Gibson J-45

Made in 2009 in Montana. Top of the line J45 Gibsons. The top of the J-45 Custom is made from AA-grade Sitka spruce, while the back and sides are constructed from pattern-grade Indian rosewood. Equipped with the Element Active Acoustic Pickup System from L.R. Baggs pickup. 20 frets neck, medium size. Sloped shoulder body. Ebony fingerboard and bridge.The headstock also features a new flower and vine abalone pearl inlay, abalone rosette too. Horrific plastic pins!

Potentially a well sounding instrument, nice bottom end and a nice blend of high tone with good harmonics but lack of volume. The fretboards is large and good for finger picking not as good for strumming, require to much precision to may play fast chords 'cos...buzz and has a metallic resonance under the saddle.

As i mentioned, the fret buzz on the medium/low strings, controlled by a luthier with Plek it has pronunced hump and saddle on the fingerboard. Very high factory action. Wrong pickguard position, it cover the abalone rosette. X-bracing not well glued!
Nice woods but for 2.000 euro Gibson may use AAA grade sitka spruce top, ebony pins and better crafmanship.
The final check list card was by another guitar....it has a different serial number!

To much problems on this instrument.
Impossible to make an evaluation.

The guitar was immidiatly send to the Gibson assistance. They were very kind but...don't solve the problems and suggest to contact the dealer! Only pickguard sostitution!
Not a lifetime warranty, maybe a partial warranty.

Been playing on and off for 30+ years. I buy this guitar 'cos I really like it but, sorry Gibson....returned to the dealer. Oriental manifacturers works better. It is a shame a such great brand sell this kind of instruments and give so poor assistance. Me and many other musicians friends are now considering new Gibson products not affidable. Sorry Gibson but I will look for others brands instruments.

Gibson J45 2005 spruce top mahogany back and sides vintage sunburst

I bought his guitar six months ago brand new. The dealer had two to choose from they were different that's for sure sound, feel,and the grain.The one I got did not have the finish of the other but the sound and feel was just a little better it could be because the other was newer 2007
Anyway I went in to the shop this week and had another play of the 2007 and hell it was bad compaired with my 2005.
I think this has a lot to do with the Guitar opening up I play it every day and it just sounds better and better to my ear.
I heard a long time ago that a good acoustic will sound good with
old strings well I still have not replaced these long life Exp's
it came with.The old ovation would sound dull after a month always have to replace when do put new one's on I bet I will get a nice surpise its just a hate changing anything.

action is very high strings not cut into nut right finish not perfect
I'll fix these things later. I've seen chinese guitars with better finishes but this is hand made and I can live with it.

Yeah this Guitar will stand up my giging but I would not like to drop it
I'd like strap locks but i shudder at the thought of drilling a hole.

nice helpful guy at the shop never had anything to do with Gibson

I'm 60 playing 50 years I've had a lot of Guitar's always loved Fender's
though the years anything vintage in all this time never bought a new Axe thought they had no Mojo Well what a lot of BS cause the Mojo's in the hand.
So now I play this Gibson J45 and a 2005 Gibson ES 335 I feed these into a AER 60 compact very light to cart around important at my age.

2007 J-45, purchased January 2008. Grover kidney button tuners, active undersaddle piezo pickup with volume control in soundhole.
Quite a muted sunburst - but a pleasingly figured fingerboard does make up for it a little.

Case is adequate and looks plush inside, but I wouldn't say it was heavy duty. If I travelled around with it I'd probably want a hiscox/gator case.

I wasn't a fan of the white button tuners the J45's used to have, and am pleased that they're now fitted with grovers.

Case candy: 1 plectrum!

The whole package is understated and unfussy.

At the moment it's still a little stiff - it has opened up slightly so far in the couple of months I've had it. It came with quite a low action and straight neck, and a little added relief has improved the projection.
It's already got the recognisable warm, middy thump that you hear on the records. I'd say it definitely likes to be either strummed/flatpicked, or fingerpicked quite enthusiastically - you won't get really crisp articulation out of it but that's really not what it's about.

Certainly if you do fingerpick, then this guitar favours styles which allow a middy, dark tone - it's not a million miles away from the sort of sound you can hear on Nick Drake records (obviously allowing for the fact he used a different guitar!), or some early blues.

Should you attack it with a plectrum, you can bash out Springsteen numbers with conviction and it's quite serviceable for Stones songs too, not to mention large swathes of classic rock.

I wouldn't say it's exactly stunning in any tonal area -there are certainly louder guitars, crisper guitars, guitars with more balanced response etc, but it does simply sound JUST RIGHT for lots of popular songs.

The Fishman pickup is serviceable - nothing out of the ordinary, but nothing that's going to cause offence through a reasonably set up PA or acoustic amp. I've nearly aways set the onboard EQ flat on electro acoustics and let the sound technician make the decisions anyway, so I don't mind just having an unobtrusive volume control tucked away rather than great big panels cut out of the guitar.

My girlfriend has a 10 year old Gibson Songwriter which sounds fantastic - I'm hoping that this guitar will reach that sort of sonic ballpark in a few years - allowing for the slightly different body shape/finish etc.

I think overall this has a pleasing, "meat-and-potatoes" sound to it which although a bit fresh at the moment, should mature nicely.

The guitar came with quite a low action and straight neck which, whilst impressively comfortable and easy to play, did lead to some minor buzzing when using a capo and/or playing harder.

I added a bit of relief which raised the action slightly, reduced buzzing significantly and also improved the response. It's still quite easy to play, though barre chords higher up the neck are a little more of a struggle now. That's the tradeoff with acoustic guitars and I feel this is a good compromise for my tastes.

I've had no problems with the nut or tuning (though I do run a pencil through the string slots when re-stringing just to keep things smooth), and the build as a whole is quite clean. The pickguard does overlap the rosette slightly - I might look into getting this moved when it goes in for a yearly once-over, though to be honest I usually just forget about it.
When I first got the guitar there was a small amount of white residue in the corners where the fingerboard meets the body - this was swiftly cleaned up with a cloth.

The finish on the top and sides is smooth (albeit with the pleasing hint of grain texture that you get with nitro finished guitars), although there are one or two imperfections on the back which you can see under a bright light.

Some small tooling marks in one or two places on the fretboard. Fret ends and fingerboard edges are perfectly smooth and rounded.

As mentioned previously, the sunburst is quite muted and is more of a "spotlight" effect. There was another J45 in the shop which had a much more striking sunburst but I finally had to admit that this one was the better guitar in terms of sound and construction.

The bridge saddle is compensated, and intonation and tuning are both solid.

Moving onto the neck profile itself, I have to say that it is FABULOUSLY comfortable to play, and the fretwork is first rate. The guitar as a whole is a very comfortable instrument which I already feel very much at home with.

The guitar does seem to respond better to slightly stiffer strings, both in terms of playing and sound. I've found that a set of Martin phosphor bronze .012's have a little more tension than other brands of the same gauge, so I use these.

I can see myself replacing the plastic bridge pins, probably in favour of ebony, at some point in the future. I just think the current ones don't quite look right. If ebony pins actually do have some sort of tonal benefit, great. I'll leave that for others to discuss.

Without wishing to tempt fate, it's hard to see what could really go wrong. Everything seems pretty sturdy (within the sensible limits of a traditional acoustic guitar) and the electronics are fairly simple.

I'm prepared for the fact that the finish is more delicate than some others - fortunately I think J45's look good with a few years' good wear on them.

While I'll obviously be as careful with the guitar as I can, I won't be worried about taking it to an open mic or a party or letting (reasonably sober and trusted) friends play it. It's a workhorse, like the nickname says.

I've not had to deal with Gibson regarding this guitar. I think it has a year's warranty from the shop (Peter Cook's Guitar World in Hanwell, West London - I'd like to put in a recommendation for them at this point as they have excellent service, stock and prices. The "9" score is for them).

I was originally planning to spend more on something like a Breedlove Pre War dreadnought, but I played this and realised that it just suited me better. I think the boutique acoustics, amazing as they are, would just be a little bit too ..."precious"... for my purposes. I'd also probably be afraid to take them anywhere in case they got breathed on.

I will say that I played a couple of other J45's of varying quality. If I had to replace this guitar, I'd want another J45 but would anticipate having to look around to find the right one.

Mine's a 2002 or so. USA made. Solid wood dreadnaught w/ sunburst finish lacquered beautifully. 14 available frets to body. I upgraded to get locking, fitted case w/ comfortable leather handle. Spruce top, mahogany back and sides. Very lightweight to hold. Perfect balance. Add your own strap button, if you want one on neck. Comes with under-saddle pickup and no control. Rosewood neck, thinnish frets and vintage tuners with white plastic ends. This is a basic, no frills, acoustic guitar.

I'm a strummy guy. For this style the J 45 is the best I've ever played or heard. If I heard better, I'd find a way to buy it. It's also great for finger picking with my clawhammer folky style. Look no further if you play mostly on the first 8 or so frets. It has the Gibson, Beatle-y ring for rhythm if you so appreciate. Country, folk, rock and bluegrass are well within it's range. Play a chord and hear the BLEND rather than individual notes. You can bang the heck out of it without a buzz. But, although it sounds great everywhere, it won't set up for low action to the upper frets. when you do this, you lose the specialness of it's tone for the above uses. The richness of sweet mids is addictive. I love it more now than 5 years ago.

The guitar comes with medium/high action. Again, lower the action a little, but you WILL reach a point of diminishing tones. The intonation is perfect. I cut the nut down a smidgeon for easier F's (1st fret stuff). The guitar wants to be played with vigor. It's not a silky neck. You work for the gorgeous tone of each note/chord. It's light body feels airy, sitting or standing. You will feel the vibrations in the back of the guitar against your body. It will re-assure you in this way that it's transmitting your musical message.

This guitar goes everywhere with me. For the past 5 yrs., it has taken a beating at the hands of kids and adults at clubs and parties, indoors and out. The finish is dulled by sweat from my forearm and by detergent I used on it to get sticker glue off it. All of which just makes the j45 more of an extension of my lifestyle. I play it live and in practice. Nothing has worn out. Strings sound WAY better to me after several weeks of playing. The guitar just isn't made for bright, snappy sounds in my opinion.
It is solid feeling, as though it's made of one piece. No durability issues here. I don't bring backup in acoustic outings. Bear in mind that I mike the instrument-so what's to break? A string? Take 5.

Haven't needed any. Warranty on parts and labor was 90 days, I think.

I've been playing since '64. I play a Tele onstage mostly, although I like the SG I got at a yardsale in '80. I started on acoustics (a Decca) and have had an Epi, Aria, an Ovation legend. Bands come and go as will my use of electrics. There will ALWAYS be a place for the j45. It is a player. It is nearly invisible around the stuff with frilly appointments. But, she will shine like a silver dollar when played to her strengths. If lost or stolen, I would seek to get another. I took it off the rack 5 years ago and the guitar had the sound and feel I wanted. Still does.

2006 Gibson J-45. Mahogany back and sides. Sitka top. Passive pickup. This guitar ain't fancy. That's one of the reasons I bought it. A classic.

The sound is warm and rich. The bass has a good growl without being too boomy. The highs are sweet without being overly bright. The kind of guitar you don't want to put down.

The action was setup at E.M. Shorts Guitars in Wichita,KS. They did a good job. I have replaced the saddle with a bone saddle from Bob Colosi. I ground it down myself so the action is relatively low, which I like. No flaws from the factory that I could see.

Seems real solid to me.

Haven't had to deal with Gibson yet. Sent in my warranty card and they sent a letter sating I was registered.

I've been playing for about 8 years. Just an average guitarist that strums the songs I grew up with (60's, 70's stuff). I love the old fashioned look of this guitar. It is an excellent strumming guitar and a good fingerstyle guitar too. I would definitely buy another one if it were stolen.

Vintage Sunburst, Spruce top and Indian Rosewood back and sides. Slope-Shouldered Dreadnought shape. Vintage "backwards" bridge. I replaced the cheesy origional string pegs with new bone pegs which increased the brightness of the guitar's sound. 14 frets clear. It has an undersaddle pickup which by itself exhibits the usual "quack" but run throught a tube compressor yields quite good acoustic tone. Tuners are Gold-plated Grovers and are very good.

I play blues, slide, bluegrass and fingerstyle. This is a very versatile guitar for all of these styles. I use a Drive amp and a Centaur PA and the combination is adequate.

Here we go... I bought the guitar at Northridge Music in Citrus Heights, CA. The first guitar I bought had a big "hump" at the 14th fret. Northridge's incompetent "luthier" said it was "OK". It was not OK. I took the guitar back and it was sent to Gibson for "repair". It came back from Gibson and they didn't do a thing to it. I demanded a new guitar and finally received one after many months of haggling with Northridge. Finally I received a guitar that could be made into a player. I took the instrument to Nicholson Music in Folsom California where their luthier finally made it play like it should. Northridge offered no reimbursement for the expense I incurred to repair an instrument that should never have been hanging on their shop wall. A big fat "F" for Northridge Music and an "A" for Nicholson.

It is a good, mid-level guitar. I think it will last a long time. I like it.

Gibson sucks. They get an "F".

I have been playing acoustic guitar for almost 30 years. I've bought and sold dozens of Gibsons, Martins, etc. I would advise anyone who is thinking about buying a Gibson acoustic to play a lot of guitars and be very careful. Their quality control isn't very good. Martin is much better, but Gibson has cooler looking instruments. I am happy with my J-45 but would warn anyone buying one to be sure that it is right before you take it home.

I play fingerpicking blues and bluegrass primarily. The J-45 sound is great for the old blues stuff and has a complex sound with a great bass that I like a lot with a thumbpick. It cannot hold its own in a group setting though. If there are more than a couple other guitars and/or a banjo, flatpick solos are inaudible. Solo playing is fine. I don't have a pickup but am thinking of putting in a K&K pure western.

Action is set up rather high. The piece of wood used for the top is a great piece of spruce. Interestingly, it's a black guitar so you can only visually appreciate the grain with a mirror.

Mine is an early 90's J-45 and I don't think it was well made. I live in a humid environment (deep south) but I haven't subjected it to abusive heat or anything like that. Yet, the belly is rising and the bridge rotating. I've been told that many of the old Gibsons started to do that as well over the years but mine is only about 15 years old. I've installed a bridge doctor which seems to help but I feel like it's not a well built guitar.

Customer support is terrible as far as I'm concerned. When I bought it (from an authorized dealer) I made sure to take care of all the warranty info and register with Gibson etc. When I started to have problems with the bridge/belly I contacted Gibson. They told me that the warranty process meant nothing essentially and if I didn't have the original reciept they could do nothing. The store I bought it from went out of business years ago and I haven't been able to find the original reciept. After some questioning, the Gibson rep more or less admitted that the warranty program is really just so they can get your contact info and send you crap in the mail. So if you buy a Gibson save your reciepts in a safe place! You would think a high end guitar company would stand by their products better than Gibson does.

I've been playing for 17 years or so. I wouldn't get a J-45 again. I like the sound and I think the roundshoulder shape has a definite coolness factor but it is a mediocre tool for my music. I would get a big sounding dreadnought for bluegrass/flatpicking and a smaller OM size or something similar for fingerpicking. It's almost impossible to find a guitar that excels at both and although the J-45 can do both it suffers at each. A Martin M-38, for my ear, may be the best guitar to compromise these styles.

Made in 1991 at Montana in the USA. Round shoulder. Vintage Sunburst (Black/Brown/Orange). Circular Abalone, 12 frets. Solid spruce top. Solid Mahogany neck , back, sides ribbed front. Hard case included. The tuners resemble fishermans friends mints stuck to what it appears when looked closley enough to be a name plate stamp and a vintage old western wild west Camera resembling the American flag. Reminds me of the wild wild west and Jack Daniels whiskey.

Rich and Full, but Boomy when it gets going. I strum and listen a lot in my musicical universe and even sing, but that 'Workhorse" Boomy almost thunderous sound comes and goes and comes back again depending on whether you strike 6th,5th & 4th strings whilst strumming; and it puts me right off, due to the round shoulder design probably. Image is everything with GIBSON I feel the sound speakes for itself, Good appearance of sound to the appearance of guitar. Coming from England it's too American and Epiphone would suit especialy when it comes to Price, they're second best to the GIBSON's tone, feel and appearance. Great nick name though. Prefer something brighter and tighter. GIBSON Square shoulder range. If it were a car it would be a Ford Mustange BOSS.

The action when compared to a cheaper model is stiff and very stable, it's quite responsive, but it does'nt play back well due to the Boomy sound it gives it just keeps on going and going. A well made sturdy feel almost cuts into the body when you hold it in a playing position. The finish is the end result a thick shiny lacquer over the black/brown/orange finish. I think GIBSON needs a renaisance.

Never tried giging with it and probably never will. You pay for what you get with GIBSON without doubt.

Playing for Years
Expensive Deep Montana, USA sound
GIBSON Image made FAMOUS by FAMOUS ARTISTS
Would I gig with it NO. I would either need it or send it along with a model that has a pre-amp and use that one no matter the price, it's how its played at the end of the day.

2000 model J-45 made in Bozeman, Montana. All the specs are on the gibson.com website. As far as features this guitar is a minimalists dream. I personally love it because of this.

This guitar perfectly suits my musical style (folk & blues). It has a very warm sound with minimal sustain which is great for fingerstyle blues, and it also has that traditional shortscale mahogany sound which is perfectly suited for folk music. I could not be happier with the sound of this guitar.

The action, like others have stated, was quite high when I received this guitar. Gibson I'm sure does this to get the most volume and tone out of this guitar, but if you wish to sacrifice a little volume you can certainly adjust it down to play more like an electric. The fit and finish on this guitar is outstanding. The sunburst on my J-45 is known as "vintage sunburst" and it is most certainly the nicest sunburst I have ever seen; not harsh and "spotlight-like" (as evident on several other J-45's) but rather very smooth and historically accurate. The top is also perfectly bookmatched.

There is a reason this guitar is known as "the work-horse". It gives new meaning to the term durability, and certainly will stand the test of time.

I've dealt with Gibson in order to replace the pickguard which was covering the rosette and they were beyond helpful. The warranty is for life, and this guitar will most certainly stay with me for that long too!

I've been playing for about 8 years now, and I just bought a Martin OM-35 about a year ago. Even though the OM-35 was less than a year old when I stumbled on this J-45, when I saw and heard it I knew it had to be mine. I traded in all my old electric guitar gear in order to finance this purchase and I never thought twice about it. I most certainly would replace it if it were stolen, and if there were a fire I'd grab this guitar first; in other words it's simply irreplacable to me. I've played just about every Martin dreadnought, as well as several other Gibson, Taylor, Bourgeois and Froggy Bottom guitars and nothing has sounded as beautiful to my ear as this J-45.

Mine is c. 2004 standard model picked up (barely) used for a reasonable price off eBay in the UK. All the usual features as per other reviews. Personally I like the machine heads which other people say look cheap, they do they job and are part of the charm of the retro design. This is a fairly simple guitar which has little in the way of features - but that is exactly what I wanted so it would be odd to mark it down for that. It gets extra points for the under bridge pick up and decent hard case, and loses points for the lack of a strap button on the heel.

Frankly I am pretty disappointed with the acoustic sound of this guitar. I came to this from a Taylor 414 and the Taylor beat it absolutely hands down for tone when finger picking (although the Taylor couldnt be strummed which is why it has gone!). I play a mixture of rock, blues folk and country of this J45 and it sounds OK. Trouble is it doesnt (to my ear at least) sound like a $1000 guitar should. Amplified sound is suprisingly good however from the under bridge pickup. If this guitar had cost $400 I would have rated it 8, it didnt so it only gets a 6!

It is not really fair to assess the action on this guitar as it had been set up too low by the previous owner and it needed a truss rod adjustment and heavier strings on it after I got hold of it to sort it out. Action is good now, very low for an acoustic and nice to play. Finish is unexceptional - feels OK but (like with the sound) this doesnt feel like a $1000 guitar. The truss rod cover is especially crap, so much so I have had to replace it with something that I am not ashamed of.

To be fair the general look of the guitar is flawless, very nice looking top, all joins are fine. My only other criticism in this department would be the fret ends which could be much smoother. They do not rip the flesh of your fingers like a few cheap imports I have played but they are not what they could be. Again I am marking this down based on cost. The Taylor I referred to was similar money, the Taylor felt like it had the quality of a BMW, this feels more like a Kia!

Based on the "work horse" reputation reliability should not be a problem, I have had the guitar for a few months and bar a quick truss rod adjustment everything has been fine. I only gig with electric guitars (teles and strats) so I cannot tell you my gig experiences. I would use this guitar happily at an acoustic show though and I am sure it would cope fine!

I checked a couple of details with Gibson customer support after buying this guitar and they emailed me back within a working day with helpful information. That is as much as I can expect so I am happy with that!

This is really tough. This is what buying and owning guitars is all about, the thing is that despite everything I have said, I love this guitar! Speaking logically I know that it was not good value for money - a used Takamine would have given me much more for much less but the thing is I had to have a Gibson! I love the way this guitar looks (and it does play well - playability is very good). I keep telling myself this guitar will improve with age. It had better!

My brain scores this guitiar as a 6, my heart scores it a 10 - they meet somewhere in the middle. 7 is a bad score though, a $1000 should be a 9+ every time!