What makes a good J-45???

[TBman]

When you put it in dadgad with a capo on and it sounds rich and clear.

[ii Cybershot ii]

Originally Posted by Goat Whiskey Picks

The main thing is when you lean into one hard it just growls beautifully. No matter how hard you play one the tone doesn't fall apart it just compresses beautifully like a Les Paul into an old Marshall.

Now I want one

[Shades of Blue]

Originally Posted by TBman

When you put it in dadgad with a capo on and it sounds rich and clear.

That is very interesting, because I absolutely do not like the sound of my J-45 in DADGAD. I didn't buy it for DADGAD because that is what I have my 000-28 for. With DADGAD I love overtones and long sustain. I get none of that with my J-45, so I leave it in standard tuning.

Come to think of it, there actually are more overtones in my J-45 than in the D-18 I had, and I like that. Sustain was longer with the D-18 for sure, but the low end on the J-45 has more authority and character. The J-45 sounds like a soulful singer, whereas the D-18 was more of a choir. Dunno if that makes sense.

Before I bought the J-45, was was probably playing in DADGAD 90% of the time. Now, I'm definitely 50-60% standard tuning because I am digging the J-45 that much.

[Mking]

I think the age of the guitar has something to do with it. However, to me what makes a good J-45 is your ears. I have a 2007 J-45 True Vintage with the Sitka top. I played it next to a couple at Wildwood Guitars in CO with the Adi top. My friend and I didn't notice a difference. A year later I was there without my guitar and I played a John Hiatt, it didn't have that J-45 sound (to me). Hanging right next to it was a Brad Paisley model. I pulled it down and strummed a chord and thought, "Oh yeah". It had the J-45 sound my ears were used to hearing. It is in the ears of the individual, in my opinion.

[llew]

What: All of the above

Who: Kevin Kopp K-35

[JBCROTTY]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Okay, I get it that you're saying they have a pronounced midrange response, but what's a "Mh J 45?" That's an abbreviation I haven't run across before.


whm

I'm guessing he means mahogany....

[drbluegrass]

The last "new" one I played sounded dead as a brick. You know...the old "blanket over the guitar" analogy. But I've read numerous accounts of newer J-45s that, according to the player, sounded great.

And I've played some killer sounding boutique ones...Bourgeois Banjo Killer, Collings CJ, Fairbanks, Walker, Kopp, old Gibson J-45, and the absolute killer.....Prewar J model...WONDERFUL sounding and playing guitar. And, lighter than air.

[drbluegrass]

Hmmm.....quick decay and get out of the way? I'm a 5 decade+ guitar player and this is a new concept to me. I always thought you wanted as much sustain as possible to allow the notes of a chord to blend and slowly decay, unlike a banjo where the decay is very quick vs a guitar. You can easily control sustain on a guitar by picking attack and hand muting. But, you're never too old to learn something new. And, I've just learned something new.

OTOH, I'm a bluegrass flat picker and I could see where, in an uptempo bluegrass song, you might want quick decay of notes. I just don't ever remember a time where I was conscious of, or wanted, quick decay of notes. Anyway, I've been more concerned about attack than decay. I always thought sustain/decay was a good thing. But, what the heck do I know?

[davenumber2]

Originally Posted by drbluegrass

The last "new" one I played sounded dead as a brick. You know...the old "blanket over the guitar" analogy. But I've read numerous accounts of newer J-45s that, according to the player, sounded great.

And I've played some killer sounding boutique ones...Bourgeois Banjo Killer, Collings CJ, Fairbanks, Walker, Kopp, old Gibson J-45, and the absolute killer.....Prewar J model...WONDERFUL sounding and playing guitar. And, lighter than air.

The Prewar J is actually modeled after a J-35.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Shades of Blue

That is very interesting, because I absolutely do not like the sound of my J-45 in DADGAD. I didn't buy it for DADGAD because that is what I have my 000-28 for. With DADGAD I love overtones and long sustain. I get none of that with my J-45, so I leave it in standard tuning.

Come to think of it, there actually are more overtones in my J-45 than in the D-18 I had, and I like that. Sustain was longer with the D-18 for sure, but the low end on the J-45 has more authority and character. The J-45 sounds like a soulful singer, whereas the D-18 was more of a choir. Dunno if that makes sense.

Before I bought the J-45, was was probably playing in DADGAD 90% of the time. Now, I'm definitely 50-60% standard tuning because I am digging the J-45 that much.

I like using various tunings and I'm always working on a few songs at once and I had ended up at one point with more songs than guitars that I use in alternate tunings, so I used the J-45 in dadgad and got a big surprise.

[drbluegrass]

Originally Posted by davenumber2

The Prewar J is actually modeled after a J-35.

Thank you, Dave, for setting me straight on that. I got to play one and it blew me away. Faaaabulous guitar.

[drbluegrass]

Originally Posted by TBman

I like using various tunings and I'm always working on a few songs at once and I had ended up at one point with more songs than guitars that I use in alternate tunings, so I used the J-45 in dadgad and got a big surprise.

Nice playing, Barry!

[SalFromChatham]

I have a J45 and a J50.

Seems to me the lighter ones sound better... I thought fine sounded just dine when I bought them. But if my J50 is a guide. after five years of steady play, it shows you a whole new gear.

Having played musical chairs with guitars at least as much as the next guy, a little wisdom... They all sound good. And they sound better the more you play them.

[brencat]

To me, a great J-45 will have awesome low end growl, a saturated midrange, nice compression when you dig in and hear that "chang-trang-chang" sound, and extra sustain.

That's right... I prefer extra sustain. The ones that decay quickly get put right back on the rack.

A good Gibson to me also has to be smooth and harmonize. Meaning, when I play and (attempt to) sing with it, the audience needs to think they're hearing the sound of 2 or more guitars blended together.

My Wildwood 1960s style J-45 fits the above criteria. The only thing it doesn't do so well is bluegrass flatpicking because it's too mellow for that duty and sits too far back in the mix. But I have 3 other guitars for that duty. My J-45 is for church... strumming and fingerpicking in support of a choir.

FYI, some of you know that I recently sold my 2017 J-45 Vintage. Now THAT guitar was awesome for bluegrass... huge growl and volume, good sustain, but a lot more fundamental sounding and did not harmonize like my Sitka topped 1960s style J-45. It was also never going to replace my D/PW or TRD for bluegrass, so it was the logical choice to be made redundant.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by drbluegrass

Nice playing, Barry!

Thanks Doctor!