NFGD - 1950 Gibson J45

[zhivago]

I'm adding you, Yannis and David to my foelist, it's the only sensible option.

I'm sitting here sickened at the thought of how great Galway Girl sounds when the three of you fire it through your gorgeous old guitars...or at least they will be gorgeous once you get rid of all those unsightly scratches with a few dabs of Topps.

.

Once youve finished with the Topps...spare a thought for the increasingly bitter little people.

D

Next time you are London you have to come round David!

[shadowplay]

^^^

I'd love that.

D

[Despot]

Okay ... this is going to sound odd (at the very least) ... but there's something up with this guitar.

I was off yesterday (a day-in-lieu for travel last weekend to get to Istanbul for a work trip) and I had quite a few things around the apartment that needed doing. Around lunch time I stopped to make a bite to eat and sat down afterwards on the couch for a few minutes to play the J45.

Next thing I know I look at my watch and it's nearly half four! Three and a half hours went by in a flash ... and I can't even remember much of what I played for that time. I have never enjoyed playing a guitar ... let alone an acoustic ... as much as I enjoy playing this one. And here's the weird thing ... the damn guitar feels like it's egging me on to keep playing!

Now I know ... I know ... it's undoubtedly the case that I'm just enjoying playing a really nice guitar and my brain isn't aware of the passage of time while engaged in something that's clearly all fun ... but every time I put the guitar down it felt like I was ignoring it or abandoning it ... as if a dog brought you over a ball and you ignored it's sad little puppy eyes to do something else. This is an extremely addictive guitar to play.

The other side of that is that the guitar takes a bit of getting used to. It's a pretty light guitar to play (fretting is easy as the action is decent), but I'm finding that I need to reassess how I pick the strings ... mainly how hard. The weird thing about this guitar is that when you're playing it you don't fully appreciate how loud it is. Lady Despot came home last night when I thought I was gently strumming away - she told me she could hear me half way down the hallway and in the stairwell! She was playing a bit last night (she's a beginner, but learning fast) while I was in another room ... and it was pretty loud. What's interesting is that as she's a beginner she tends to pick quite gently as she's unsure of what she's doing. This guitar projects extremely well ... maybe a little too well!

[kapepper]

Congratulations!!
How is the weight compared with a true vintage?

[zhivago]

I can get lost with an old acoustic...all I need is the guitar, a chair and a capo...I could be at it for hours!

These old Gibsons can be very responsive...even to bare fingers, but especially with a pick driving the top. Notes just blossom...it's a timeless and familiar tone in many ways, as they are guitars that have been recorded a lot.

[Despot]

Congratulations!!
How is the weight compared with a true vintage?

The TV is actually quite light - I'd say they're about the same ... but you'd have to consider that the TV has a much slimmer neck than this ... so there's got to be a little extra weight on the neck of the vintage J45 compared to the TV.

The tops on these old acoustics are always thinner than newer Gibsons - but the TVs get the thickness about right (at least from what I can tell eyeballing it). I'll do some side by side comparisions before the TV gets picked up this weekend.

[kapepper]

I have a 46 lg 2 and it is really feather light..... almost floating in air. Such a difference compared with my other acoustic eg martin ec 0028

[Ursa Minor]

Really interesting reading the differences on the TV vs vintage.

I've also been interested in LGs as of lately, for the sise and weight.

Kapepper: would love to see your LG2!

[Despot]

Side by side comparison

Headstocks



I love the '40s style headstock with the banner - and notice how the 1950s decal has the dot over the 'i' misplaced ... every decal I've had on a Junior or J50 has seemed to have that misplaced dot!

Bridges



You can see the immediate difference is in the darkness of the wood - but also the way in which the sides of the bridge are carved ... a little more curve and narrower around the saddle compared to the true vintage.

Bracing



First off ... you can see the back cleats on the 1950 ... the side effect of thin wood and the ageing process!

But what's interesting is that the True Vintage has heavier bracing than the 1950 - you probably can't tell it that easily from the photos, but the back bracing is thicker and heavier. Running my finger under the top the bracing seems the same (at least in what I can feel) - both have pretty similar top bracing. But the back bracing is definitely thicker.

Weight wise both feel the same - or as close as makes it impossible to tell the difference.

The colouring of true vintage Gibsons tends to vary in my experience - this TV is a little pale to my eye ... there's a yellow tint, but the lighter parts of the burst have a brown tint rather than the yellowing that you get from a vintage J45. Otherwise the shading is quite similar in depth and pattern.

[kamillebidan]

Those are both simply magnificent instruments! Glad they are still being played and enjoyed.

[Despot]

Thanks.

The True Vintage is due to be sold later this week - the sale was put on hold due to the snow at the weekend, but it'll soon be gone.

Initially when I bought the '50 J45 I was having 'a little internal conversation' to scold myself over spending money at a time when I'm due to be saving (even though it was bought with cash I'd just received for the sale of my SG Junior) - the true vintage had been a fine guitar after all. But putting the two against each other at the weekend made me happy with my decision to take the J45 home ... it truly is a beautiful guitar. It is, after all, what the TV is trying to approximate ... no compromise.

Thankfully Lady Despot agreed with my logic ... playing the two back to back yesterday while she was pottering around our place she stuck her head around the door and asked "which one is that". When I told her it was the vintage J45 she just said "that's so much better ... it's night and day - you need to keep that guitar KP".

[Hiwatt Bob]

that is amazing! I have a 2007 J45--but I've always wanted a vintage one since I played my friend's dad's early 60's one. congrats!

[hansbrinker]

Congrats! In my experience, you really can't go wrong with Gibson acoustics from the 50s and 60s. I'm always impressed by how light they are and how easy they are to play.

The Southern Jumbo is my white whale...