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#18
06-16-2019, 05:46 PM
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Love my 2018...
Is it a year/vintage that others have found to be stellar in all ways...prob not. Why? Because everyone will have their “favorite year” J45. I’d think if there were enough time and responses there’d be a large variety of years offered up here as “best year” guitars. Like most manufacturers...there will always be the touted “golden years”, “best production years”, etc. I recall the Taylor “Golden Era” being the Lemon Grove guitars. I have owned numerous Taylor’s (Lemon Grove models included) and can honestly say that I found many of their latter models to be equally good, if not better. I’m sure you could insert any favorite manufacturers name and find the same to be true. 
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#19
06-16-2019, 05:52 PM
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I spent the whole day last week in Ochanamizu, Japan looking for a Gibson acoustic. I wanted a guitar that I will use everyday on ships (I'm a guitar vocalist in cruiseships). I tried maybe 20 different guitars J45s, a few J200s, J45TV, SJTV, D28, D18, Taylor 314CE. A lot of guitars. It's a street full of guitar shops in Tokyo. Feeling a bit disappointed that I can't find a guitar that I wants to come home with me, I told myself I'll just choose between the used j200 or the SJTV or the Taylor 314CE. Before oulling the trigger, I checked another shop with 2019 J45 standards. The shop had 5 J45 standards that they just received a few days ago. All of them sounded great but one particular j45 chose me. I chose it over the j200 and SJTV. So I think j45 2019 standards are are great. Also, the pickguard is not that thick anymore. Finding "the one" is hard but it is a unique and enjoyable experience.
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#20
06-16-2019, 06:03 PM
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In general I like the early 50's style J45, with a screenprinted logo and white-button tuners. I prefer light-build guitars and the more classic aesthetic. I love the True Vintage models, but most of them are out of my budget save for the rare great deal. I've had good experience with the Historic Series, but I've see a couple of comments about the 90-93 models, as well as the "J-45 Early" model which preceded the "Historic Series." Just wondered if there was any consensus out there!
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1949 Gibson J-50 1956 Gibson LG-2 Baxendale Conversion Yamaha FG-180 Red Label Seagull S6 GT
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#21
06-16-2019, 07:04 PM
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You had a couple of happy folks with 2016 builds on here. Mine is a 2017 Standard and it is a stellar representation of the best a J45 can be.
Gibson thump, nice and dry, clear note separation with some better than expected sustain. I love it!
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Nothing bothers me unless I let it. Martin D18 Gibson J45 Gibson J15 Fender Copperburst Telecaster Squier CV 50 Stratocaster Squier CV 50 Telecaster
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#22
06-16-2019, 07:12 PM
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Flame me if you like but the there are a couple of recent periods at Gibson that I don't want to own a J45 from - when Ren Ferguson the Master Luthier left, then around the 2013 era, not sure, Gibson imported rosewood illegally and the Fisheries confiscated it all and took them to court - meanwhile they put out acoustics with laminated fretboards and bridges and other things without telling anyone. A general outcry ensured when they got caught out and it stopped. And last year (2018) when the company was going broke and about to retrench everyone...I don't know what I would build if it was I working there...
BluesKing777.
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#23
06-16-2019, 07:48 PM
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It's certainly your prerogative to speculate on the moral of the folks building Gibson's during trying times. Who knows, maybe they doubled-down and tried harder. Your best bet is to play one, any one, then decide... or maybe just buy something else.
__________________
Nothing bothers me unless I let it. Martin D18 Gibson J45 Gibson J15 Fender Copperburst Telecaster Squier CV 50 Stratocaster Squier CV 50 Telecaster
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#24
06-16-2019, 07:55 PM
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'Best years of the "modern" J45?' I am sure a laminated fretboard and bridge is fine and nobody would even notice, but I don't want one. BluesKing777.
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#26
06-16-2019, 09:09 PM
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It's getting a bit odd at this point, but - I'm another guy with a 2016 J45 that sounds just great. I got very lucky; I bought it new, sight unseen online. Well, that's not quite true - there were pics of it online, but I always thought I'd never buy before I try. I like it a lot.
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#28
06-16-2019, 09:50 PM
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That being said, I’ve owned numerous guitars from a wide variety of manufacturers over the years. Ranging from Langejans, Santa Cruz, Martin, Taylor, Larrivee, Gibson, etc.. While I can only speak to my personal experiences, I would offer that my 2018, and a handful of 2019’s that I’ve played, have been some of the best examples of quality, craftsmanship, and excellent sounding/playing guitars that I’ve had the privilege to own/play. Of course some sounded/felt better to me than others...but, I didn’t ascertain that any of the examples that I’ve played were glaring examples of poor fit/finish or tone. Maybe you’ve had different experiences with current models...which is unfortunate if that is the case as I, amongst many others, have found just the opposite to be true. In the end, I’ve seen some positive changes regarding Gibson and they’re current offerings. I’m hopeful that they’ll continue to provide quality instruments in an ethical manner. Last edited by PTony; 06-16-2019 at 10:24 PM.
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#29
06-16-2019, 10:06 PM
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#30
06-16-2019, 10:23 PM
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As you’ve mentioned, I certainly did not see the same quality in the electric line. But that was most noticeable once the fines had been imposed, and standard offerings such as ebony, binding, amongst other “offerings” were replaced by lesser quality materials. I’m sure there were probably issues within the acoustic department as well, but imho they weren’t as prevalent...at least in the guitars that I was able to play and examine.
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