Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I find the J-45 the perfect mid-point between the brass and boom of a hardcore dreadnought and the sweeter, more balanced tone of smaller-bodied guitars. My first good acoustic was a Martin HD-28LSV and while it was an incredible bluegrass guitar in every way, it wasn't very well suited for other styles. You could change the strings, change your pick and play it differently but it would still have that unmistakable boom and bark with not much midrange. I now own a 2005 J-45 Historic Collection and it is essentially identical to the True Vintage apart from the later-era logo. It can do bluegrass, country, folk, jazz, blues, Irish tunes, rock, pop, choro and anything else you can throw at it with ease. It does have an unmistakable quality to the sound but that doesn't get in the way of your input and I think that is the key to what makes it such a versatile "workhorse" instrument.
After having played so many dead Gibsons over the years, mainly post-1994 models, I'd all but sworn off getting a newer one but I managed to find a good one. Playing as many examples as possible is standard practice in the classical guitar world but it seems to be either less of a priority or completely unknown to the casual steel string player. This is definitely the key to finding and acquiring a good one. I've bought a few guitars sight-unseen on seven day approval but I couldn't imagine buying one without it, which I've met many that have. If you want a guitar, that is okay but if you want an instrument, you have to find one that you can really speak with.
The thing that got me into slope-shoulder guitars in the first place was a sublime Dana Bourgeois Slope D that I tried out ten years ago. That guitar has always stuck in my mind and while the J-45 may not be quite as refined in sound and construction as the Bourgeois, at this point, I actually prefer its slightly more raw character. I don't think you can go wrong with any J-45 but certainly the True Vintage comes as close as you can get to the iconic pre-war classic without mortgaging your house. Five stars.
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Gibson's new J-45 True Vintage captures the genuine spirit of Gibson's most popular acoustic. Nicknamed "The Workhorse" for its simple, rock-solid construction, the new J-45 True Vintage--hand-made by Gibson Acoustic in Bozeman, Montana--offers the build, materials, looks, and tone of this legendary guitar as it was the day it was first introduced in 1942. This new model stays true to the original in every way, including the same round-shoulder dreadnought body design, with a top made from Adirondack red spruce, custom vintage top bracing, and back and sides constructed from pattern-grade mahogany from Honduras.
The genuine spirit of Gibson's most popular acoustic.
Gibson Logo The Gibson name has graced the most innovative and revolutionary acoustic guitars of our time--the Super Jumbos, the J-45, the Hummingbird, the Dove. There is no mistaking the classic, gold block script logo, stamped onto the face of the headstock, with the period-correct banner "Only A Gibson Is Good Enough" directly underneath it. It represents more than a century of originality and excellence. There is simply no equal.
Nickel Gotoh White Button Tuners Gibson's J-45 True Vintage features Gotoh's nickel white button tuners. With a gear ratio of 15:1, these nickel Gotoh tuners deliver precision tuning in a durable housing that provides maximum protection for the gear and string post. All moving parts are cut for exact meshing, eliminating the possibility of slippage, with a special lubricant inside the gear box for smooth and accurate tuning stability.
Pickguard The pickguard for the J-45 True Vintage is Gibson's standard plain tortoise tear drop shape, which has been used on the J-45 since its introduction in 1942. As with all of Gibson's pickguards, the coloring, inlay, and binding are all done by hand.
Tapered Dovetail Neck Joint The dovetail neck joint is one of the oldest--and best--ways of securely joining the neck to the body of a guitar. It is also a complex and expensive neck joint to build, but the result is a tight, locking connection that supports the neck at the proper neck-pitch angle, allowing the body and neck to become one solid piece of resonating wood, with no metal to impede vibration. This process is done entirely by hand, requiring patience and skill.
Rosette A rosette is the beautiful, hand-crafted circle around the soundhole, and can be one of the most ornamental elements of any acoustic guitar. It is also one of the most subtle and complicated woodworking decorations on any acoustic guitar. The rosette on the J-45 True Vintage is a simple single-ring rosette consisting of three-ply binding, adding a stylish, understated elegance to the J-45 True Vintage.
Rosewood Fingerboard with Traditional Binding and Classic Dot Inlays The fingerboard of Gibson's J-45 Vintage is constructed from the highest grade Madagascar rosewood on earth, which is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson's team of skilled experts before it enters the Gibson factories. The resilience of this durable wood makes the fingerboard extremely balanced and stable, and gives each chord and note unparalleled clarity and bite. The J-45's classic dot inlays are made of genuine mother of pearl, and are inserted into the fingerboard using a process that eliminates gaps and doesn't require the use of fillers. The fingerboard also sports traditional binding over the fret ends, which was a staple feature of many classic Gibson acoustics for many years.
Body Tonewoods (back, sides and top) The top of the J-45 True Vintage is made from top-grade Adirondack red spruce, while the back and sides are constructed from pattern grade Honduran mahogany, giving the J-45 True Vintage the same full, balanced expression, warm bass, and excellent projection that earned the original J-45 its much-heralded reputation. Selecting the right wood, and the formula to dry it out, are two of the most central procedures to Gibson's guitar-building process. Beginning with its first catalog in 1903, Gibson has assured its customers that every guitar would be built using woods with "the most durable, elastic, and sonorous qualities," and today's guitars from Gibson Acoustic are no different.
Bracing Every acoustic guitar made by Gibson features hand-scalloped, radiused top bracing inside the body, a feature normally found only in limited run, hand-made guitars. By scalloping each brace by hand, the natural sound of the acoustic is focused more toward the center of the body, enhancing the instrument's sound projection. The J-45 True Vintage features a variation of Gibson's "X" bracing pattern situated behind the soundhole, with a set of tall and thin braces for the back, and scalloped tall and thin braces for the top, all bonded with hot hide glue. This legendary bracing design--exactly as it appeared in the first J-45 in 1942--delivers a balanced expression, with punchy, deep lows, warm mids, and clear, crisp highs. When pushed for more volume, the J-45 True Vintage projects a natural compression, which helps it blend nicely with any accompaniment.
Radius Top The top of many "flat-top" guitars are under a lot of stress from the pull of the strings, which can eventually compromise the top. So, while most acoustic guitars are true "flat-top" guitars, all of the acoustics produced by Gibson in Bozeman, Montana have a radiused, or "tuned" top. Instead of being perfectly flat, a radiused or "tuned" top is raised slightly, and a special instrument is used to shape the top braces to the radius of the top. This process adds tension and strengthens the top, creating a less stressful joint where the top meets the sides and reducing the stresses of string pull. It also results in a "speaker cone" effect that maximizes sound projection, adding a significant boost to mid-range levels for a more balanced acoustic tone.
Nitrocellulose Finish Applying a nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson acoustic guitar--including the J-45 True Vintage--is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. Unlike the polyurethane finishes used by many guitar manufacturers, a nitrocellulose lacquer finish is porous when cured, allowing the wood to naturally "breathe" and mature. Microscopically thin, the finish on a Gibson acoustic guitar first requires seven main coats of nitrocellulose lacquer. After drying overnight, the initial seven coats are then level sanded and given two additional coats. Left to dry for five additional days, the finish is then wet sanded and buffed to its final glass-like sheen. The time-consuming nature of applying a nitro finish has been employed ever since the first Gibson guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. It's also a softer finish, making it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can't do the same on a poly finish.
Body Binding In general, a guitar's binding serves as a cosmetic feature, adding a subtle elegance to any Gibson acoustic while hiding the joints between the top, back, and sides, and helping to protect the guitar's body from any nicks or dings. But to see the process of putting the binding on a Gibson acoustic is to really appreciate the effort and attention put into each instrument. After the body has been glued together, the excess from the top and back are trimmed off and a groove is cut for the binding. The binding is then glued on and held on to the body using tape, and hung to dry. When the tape comes off, any excess glue is removed and the body is moved into the next phase of production. It has been done the same way for over 100 years, and is a fundamental part of Gibson Acoustic's rich guitar-making history.
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