Going to try a Gibson J-45

[Mikeymac]

Since my custom order fell through I had my local shop check on availability of a lefty J-45... evidently Gibson Montana has one in stock, so it's headed my way (via the store).

This was kinda the tone I was going for with my custom, all mahogany build: dry, thumpy, good mids and projection. So I guess I'll give the "real deal" a go.

I know Gibsons can be hit and miss on quality and tone, so we'll see. But I also know you have to play a guitar for awhile to get it broken in... so I'll giver her a go.

Any other J-45 owners and lovers here? There's a reason it's Gibson's most popular acoustic.

[nctom]

Mikeymac, I owned a J-45, and have a hankering for another, but it sounded nothing like an all-hog Larrivee. I know you are disappointed with Larrivee but this is sort of like breaking up with your brunette girlfriend and dating a blonde to spite her. By all means get the Gibson and try it out, enjoy it even, and good luck to you.

[ducktrapper]

The last one I tried with hopes/intentions of buying was a major disappointment. It was pretty though. I hope you have better luck.   

[unclrob]

I once owned a Gibson Vintage AJ made in '95 if I didn't need the dime I would have keeped it.I did play 50 or so before finding a good but I also know that most guitar companies let alone store build or stock lefty's so give it a try.I have also owned several mid 60's J45 and they do have that classic Gibson tone.I have done a couple of setups on newer one's that were pretty good.

[Mikeymac]

The last one I tried with hopes/intentions of buying was a major disappointment. It was pretty though. I hope you have better luck.   

Me too. I've played several disappointing ones (all righties, so how do I really know from playin' 'em upside down?) ... and I played a very good lefty one in a Nashville shop around 10 years ago, so I'm hopeful.

I have done a couple of setups on newer one's that were pretty good.

That's good to hear, unclrob.

[carruth]

Good luck .

[L07 Shooting Star]

I'm intrigued by why you feel the need to immediately replace the guitar-gone-wrong with another guitar and why it would be a J-45 considering all the hundreds of other choices out there.  Do you have some kind of quota on how many guitars you must have at any given time or?

[Mikeymac]

I'm intrigued by why you feel the need to immediately replace the guitar-gone-wrong with another guitar and why it would be a J-45 considering all the hundreds of other choices out there.  Do you have some kind of quota on how many guitars you must have at any given time or?

As I mentioned in another post (and also the first post in this thread) - which I later decided to delete because there had not been an opportunity to the company to address the error - my custom order was going for a bluesy tone with an all hog L body among other specs. I was thinking of the J-45 when I came up with the specs for the build, but wanted to give Larrivee my business. So I decided to go ahead and get a J-45 when the guitar arrived with a spruce top rather than mahogany top (and this after a nine month wait; I wasn't willing to wait another nine months - or even 4-6 months if they rushed it - to get a rebuild).

Hope that explains it... there really was a reason for just going ahead and trying a J-45...

[tuffythepug]

Did you play the spruce topped mistake ?   My Lefty L-05 TSB would be its twin.  Plenty of  thump and "bluesy" tone for me.

[Mikeymac]

Did you play the spruce topped mistake ?   My Lefty L-05 TSB would be its twin.  Plenty of  thump and "bluesy" tone for me.

I did play it briefly, Lynn, but the top was a deal breaker for me. All the wood on the guitar was mahogany (body, trim, neck) or ebony (board, bridge, faceplate, heel cap). If I were ordering one with a spruce top, I would have changed a few of the other specs. Custom guitars are custom because they're spec'd out per the customer's design...

...not saying it wasn't a nice guitar - it was - the rest of the specs were very nice, which made it all the more bittersweet that the top was wrong.

[teh]

Good luck but a J45 looks like it would pretty far away from the custom L05mt you had your heart set on but if it works, go for it.

If you really want a hog top and don't want to wait for Larrivee to try and Correct the error that occurred with your custom, I would go to LA Guitars website and call to see if he could get his hands on a Martin 15 or 17 series lefty.

No affiliation and don't even know them but they have a great reputation on acoustic guitar forum.

[rbpicker]

Love my Larrivee, but my J45 is my desert island guitar.  I hope yours is great. The newer ones are much more consistent.

Rb

[ducktrapper]

The only thing a J-45 has over a Larrivee is the name Gibson on the head stock. I can truly say that I've never played a bad Larrivee and I've played lots of them. I don't think anyone can say that about Gibson. 

[tuffythepug]

The only thing a J-45 has over a Larrivee is the name Gibson on the head stock. I can truly say that I've never played a bad Larrivee and I've played lots of them. I don't think anyone can say that about Gibson. 

before I bought my custom L-05TSB the prettiest and most expensive guitar I ever owned was a Gibson Hummingbird.  It was also the most disappointing guitar I've ever owned.  You take your chances.   But I've bought all 7 of my Larrivees without playing them first and I've yet to be let down

[unclrob]

OK just about to get beat but first an L05 and an L05Mt are two different guitars as is a J45 they don't even come close to having the same tonallity.


Yes Gibson can be a hit or miss{really big sometime's}.

I've never played a bad Larrivee but even then there not al the same.

A custom order is just that,a custom order.If it wasn't right it wasn't right.






Hiding now......

[Mikeymac]

I realize Gibsons (and Martins, and others) can be hit and miss - Gibson seems to have this reputation more than others. I'll have 30 days to try it out. If it doesn't float my boat, and I don't think it's going to open up and be a great guitar, I can return it. 30 days gives me some time to bang on it, try different strings, play it plugged in, etc. So we'll see.

Meanwhile, there's room for different guitars in all our tool bags, so no need to anyone to get amped up about choosing something different when a Larrivee order fell through. This is the "other guitars" forum, after all. I own - and enjoy for different reasons - Larrivee, Martin, Ovation (yes, Ovation!), and recently an all-hog low end Ibanez, which really isn't all that bad (certainly not an all-hog Larrivee...which I hoped to have, but not too far behind the Martin 15 series). Then there's the other electrics that aren't Larrivees... it's all good.

[Melodeous]

40+ years of sampling j45s equates to 40+ years of questioning the hype. For the most part, across it's product line, Gibson acoustics are a disappointment. I've owned every other major/minor brand ranging in prices doubling anything Gibson has in its standard catalog down to a few hundred smackerals for a decent price point player. So, what does this mean to a Gibson aficionado? Well, from what that gang tells me it's simply a case of my not having an ear for the Gibson sound. Indeed and eureka, that must be it!! All these years and you'd think I'd have figured out Gibson is marketing a particular sound to a particular ear. Nope, I completely spaced that. The only problem with that is now I'm questioning people who, to my surmise, are afflicted with tin ears telling people Gibsons are great.

[Walkerman]

before I bought my custom L-05TSB the prettiest and most expensive guitar I ever owned was a Gibson Hummingbird.  It was also the most disappointing guitar I've ever owned.  You take your chances.   But I've bought all 7 of my Larrivees without playing them first and I've yet to be let down

And yet you are rolling the dice.  It is beyond my comprehension.  Hope your Gibson beats the odds.

[Mikeymac]

And yet you are rolling the dice.  It is beyond my comprehension.  Hope your Gibson beats the odds.

Walkerman - read more carefully. That response was from tuffy/Lynn - not me. I've never owned a Gibson acoustic, let alone a dud. I've played a lot of the (right-handed) Gibsons that have been on the wall at my local shop and at GC - some have been duds, some have been decent, and some have sounded pretty impressive (they must've had that Gibson sound...). I'd say it's about 1/3 - 1/3 - 1/3.

A good friend of mine has a square shouldered Gibson dread - it sounds great - different, but as good as my Larrivees.

[Mikeymac]

The Gibson arrived Tuesday... drumroll please...

...all I can say is WOW!!!            

Here's a review - but to sum up; this thing has surprised, amazed and floored me... I got a really good one, unclrob. If this is a trend at Gibson, they've turned a corner...

Build looks very good. Inside workmanship is very clean. Nothing weird on the finish, but you have to remember it's nitro and it's different (not as glossy and smooth as other modern finishes). Materials are hard to judge on these guitars, because they're all covered up with a sunburst and dark stain. The top has an obvious line along the center seam - this has something to do with the grain of the spruce top... unclrob, ducktrapper - what's that called again? (see pics below)

But this thing sounds so good - the materials must be pretty decent - and very well put together.

For reference - it has more presence and "liveliness" (for lack of a better word) than my Martin D-35 that is already a year old. They both sound great - the Martin is more "orchestral" maybe, but the J-45 just has more pure sound coming out of it...it's like it's more eager to give up the sound and make music.

If I had to choose between these two guitars today, I'd be keeping the J-45... it might just be the desert island acoustic that a couple of you have claimed.

Haven't plugged it in yet, but I've had this pickup in other guitars and it's been one of my favorites for under saddle piezo's... and just about everything can be made to sound good through my Venue DI and Fender Acoustasonic Jr. amp (one of the old, heavy, pre-DSP models).

Set up (Plek'd evidently) was very good out of the case. The sales guy tweaked the truss rod a little, and I might tweak it a little more later after it settles in, but the nut slots are cut properly (low enough, which I seldom see - even on Martins) and the fret work is very good; no buzzing and smooth along the fingerboard edge. neck is straight as an arrow with ever so slight relief. Love the nut width - just under 1.75".

Evidently it comes with 80/20 Bronze lights on it (there was another set in the case with all the other nice case candy) - those would not normally be my choice for strings, and I will try some others. But it really does sound excellent with these strings - I'm not feeling any need to go to mediums, except that I may change out the unwound B and E strings to a 17 and 13 to give them a little more thump and better feel under my fingers (the 12 and 16 just feel wimpy to me; but I sometimes use a 14 on the high E string just to really give it some power. I don't do a lot of bending on acoustic, so that works for me).

Speaking of case candy: a set of strings; a Gibson pick; a very nice leather key ring/pick holder; a round "Gibson Acoustic" sticker and the warranty card. No truss rod wrench; oh well, I have those...

That's enough for now... this has been an excellent experience so far; I think I'll be playing this guitar for many years... decades if I'm around and can keep playing that long!

A few of my poor attempts at photography with my phone...