J45 instead of HD-28?

[Mike McLenison]

No question, I'd take the Martin HD-28 any day.

[Martin_F]

Originally Posted by dnf777

Brand loyalty aside (as much as possible!) a good J-45 is every bit the guitar as a D28. Tonal preferences being personal, of course. While i always try to play any potential purchase when possible, in my experience, i would be a little more comfortable with a Martin long-distance purchase. Like I said (IMO) A GOOD gibson is as good as anything, but I feel like they tend to let a few more “less than stellar” specimens out their door.

A few years ago, I would have said this is true. I think Gibson has really raised the bar on their quality control. All the new Gibson's I have seen have been very well made and with no real big flaws that would be show stoppers. With Martin quality these days, I think Gibson is just as safe of a bet if ordered online.

Both Gibson and Martin make some nice guitars and both have their place. For the money, I think the Gibson's are a better deal, at least in Canada. The HD28 would have been roughly $900 more than the J45.

My J45 sounded nicer than all the Martin's I played when I picked it out. I played it against the HD28, D28, D35 and a couple D18's. But, that is my personal preference and might not have held true for everyone. I went in to the store expecting to buy the D35 and walked out with the J45 instead. It just had a nice enveloping bass to it and lush mid's and highs. When these guitars all age, who knows which one will sound best. You can't buy a guitar hoping that it sounds nice in 20 years.

[‘63-Strat]

I appreciate all the replies. I think perhaps people are unfamiliar with the Taylor 812ce? I am leaning towards the J45 not because the HD-28 isn’t a great guitar (it absolutely is) but because I just think the J45 would just cover entirely different ground. I fully plan to own both in the long term.

And while I agree there are differences in guitars, the truth is that demoing guitars with varying degrees of dead strings isn’t a good indicator either, IMO. It’s far too easy to think one guitar sounds dead and another great when the issue is one has newer strings. To me buying a $2000 hd-28 vts was zero risk because it could easily be sold at that price or returned with 45 day return policy. People complain about Gibson electrics all the time, but I’ve never had one I couldn’t get to sound great. YMMV.

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

Your guess on the price of used J-45s seems right. I just sold a 2019 J-45 Standard in excellent condition here on AGF for $2,050. Sold in just over 24 hours. A few years ago I sold a J-45 that had a couple small dings for around $1,700 (can’t remember exactly). Never had an HD-28, so can’t help you there.

Man, you move through guitars. What was wrong with the J45?

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by zoopeda

Man, you move through guitars. What was wrong with the J45?

Nothing at all. Great guitar. Hated to see it go. But I got a great, unexpected deal on my first Collings. A D1A Traditional Series. Had to sell two guitars to make it happen. No regrets. Guess you missed the NGD thread.

Silly me. Now I only have a Collings dread and custom Martin OM. What was I thinking.

[zoopeda]

Not a collings fan or otherwise would jump on your mailing list for when it gets listed here in the want ads. Congrats though, although, to the OPs point, martins seem more consistent than gibsons. Took me a decade to find a good j45, and it’s awesome. When you find the one, no matter the brand, just stop there.

[Timotao]

Not just any J45...get the J45 True Vintage with the red spruce torrefied top. It has a mahogany back and sides. You won't be disappointed. I have one and will not let it go. This particular J45 costs a bit more, but worth every dollar. My 2015 came in a tan case with a hot pink lining. It looks like the 2017 comes in a black case with pink/purple lining. You already have a rosewood guitar and this mahogany J45 will give you a completely different but excellent sound.

http://legacy.gibson.com/Products/Ac...5-Vintage.aspx

[lossforgain]

'63 Strat, you know my story but I'll spell it out here for the benefit of others -- I had the same experience as you at Guitar Center and I am FULLY convinced that this is a bait and switch scam on their behalf. It's really unfortunate, because even though I haven't been a fan of GC for years, I could still find a great deal there every so often and take advantage of it. Now, I can't even trust that they have the guitar they are advertising.

Originally Posted by Martin_F

A few years ago, I would have said this is true. I think Gibson has really raised the bar on their quality control. All the new Gibson's I have seen have been very well made and with no real big flaws that would be show stoppers. With Martin quality these days, I think Gibson is just as safe of a bet if ordered online.

I hate to say it, but I have to disagree. Earlier this year I was shopping for an HD-28 but ended up buying Gibsons instead when I couldn't find the right HD-28. I had been frustrated by GC's false advertising and there didn't seem to be any nice used ones out there for less than I could buy a new one. In the meantime a nice Gibson J-29 rosewood was offered to me, so I bought it. It's a great guitar. But knowing how inconsistent Gibsons can be, I bought a J-15 at the same time because I had enjoyed those in the past and thought it would be good to compare. I love what Gibson does with walnut -- sometimes. The particular brand new J-15 I got was disappointing in almost every way: finish, playability, and tone. It went back to the store. But because I enjoy walnut, I ended up getting an L-00 that I like to play at home. I took a chance on a new one of those around the same time, and luckily this time the gamble was rewarded with a gorgeous instrument.

About 3 years ago I owned a J-45 that I bought new, and picked it out of a lot of 3 after playing them side by side. I can safely say that Gibsons are hit or miss, but when you get a hit they are great.

[Martin_F]

Originally Posted by lossforgain

I hate to say it, but I have to disagree. Earlier this year I was shopping for an HD-28 but ended up buying Gibsons instead when I couldn't find the right HD-28. I had been frustrated by GC's false advertising and there didn't seem to be any nice used ones out there for less than I could buy a new one. In the meantime a nice Gibson J-29 rosewood was offered to me, so I bought it. It's a great guitar. But knowing how inconsistent Gibsons can be, I bought a J-15 at the same time because I had enjoyed those in the past and thought it would be good to compare. I love what Gibson does with walnut -- sometimes. The particular brand new J-15 I got was disappointing in almost every way: finish, playability, and tone. It went back to the store. But because I enjoy walnut, I ended up getting an L-00 that I like to play at home. I took a chance on a new one of those around the same time, and luckily this time the gamble was rewarded with a gorgeous instrument.

About 3 years ago I owned a J-45 that I bought new, and picked it out of a lot of 3 after playing them side by side. I can safely say that Gibsons are hit or miss, but when you get a hit they are great.

The fact that you couldn't find the "right" HD-28 would suggest my point: Gibson's are just as consistent in comparison to any of the other makers. The fact that you found a Gibson that didn't float your boat is the same as not finding any HD-28's that you enjoyed. I never said there are no dogs out there. I just said that I think they are now just as consistent as Martin. Look at all the Martin's that come with neck angles that aren't correct and these sorts of things. Your chances of a good Martin are, at this point, the same chances of a good Gibson. I recently have played and tried about 20 different Gibsons in various stores and I only found one that I told the manager of the store that the saddle wasn't right on. It was far too loose and sloppy in the slot. I have no idea if they rectified it in any way. The ones I played were pretty much all set-up and playing beautifully -- right from the factory. Anyways, they all sounded decent. It's very hard to tell because the strings on each guitar were of varying quality and age. Would I have purchased all of them? No, of course not. Were they all passable as good guitars? Very likely. With new strings, my guess is that they all sounded as they should have -- whether you like that model or the slight variations based on the individual characteristics in individual guitars within each model of guitar is a different story. I could point out a couple of Martin's in the same stores that I went to that had issues too. I'm one of those people that notice every mistake, build issue, scratch and dent. Far too many Martin's these days come with saddles that are already incredibly low to have any adjustment for future issues.

My opinion anyways... I get your point. But, I think every builder has the same issues. It's not just a Gibson thing. People just tend to revere Martin too much to criticize all the issues.

Martin

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by Martin_F

The fact that you couldn't find the "right" HD-28 would suggest my point: Gibson's are just as consistent in comparison to any of the other makers. The fact that you found a Gibson that didn't float your boat is the same as not finding any HD-28's that you enjoyed. I never said there are no dogs out there. I just said that I think they are now just as consistent as Martin. Look at all the Martin's that come with neck angles that aren't correct and these sorts of things. Your chances of a good Martin are, at this point, the same chances of a good Gibson. I recently have played and tried about 20 different Gibsons in various stores and I only found one that I told the manager of the store that the saddle wasn't right on. It was far too loose and sloppy in the slot. I have no idea if they rectified it in any way. The ones I played were pretty much all set-up and playing beautifully -- right from the factory. Anyways, they all sounded decent. It's very hard to tell because the strings on each guitar were of varying quality and age. Would I have purchased all of them? No, of course not. Were they all passable as good guitars? Very likely. With new strings, my guess is that they all sounded as they should have -- whether you like that model or the slight variations based on the individual characteristics in individual guitars within each model of guitar is a different story. I could point out a couple of Martin's in the same stores that I went to that had issues too. I'm one of those people that notice every mistake, build issue, scratch and dent. Far too many Martin's these days come with saddles that are already incredibly low to have any adjustment for future issues.

My opinion anyways... I get your point. But, I think every builder has the same issues. It's not just a Gibson thing. People just tend to revere Martin too much to criticize all the issues.

Martin

I'll say it again. I went a decade playing over a dozen J-45s before I found a good one. I don't mean to be inflammatory, but when I experience consistency with Gibson, they were consistently mediocre. But a good one shines like a diamond. I think Martin are more consistently B+/A- with the occasional A and C thrown in there. It's hard to find an HD-28 (that's been well cared for) that's less than great.

[lossforgain]

Originally Posted by Martin_F

The fact that you couldn't find the "right" HD-28 would suggest my point: Gibson's are just as consistent in comparison to any of the other makers. The fact that you found a Gibson that didn't float your boat is the same as not finding any HD-28's that you enjoyed.

I’m sorry, I should have clarified what I meant, because that’s not correct. I never got to go try out any HD-28s, I was only relying on my previous experiences to tell me that an Hd-28 was what I wanted to buy, but there were very few available for sale, and none listed at what I considered to be a reasonable price in line with the used market. For a few months while I looked, used HD-28s were listed for sale above the price I could pay for a new one. If it were a matter of not finding one I liked, I would agree with you, but that wasn’t the case. I cannot agree with your conclusion.

[‘63-Strat]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2jNYw8x]

Well you can see what I went with, super happy with it and kind of shocked how well this was setup right off the rack (yes a very new one).

[Peter Z]

Beautiful! I think, all Gibsons are pleked today. I bought 3 new Gibson this year and each was set up perfectly.

[eljay]

Way to go, 63! Lovely shine on a perfect sunburst . . . play it in good health!

[‘63-Strat]

Originally Posted by Peter Z

Beautiful! I think, all Gibsons are pleked today. I bought 3 new Gibson this year and each was set up perfectly.

That would make sense if that’s the case. Anyone know if the current Gibson coated PB are the same as D’addario exp?