Gibson J-45 ADJ 1962 - 1968 - Cherry Sunburst
from Guitar World, "Classic gear: the history of the Gibson J-45", 02/18/2020:
The Gibson J-45 ($45 jumbo) flat-top appeared in 1942 and supplanted the similarly round-shouldered 16-inch-wide Jumbo 35/J-35. Considering the shortages of supplies and labour across the industry during wartime, releasing a new guitar model was a challenging venture for any firm.
“In war as in peace,” reads a Gibson press ad. “Only a Gibson is good enough… War materials have the right of way at Gibson… We are making some instruments, and some strings, but in limited quantities.”
Evidently, Gibson was making provisions for the hard times ahead, and yet despite such austerity the company managed to produce an acoustic guitar that was not only a success at the time but has since become recognized as one of its most iconic designs.
The J-45 – Gibson’s “workhorse” acoustic – may not be the fanciest as far as flat-tops go, but it has endured over the decades as an instrument of choice for many, including such notable guitarists as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Buddy Holly, David Gilmour and Elliott Smith.
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According to its serial number, this J-45 was born in 1961, still in the "slope-shoulder" variety of this iconic acoustic. This guitar is in Good-to-Very-Good condition, a player-grade example showing clear player wear and some cleanly-executed repairs and maintenance. There are numerous instances of dents and scratches on the body and some finish checking on the reverse. As many other of these J-45s, there is a repaired and cleated crack along the treble-side edge of the pickguard. There is some light lifting on the bottom edge of the pickguard that is - so far- at no risk of falling off. The face of the headstock shows some scratches and wear and there is wear and paint loss around the edge of the headstock. There is a dent in the reverse of the neck at the 5th position that has been filled and repaired. At some point in its life, this guitar was refretted professionally with 6100 frets. This guitar has been inspected and set-up by our world-class techs. This package includes a period-accurate Gibson hard case but it is unknown whether this case is original to the guitar. Should you require more photos of this instrument, please reach out to us via Reverb or directly at the shop.
Solid Spruce Top
Mahogany Back & Sides
Cherry Sunburst Nitrocellulose Finish
Mahogany Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
"Thin C" Neck Profile
REFRETTED 20x 6100 N/S Frets
Pearl Dot Inlays
Tortoise Pickguard
Rosewood Bridge with Adjustable Rosewood Saddle
24 3/4 Scale
12" Radius
1 9/16" Nut Width
USED
$4,599
The Gibson J-45 ($45 jumbo) flat-top appeared in 1942 and supplanted the similarly round-shouldered 16-inch-wide Jumbo 35/J-35. Considering the shortages of supplies and labour across the industry during wartime, releasing a new guitar model was a challenging venture for any firm.
“In war as in peace,” reads a Gibson press ad. “Only a Gibson is good enough… War materials have the right of way at Gibson… We are making some instruments, and some strings, but in limited quantities.”
Evidently, Gibson was making provisions for the hard times ahead, and yet despite such austerity the company managed to produce an acoustic guitar that was not only a success at the time but has since become recognized as one of its most iconic designs.
The J-45 – Gibson’s “workhorse” acoustic – may not be the fanciest as far as flat-tops go, but it has endured over the decades as an instrument of choice for many, including such notable guitarists as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Buddy Holly, David Gilmour and Elliott Smith.
---
According to its serial number, this J-45 was born in 1961, still in the "slope-shoulder" variety of this iconic acoustic. This guitar is in Good-to-Very-Good condition, a player-grade example showing clear player wear and some cleanly-executed repairs and maintenance. There are numerous instances of dents and scratches on the body and some finish checking on the reverse. As many other of these J-45s, there is a repaired and cleated crack along the treble-side edge of the pickguard. There is some light lifting on the bottom edge of the pickguard that is - so far- at no risk of falling off. The face of the headstock shows some scratches and wear and there is wear and paint loss around the edge of the headstock. There is a dent in the reverse of the neck at the 5th position that has been filled and repaired. At some point in its life, this guitar was refretted professionally with 6100 frets. This guitar has been inspected and set-up by our world-class techs. This package includes a period-accurate Gibson hard case but it is unknown whether this case is original to the guitar. Should you require more photos of this instrument, please reach out to us via Reverb or directly at the shop.
Solid Spruce Top
Mahogany Back & Sides
Cherry Sunburst Nitrocellulose Finish
Mahogany Neck
Rosewood Fingerboard
"Thin C" Neck Profile
REFRETTED 20x 6100 N/S Frets
Pearl Dot Inlays
Tortoise Pickguard
Rosewood Bridge with Adjustable Rosewood Saddle
24 3/4 Scale
12" Radius
1 9/16" Nut Width
USED
$4,599