-45 Confusion

[Knightrich]

Well now I’ve narrowed it to the Faded J-45, the J-50, or the 50s J-45. Now I’ve got to sell some serious gear to be able to afford this. I had gone down the deep end with pedals and effects. That was accumulated over time though and I definitely want to keep my Princeton amp but I can start offloading some stuff.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Boomstick

It sounds like you hit the lottery with the 50R.

You are so right! A mint condition F50R for less than $2,000? Deal of the Century! And get this, it came with freaking emeralds inlaid on the tuning posts and bridge pins.

Originally Posted by Boomstick

My favorite guitar to date is a maple F-50 and I've played a lot.

I need one of those, LOL. But really, I play my jumbo Guild 12-strings about 95% of the time. They're just so much fun to play, and I'll play anything and everything on a 12-string.

[Goat Mick]

Originally Posted by Boomstick

Why do you say the 50's over the Standard?

From my understanding, they are very similar but the Standard comes with a pickup and different tuners.

As others have mentioned, the only real difference is the neck carve. I have a '59 J-45 and the neck carve on my 50's LG2 feels very similar. I think the 50's series is a sweet spot in Gibson's acoustic lineup right now. They're already inching up in price and I expect they'll make a big jump soon. The sound a little tight straight out of the box, but after a few months of playing they loosen up and sound really sweet. Just like a Gibson should sound.

[pickitPaul]

Originally Posted by SRL

My 1999 WM-45 neck thickness measures 0.841" (21.4mm) wood to wood at the first fret , and 0.879" (22.3mm) at the 9th fret.

Neck width is 1.74" (44.2mm) at the nut, 2.084" (53.0mm) at the 12th fret. String spacing is 2.21" (56.1mm) at the saddle.

Thanks for the measurements - i'll have to compare someday.

Back when (more than 10 years now) buying and selling used wasn't so expensive and shipping was reasonable, I had some nice Gibson's ranging from SJ200, Hummingbird, J60 and Southern Jumbo, all used bought / resold at different times. Something about this WM45 - it caused me to stop trading around. I got it used in 2017 will be 20 yrs. old in August, and really opening into an "older" voice.

[Boomstick]

Originally Posted by b1j

Not quite. Standard and 50s have the same electronics. The other key difference is the neck shape: slim taper on the standard, round on the 50s.

Bring on the 50s then. The slim taper neck gives me hand cramps. The round is a little fatter like a '59 LP I assume?

[Br1ck]

The only reason I'd buy a $2000 J45 over a $5000+ J 45 is money. I'm not saying a J 45 Studio is a bad guitar, but that the high end J 45 is demonstrably better and worth paying for. I've been around the block a few times and have had to change my tune more than a few times. I do wish I still that the 000 16 I paid $900 for back in the 90s. But I gladly forked over $5000 for my used Santa Cruz, and it took all of five minutes to decide to up my budget. Had I liked any of the 1 3/4 necks I tried, I probably would not have tried the Santa Cruz.

Prices certainly suck when you don't have the money. Ever follow an artist on YouTube? They start maybe playing a D 18, certainly a very good guitar, then as they become successful they move to better and better instruments. This is not just because they can afford them, they are better and can now afford them. If they really hit the big time, they end up with a pre war D 28. Because they hear and feel the difference.

[b1j]

Originally Posted by Boomstick

Bring on the 50s then. The slim taper neck gives me hand cramps. The round is a little fatter like a '59 LP I assume?

It’s personal, I suppose. I much preferred the nice, fat Round profile of the 50s J-45 Original to the Slim Taper of the Standard. But ten months later I bought a Martin Standard with the Modified Low Oval neck. It’s my only guitar with such a thin neck (the 1952 0-18 has a fat one).

My left hand has developed some pain, I suspect from the MLO, but I have kept going back to it.

The J-45 is hanging from the stand just now, though.

[Stonehauler]

Honestly, my experience with the Gibson line is that you can vary between one example of a model and another dramatically. You can get a good Gibson, a mediocre one, or an exceptional one.

My personal advice is that if you are really wanting a Gibson, find a bunch of stores in your area that have one (and if only one does, or you live in an area where music stores are few and far between)

Look at alternative manufacturers as well. Guild, Taylor, Eastman, Martin, etc., can all make some very good guitars. Guild F-55 for example will have a lot of projection and sustain, Look at the J-200s as well from Gibson. The J-50 from Gibson is nice too.

However, you might also consider a 12 string. Worship and country can benefit from a shimmering guitar, so you may want to look at one of those and keep your Epiphone as your six string (that's still a nice guitar)

[jaytee32]

I did some serious research on the various J-45 models a few months ago, the findings were posted in this forum.

I agree with what was said earlier : the differences between the Standard and 50's are:

1. different tuners
2. different neck carve
3. different pickguards

As an aside, the 50's model is lighter because of the difference in tuners. Finally, there's an additional difference for the 50's faded: the lacquer is much thinner on that model.

I think "which one is best" comes down to personal preference and probably depends also a bit on which specific guitar you get your hands on - they're made of wood so will not be 100% identical from guitar to guitar. I got the 50's faded and am very happy with it - I liked the fatter neck and that particular guitar "sings" more than the other J-45s I tried.

[R22]

If I was in the market for a nice J45, I would look no further than the current AGF classifieds. I don't know what's going on, but the last time I checked, at least 4, very nice J45's are there for the picking.

I have a 2018 J45V. If your tastes lean towards the Gibson tone, you won't do much better.

[Knightrich]

Originally Posted by b1j

It’s personal, I suppose. I much preferred the nice, fat Round profile of the 50s J-45 Original to the Slim Taper of the Standard. But ten months later I bought a Martin Standard with the Modified Low Oval neck. It’s my only guitar with such a thin neck (the 1952 0-18 has a fat one).

My left hand has developed some pain, I suspect from the MLO, but I have kept going back to it.

The J-45 is hanging from the stand just now, though.

That is the same neck as on the D18 right? Those did feel fairly thin, at least compared to the Gibsons that I’ve tried.

[Knightrich]

Originally Posted by jaytee32

I did some serious research on the various J-45 models a few months ago, the findings were posted in this forum.

I agree with what was said earlier : the differences between the Standard and 50's are:

1. different tuners
2. different neck carve
3. different pickguards

As an aside, the 50's model is lighter because of the difference in tuners. Finally, there's an additional difference for the 50's faded: the lacquer is much thinner on that model.

I think "which one is best" comes down to personal preference and probably depends also a bit on which specific guitar you get your hands on - they're made of wood so will not be 100% identical from guitar to guitar. I got the 50's faded and am very happy with it - I liked the fatter neck and that particular guitar "sings" more than the other J-45s I tried.

Tone-wise they should in theory be pretty much the same right? I really like the look of the ‘50s Faded and would be happy with it for sure.

[Knightrich]

Originally Posted by R22

If I was in the market for a nice J45, I would look no further than the current AGF classifieds. I don't know what's going on, but the last time I checked, at least 4, very nice J45's are there for the picking.

I have a 2018 J45V. If your tastes lean towards the Gibson tone, you won't do much better.

I’m going to start perusing now. There is a J-45 Studio about three hours from me for $1,750 but with gas I think I can do about the same closer to home.

[b1j]

Originally Posted by Knightrich

That is the same neck as on the D18 right? Those did feel fairly thin, at least compared to the Gibsons that I’ve tried.

Yes, the MLO neck is on all of Martin’s Reimagined Standard models, including the D-18 and HD-28.

It’s been a while since I played a J-45 Standard, so I can’t comment on the comparison between Martin’s MLO and Gibson’s Slim Taper. Others may chime in.

[jaytee32]

Originally Posted by Knightrich

Tone-wise they should in theory be pretty much the same right? I really like the look of the ‘50s Faded and would be happy with it for sure.

I had the chance to compare a Standard, the 50s faded, and the Banner. I had three people listen with me, one of them played all three as well.

The Standard was the odd one out - had really powerful bass, to the point of being hyped up. The Banner and 50s were much more balanced. Within that similar character, the Banner was a tad more aggressive and louder.

I don’t know whether the Standard as odd guitar out comes from the particular guitars, or whether that’s typical of the various models themselves.