Gibson J-45 Rosewood

2002 Gibson J-45 Rosewood made in Bozeman Montana. Solid spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck, and ebony fingerboard. Dreadnaught style. Gold hardware, grover tuners. 24.5 scale on a big ol' fat neck. Fishman piezo pickup with end-pin jack. Includes case and humidifier.

Rich/full sound, with trademark Gibson punch on the bottom end. Use the piezo and you lose a lot of the trademark Gibson tone and get the generic "piezo" sound, but still, as piezos go, its a good pickup.

Some disappointments here. The body and neck construction is outstanding. However, the frets needed some serious dressing, and worse, I needed to get a new saddle re-cut for it. The saddle sat much too loosely in the bridge, affecting the unplugged sound and also preventing good contact for the piezo pickup. I had an expert luthier cut me a new saddle and the sound (plugged and unplugged), which was good in the store, became just excellent, richer and with more ring and sustain. However, shame on Gibson for letting this QC issue slip through the cracks

Built very well. Take care of a it like any quality acoustic, and it will be just fine.

Gibson does not have a great reputation for customer support. But the few times I've been in touch with them, I've had no complaints.

I've been playing for about 18 years, seriously for the past 4. I also own a PRS Singlecut Trem Artist, PRS McCarty Standard Soapbar Rosewood, and Hamer Newport Korina. After a lot of swapping and selling over the years, this is the one acoustic I wanted to keep. I'm partial to Gibson acoustics, having also owned a J-100 XTRA (great guitar) and a J-160E. I've compared them with Guilds and Martins, which I've also owned, but I just love the trademark Gibson tone. Actually, with the rosewood back, this splits the difference with the tone of a Martin D-28, but adds the Gibson "thump." Despite the correctable problems identified with this J-45 Rosewood early, the work of a great tech returned it to where it needed to be, with a great custom cut saddle and a nice fret dressing job. There is nothing else I wish this guitar had. The next steps up in the J-45 line are cosmetic improvements. If you have to have one acoustic, its hard to go wrong with this top-of-the-line Gibson.

My J45 Rosewood was made in Bozeman, MT in '02. 20 frets - 14 clear, with solid spruce top and solid EI rosewood back and sides. The neck is mahogany, with gold grover tuners on the headstock - with "Gibson" logo and flame in MOP inlay. And the fingerboard/backwards belly bridge are ebony - with MOP dots. The top finish is a beautiful 'vintage' sunburst, with the back/sides a deep brown stain.

I really like the 'feel' of the 24 3/4" scale, along with the 1 23/32" nut width - which really fits my hand well.

The purchase came with a Gibson logo-TKL arched top hardshell case, which has 4 quality latches.

This guitar is one of the most responsive guitars I've ever played. It can really 'bark' if you go at it - but can be just as wonderfully suited singing soft and sweet. The J45 Rosewood has that 'Gibson Tone' - which is so hard for me to describe. Definitely a full-round sound, punchy and dry, with even separation across the strings. Plenty of 'overhead', and I think not likely to break up while playing hard. This should only get better as time passes!

The factory set up for my J45R was a little high. Even though I like a little higher set-up, it needed to be adjusted down (this is probably just as likely to be the result of its handling/humidification at the store while in inventory the past year or so). The top is wonderfully silked, with an extremely tight grain - and all - top, back, sides are matched. The frets are finished well, and the intonation is damn near perfect.

Only time will tell. But the J45R 'feels' very solid/stable. I'm guessing that will hold true, and the apparent quality I describe will result in it's long life (knock wood).

The e-mailed questions (3 or so) I had sent to Gibson prior to my purchase were responded to quickly. No complaints at all.

I've been playing acoustically for about 12 years, and like most, I've tried a number of guitars - through friends, and guitar store 'testing' ;p. I currently own a D-28 kit and Martin 000-15S. I have owned a Taylor 410 and Yamaha APX in the past. This is the best guitar I've ever owned. The thing I love most about the J45R is its response to touch, and the control I feel when playing. A close second is the beautiful lacquer finish, and the 'look' of that vintage sunburst!

I wasn't really looking to buy a guitar when I came across this Gibson (yea, who am I kiddin'), but I've recently played a number of Marting D-18s, 28s and OMs - as well as some Tippin and Santa Cruz (sp?) dreds. This one really pulled my trigger, and I'd recommend for anyone to try one out - along with the other slope-shoulder Gibsons.

This model is basically the same as the J-45 mahogany model except it has solid rosewood back and sides, solid spruce top with natural finish, ebony fretboard and bridge, slope shoulders, and factory installed pick-up.

It has a very well balanced, deep tone and the intonation is as good as I've heard on any guitar. It sounds great if you finger pick it or it's nice and loud if a pick is used with an aggresive technique. For plugging it up, add a touch of reverb and chorus to really get your juices flowing. The J-45 rosewood is definitely one of the finest acoustic guitars out there.

I had to have the nut replaced right out of the gate, which cost less than I usually spend on pizza. I also had to have the action adjusted just a touch but I consider these things very minor setup glitches for any new guitar.

This guitar seems totally durable and I'd not hesitate to rely on it for stage work. There is obviously a reason it's called "the work horse".

No reason to seek customer support. What little work that's been done on it was not done under warranty and was done very quickly.

I've been very pleased with this J-45 rosewood and if it wound up missing I'd want it replaced with the same thing. Far and away my favorite things about this guitar is the tone and playability!! If you don't already have one, get one.