Well, the J-45 was not meant to be. The neck carve was a little too hefty for me - something about the shoulders would trip me up and I could never quite get used to it with my smallish hands.
After having like four different acoustics through here since then, allow me to present one that IS a keeper, a 1996 J-100 Xtra with Mahogany back and sides. I took a gamble and bought this from Reverb due to a killer price and the right specs. I put some D'addario nick bronze strings on it and for now it all feels and sounds just right. It's very light and resonant, coming in at 1 ounce under 4.5 lbs and has been well-loved and played plenty in the last 27 years and is quite open.
Bass is present but not overpowering, mids are a little scooped which is a-ok for singing while playing, and the trebles are juuust a bit on the thin side. It's not PERFECT but it's pretty dang good. It's very responsive and gives back everything you put into it, and I can apply my ham-handed strumming technique to my heart's content without making it sound bad. When I play it, I'm not fighting anything about it and just present in the moment which is the hallmark of a good one, for me.
I do plan on doing some performing with it so I have to install an acoustic pickup - I have both a K&K Pure Mini and a Baggs Lyric here but am not quite sure which one to use! The Mini doesn't use a battery and is rather non-invasive so I'm leaning toward that one.
Bonus pic with Nina: