Gibson J-45

Made in Bozeman, Montana in 1990. The serial number indicates that it was the 2nd guitar completed that day. The standard features are available on the Gibson website. This particular guitar has a transducer integrated into the saddle and an endpin pickup.

I mention elsewhere that I was attracted to this guitar by it's great looks. The second thing that grabbed me was the feel of the neck. Gibson really got this right, in my opinion. The nut width is just shy of 1 3/4", which is larger than the common 1 11/16". The neck profile is really very nice. Not a skinny, so called "fast" neck, but a good shape with a slight V. Fits my hand perfectly. I have been told by other folks on the Internet that their Gibson J guitars have completely different neck profiles. I have no idea why they might be different, but I would caution readers to know that this is apparently a variable detail.

I do not amplify my guitar. I will likely never use the saddle transducer. And the endpin jack, BTW, is too wide for the holes in my guitar straps.

I have owned several Gibson J-45/50 guitars. The 1950's models have sounded crisp and bright with plenty of "bark" for lead playing. The 1960's models have all had a mellower, warmer tone. I sold a '65 J-50 last year that sounded fantastic... for some songs, but didn't work in a stringband setting. The opposite is true of my '50's J-50. This Bozeman J-45 fits right between the two sounds. With Alaska Piks, I can fingerpick this guitar and get a warm, woody tone for vocal accompaniment. With a 1mm Dunlop Nylon flatpick, I can get a fully homogenized chord with a string bass note for stringband accompaniment. With a .8 mm plastic Dunlop, I can pull a strong, clear single string tone for bluegrass lead style picking.

Note: String brands and gauges, types of picks and picking styles make a HUGE difference in how a guitar sounds. It's always the case that YMMV.

Really nice sunburst finish. I was initially attracted to the guitar in the store by it's eye catching good looks. I have yet to see an acoustic guitar manufacturer, new or old, big or small, create a sunburst finish as lovely as those done by Gibson. Setup was poor - strings too low with fret buzz on the first few frets. I shimmed the nut a tiny bit and all is well now. The nut, interestingly, was not glued in place. When I removed all the strings the nut fell off! Odd, but made for an easy shim job. Cheap tuners - Kluson with Keystone buttons. I will most likely replace these with white oval button tuners.

Seems well made. Not nearly as light weight as my 1950's J-50. Solid wood construction, and I noticed that Gibson didn't use side reinforcements like I have seen in other guitars. Martin uses fabric strips, Santa Cruz uses small pieces of basswood, etc.

Mentioned above: endpin button doesn't look trustworthy. No heel button.

Tuner are cheap.

Finish seems durable.

Don't know, never contacted Gibson.

I have been playing the acoustic guitar for over 30 years. I own several guitars, including vintage Martins and Gibsons (and three Guilds, now that I think about it). I think the slope shoulder, short scale is one of the great innovations in guitar design, and I have spent the last couple of years searching for the "right" guitar of this body style. I have bought and sold 8 Gibson J guitars in the past two years and played several copies by other makers (Santa Cruz, Huss & Dalton, imports). I am most pleased with this particular J-45. It looks great, has a fabulous easy playing neck and sounds like a Gibson. The expensive boutique guitars I played sounded OK, but they didn't have The Sound I expect from one of these guitars. Warm, full and powerful - at a price that is a fraction of the cost of a boutique model! I think this guitar represents a very good value.

Regarding short scale, slope shoulder dreadnought sized guitars, in my opinion the motto "Only A Gibson" is spot on.

1994 model. solid sitka spruce top in vintage sunburst finish, solid mahogany back and sides, white binding on body, kluson vintage tuners, round shoulder design dreadnought made in bozeman, montana. mahogany neck, indian rosewood fretboard and bridge, 20 frets, 24 3/4" scale leangth. included vintage brown gibson hardshell case.

ok, this is where the j-45 gets perfect marks from my point of view. i began my "high end" acoustic guitar search about two years ago when i traded my duties as lead guitarist to begin to focus seriously on songwriting and singing. before then, i'd always owned acoustics in the low to mid level, the $300 to $400 range. for frame of refference, my idea of high end is over $1000.... obviously, there are acoustics that are far greater in cost than that, but you get the point. so, i started with a taylor 310 then on to a guild f4ce, to a taylor 312ce to my last guitar, a taylor 314ce. they were all fine guitars, the taylor's in particular. but, none seemed to fit me just right. the taylor's neck design (which the are praised for) is slim and fast, which is what most people are after... but not me. i preffer a bit more meat which feels comfortible to me. i'm using my acoustic to strum chords, not play solos, so i like a beefier neck myself. even though, oddly enough, i've got smaller hands. ok, so all this to preface my "opinion" on the sound of the J-45 because some background might help a player with simillar likes / dislikes and playing style make an informed decision based on my comments. here we go then. the J-45 is a rounded shoulder dreadnought design which does take some mass out of the upper bout not having square shoulders. this makes the guitar a tad smaller than the typical dreadnought and, for me, more comfortible to play. as i mentioned, i'm mostly a strummer, not a lot of fingetstyle. this guitar produces a generous amount of bass which exceptional clarity. when chords are arpegiated, the bass pops out nicely with the balance of tone being mostly in the mid range to my ear. the highs are clear but understated in just the right amount. not tinny or shrill. the guitar has super projection and no one frequency seems to overpower another. for my folk rock / americana style of playing, it's perfect. this guitar could cover a lot of bases.... bluegrass, folk, country, blues, pop, ect. again, i can only comment on how the guitar sounds in relation to what i'm doing with it. if you are looking for a guitar for strumming big, full, rich, vibrant chords on, this guitar will get that job done brilliantly. i added an L.R. Baggs passive I beam system to the guitar as well as replacing the stock saddle with a bone saddle which brightens up the sound some. the Baggs I beam is about the most faithfull recreation of acoustic tone from a pickup i've found, so i'll say my guitar sounds awesome plugged in as well.

hard to comment on factory set-up as i purchased it used. the set-up it has now is wonderfull. nice low action without buzz. nicely crowned frets, very smooth. sunburst is typical of Gibson, awesome as always. no finish flaws i could find, no excess glue, no bracing issues. seems to be a superbly made instrument.

the guitar is 10 years old and still tight and solid. finish id great and hardware functioning like new i'd think. seems very dependible and i'd not have any worries playing coffee house gigs without a backup.

haven't delt with Gibson customer service. they do have a really slick web-site, but nowhere near as informative about "tech" stuff as Taylor.

i've played guitar 13 years and owned LOTS of guitars in that time. i've had a real tough time finding those "magic" guitars you sometimes hear about. this J-45 is about the closest i've found. i really don't like setting it down. it makes me REALLY want to play. it's brought out some new and inspired songwriting in me as well. i think this guitar has a lot of songs in it. if lost or stolen, i'd have to have another one right away. in fact, i'm planning on buying another one soon as a second guitar. i'm not sure how the piezo they install under the saddle from the factory on the new ones sounds, but i'll try and get one without it so i can have the L.R. baggs I beam installed. i couldn't ask for a guitar better suited to my style. it just plain sings....

This guitar sounds just the way I'd hoped it would. Lot's of bass, warm mids, sweet top end. Loud when played hard and lot in between

I purchased the guitar used for a low price so I can blame gibson entirely, but there is what I consider to be excessive bellying with medium strings. This must be due to the very light bridge plate used in the construction. On the other hand I play with a higher action so I'm comfortable with it as is. I have a friend who has an original 53 J-45 and his is the same... So I'm not sure what to rate it here. You make your own call

I've been play 30 years. On this guitar I play blues ala Mississippi John Hurt, Rev Gary Davis, etc. This is the right guitar for me and I highly recomend it for finger style blues.

A Gibson round shoulder, J45 VS (Vintage Sunburst), Nov 2003 model, Made in USA, (Bozeman, Montana) with Spruce for the top, mahogany on the back and sides, and rosewood for the fretboard and bridge. This horse is black and wears an orange sunburst with short scale 24-3/4. It has an active transducer, either a Fishman or Schertler Blue (no tone & volume controls) runs by a supplied 9V battery, hold by a metalplate holder, secure by Masking Tape! (Guess to preserve the vintage look)

There are Soundhole humidifier (a ?Gibson Logo? Sound Cap with a spongy Flexibke tube), a Gibson pick, a Lifetime Gold warranty booklets and some instruction notes on the humidifier. The entire items are inside the pocket in the TKL Hardcase, with blue interior of soft cushion. Gibson Logo printed on the Hardcase and all the latches are gold plated. Lastly, a free packet of Acoustic strings from the above retailer.

I like playing alone in my room especially during the dawn, this horse seems to lead you to the peaceful garden. When you strum or pluck the bass lines, the rich tones produce and trap within the hole, block by the braces, and it vibrate the body way up to the head-stock, you can feel the steady vibration when you hold the ?Gibson? wordings laminated in the head-stock. When your fingers start plucking the lower strings, the sounds turn melody and sing as respond to your calling. The tones are well blended when strumming. J45 shy looking image may be for bluegrass, see how the horse reacts when you play Rock and wack power chords on it.

I have plug-in through my acoustic amp it rings out the mellow metallic voice. With a chorus effect, you have a totally new expression. I am sure that in years to come, when the nitro cellulose lacquer gets thinner, the sound will be even better.

The default setup looks like a medium action. I do more fingerstyles, the action is just perfect for me. I prefer low to medium action, with light gauge strings. I feel that it?s very responsive to fingerstyles and finger bending. In addition, I like the 2003 model base construction, there?s no joining gap (Unlike the 2001) where the plug-in button is installed. The whole base area is smooth. For the finishing, I like the corner binding of the guitar body are white in colour, together with the tuner pegs, I see it as a good combinations.

I am sure that this workhorse will not fall sick and lead througth the Journey of Musics. I don?t need a backup.

Gibson offers lifetime warranty, and the staffs are helpful, they replied my query through email. The rating under C.S., I like to credit the sole distributor Swee Lee Music Coy. & the authorised retailer The Guitar Gallery Pte Ltd, Singapore. We are outside, U.S., so they are my sole support. These people are helpful and well versed in knowledge & settings on Guitars, especially Terry & Derek from The Guitar Gallery. They spend time with you, explain the models & specifications. Best of all, you are free to play all Great guitars available, you never hear anything like ?Sorry, dude, this piece is a collectable or special Custom Edition.?

I have been playing for 15 years. To own a J45 is my childhood dream. In those days, I can only longing for it behind that displayed glass. I am so crazy about this model that I got a miniature item (Brand: Pickup) of this J45. I read a lot on the J45 in the publications like ?Gibson's Fabulous Flat-Top Guitars: An Illustrated History & Guide
by Eldon Whitford, David Vinopal (Contributor), Dan Erlewine?, and the ?Gibson Guitars 100 Years of an American Icon by Walter Carter.? I heard from many, that Gibson guitars are overpriced. It may be due to the rich historical values and of course the experience of making quality flat-tops of the most popular four, i.e. J200, J45, Hummingbird & Dove. That?s what I think. Well, the wishing item had finally removed from my lists. Handmade guitar like J45 gives me a sense of authentic feel every time I play, get one and you know exactly what I mean by ?Tone, Feel & Appearance?. If this baby was stolen or damaged, I will be very upset. ?Touch the Wood!? I own many other guitars, however, I believe, ?Only a Gibson is Good Enough.?

2001 J-45 from Bozeman Montana. It has 20 frets. All solid woods, mahogany back, sides and neck. Spruce top. The built in pick up is crap, and i put it thru a very good mic pre and tried my damnest to get it to sound good. Sounds like crap. The guitar, on the other hand, sounds fantastic. Woody and dry, mmmm, just the way it should! I played on so many and never was satisfied. I guess owning many high end guitars, including a great J-200 Gibson, i was spoiled. But i like the look of the slope shoulder, and i was determined to get me one. As luck would have it, one went on sale at a store i do business with, and i bought it over the phone!!! turned out to be the best sounding one i ever played!!! Go figure... I have immediately replaced the cheap tuners with gold Kluson tulips, ala J-200, not so much for aesthetics, but for the tuning ratio. The tuning ratio sucks on the cheap ones. Now they are great. Changed the cheapie bridge pins too. When i get a chance, i will change the nut too. No more plastic on this baby. This is a great sounding guitar!! The case is nice too. It gets a 7 rating only because i had to replace alot of plastic crap on it. For $1900.00CDN, it should be better.

Did i mention that it sounds great?? Well, it does. I have friends that are in the business who make mention of the fact that this particular piece sounds mighty fine indeed. And they know their stuff! I love it.

Factory set up was a little off. Buzz here and there. Action a little low. All is well. Top is not the best bookmatch i have ever seen, in fact it is probably the worst matched top i have ever owned, and the worse of all the ones i tried out, but guess what? It is the best sounding of the bunch!!! Not a trace of glue to be found, very nicely finished. Did i say i love the sound of this guitar??

I own 40 year old Gibsons, and the good ones are built for the long haul, that is why they are all still out there! The finish does not seem to me to be as thick as they used to be, but i cant be sure of that. You can depend on this guitar. Take care of it, and it will take care of you. You could use it without a back up if you wanted to, although i dont really trust or like the cheap pick up.

Nope. I did email Gibson a couple of times on a couple of things, and have never ever heard back. I hope their service isnt as awful as there contact software and whoever is supposed to be replying.

If lost or stolen, i would have to go thru the whole process again. I only buy what sounds good. Compared to my J-200, it has a thinner bass to it, but still very acceptable. It has a sweet and woody midrange, well pronounced and intricate. The highs dont bite your ass off either. They are quite pleasing. It is a workhorse. It records really well, really , really well!!! I use a combination of a Neumann KM105, i think the number is, and a Groove Tube tube mic. One is small diaphram, the other large. Fantastic combination. I also use a sound hole pick up, a Fishman Rare Earth, which is fun too.
What i love about it is the sound, and i love the shape. What i did not like about it, i have mentioned and done something about!

This is a brand new '68 Reissue J45 in cherry red - same specs as the others with spruce top and mahogony back and sides. My understanding is it's a very limited edition but it cost me the same UK price as a regular J45.

The main difference between this and the standard model is the lack of a pickup, which I guess is kind of disappointing from a convienience point of view but I hate the sound of a plugged-in acoustic anyway.

I intend to buy a separate pickup if I ever need to use this guitar for live work.

This particular J45 has the famous Gibson pearloid tuning pegs which I am very happy about because I'm not a huge fan of the plasticy button ones. I think if you're going to spend this much on a guitar none of it should feel cheap and I have heard bad things about the regular tuning pegs.

I'm giving it a 6 for features because there's no pickup and a strap button around the bottom of the neck would have been nice but it's a small price to pay for owning a pretty unusual J45. And anyway, you don't buy this particular model for features.

My favourite bands are The Beatles, Teenage Fanclub, Grandaddy - that kind of thing, so hopefully that gives you some idea as to my style.

I play mostly rhythm - strumming to back up singing. Before I bought this guitar I tested Martins, Takamines, Ovations, a Lowden, a Taylor and a few others. Many of these were more expensive guitars but the J45 smoked every one of them when it came to playing my style.

The first thing that struck me is how quiet the guitar initially seems but that's not to say it is in any way weak-sounding.

It definitely is refined compared to a lot of other acoustics but in my opinion this is because it's just built for a singer/songwriter. For these purposes the sound level is perfect.

In terms of volume, a jumbo or a J45 rosewood would almost certainly outshine this guitar but if you're after a booming instrument I guess you would be going for a different model anyway.

Also, if you play hard on it, the J45 definitely responds, not losing any of that characteristic tone and it's definitely loud enough to make itself heard in a good jamming session.

Although I don't do that much fingerpicking, the J45 seems to handle it quite well. Compared to, say, a Martin D28 I think it sounds very ordinary in this department but there's still quite a lot of character there - single notes tend to 'jump' out of the soundhole making it pretty distinctive.

If you're into fingerpicking, I would say a rosewood guitar or a jumbo would definitely be the way to go - you just need that bit more bass.

Having said that, the J45 is definitely the guitar for me because of the rhythm sound. The balance is sensational - no other guitar I've played comes close. Booming (but not overbearing) bass, sweet, sweet middle and ringing trebles are evident right up the neck.

Before I played this guitar I actually thought I'd be buying a J45 Rosewood - I thought the upgrades, including the rosewood back and sides would make for a better guitar.

I couldn't have been more wrong. Playing them side by side I found this to be the far superior guitar when it comes to strumming. The rosie's bass was just a bit too strong for my liking; something I've found with a lot of rosewood guitars. I know some people swear by them but for my playing style the regular J45 fits like a glove.

If you think you're into a similar style of music as me, my advice is to test one out by playing an open G chord on one. I did and it took my breath away which is why I'm giving this guitar 10 for sound.

There seems to have been quite a few criticisms of Gibson's set-up recently and I've read about many people complaining that they've played guitars with minor cosmetic flaws, poor setup and action etc.

I've played quite a few Gibsons and I've noticed a few things here and there (I have a Les Paul with a couple of minor issues but the sound is the best I've ever heard from any instrument - guitar or otherwise!) but this J45 is set-up to perfection.

Action is wonderfully low with absolutely no buzz - low end of the neck is actually kind of like playing an electric. Bridge is totally spot-on, neck angle is perfect and I've checked the whole body and as much as I can see inside the soundhole - it's all immaculate.

The wine red finish is a little brighter than you would usually see but I can't really call this a complaint - I suspect as this guitar ages it will gradually become an even more fabulous colour.

I don't know if Gibson take extra-special care with limited editions but I honestly can't find a single flaw on this guitar - another 10 (and I'm trying to be harsh here!)

The guitar seems absolutely solid but as I have only just bought it I guess only time will tell how it gigs (that's if I decide to gig it).

They do call it 'The Workhorse' though so that can only be good.

Emailed Gibson once before purchase and got a prompt and helpful reply. I'm givig them 6 out of 10 as I find their website to be geared shamelessly towards the US market and therefore of limited value to anyone who is a customer elsewhere.

I've been playing for around 12 years and as I've played more and more guitars I keep coming back to Gibson.

I'm sure a large part of this has to do with the fact that many bands I like use Gibsons and if you want that sound nothing else is going to do it for you.

This is the first high-end acoustic I've bought and a major investment for me - there's a good chance that I won't spend this much on an acoustic again so I take this very seriously.

I played as many guitars as I could and for my money this was my only choice. I went in with a completely open mind and played a wide variety of guitars. Before I knew I wanted a Gibson I was pretty much decided on a dreadnought as I preferred the rhythm sound I was getting. Many jumbos seemed too bassy for me.

After narrowing it down to Martin, Gibson and Fylde (all just about in my price range) I went for the Gibson because of it's character and tone. I simply love the sound.

At the minute there's not much I hate. Probably my biggest gripe is the lack of a strap button on the neck as I'm not too comfortable with the old shoelace around the head of a guitar.

If this guitar were stolen I am pretty sure I'd go for a normal J45 as I don't think I'd be able to find another one of this limited edition. I'd maybe change the tuning pegs to pearloid though.

One guitar mag has said of the Gibson J-45: "You can stick your Collingses and Santa Cruzes; this is the best acoustic you've had in for years".

I know how he feels.

The J 45 is the standard Gibson round shoulder style acoustic guitar made in 2001 from all solid woods, with a spruce top and mahogany back, sides, and neck. The body has white binding and a traditional sunburst finished top with black lacquer coloured back, sides and neck. The wood grain only shows through in the sunburst area. There is an active under saddle pickup with internal battery, but no onboard controls. ( good choice). A detailed description is available on the Gibson Montana web site.

The D 45 has a well balanced tone. The trebles are slightly bright, with a woody midrange, and a clear mellow bass. It sounds best after the strings are allowed to age for a few days. I get the best results with medium gauge strings. I have only owned this guitar for a few months and am waiting for the tone to mature with age. I bought this model to replace a Gibson J 185 which I traded two years ago. The J 45 has a more mellow tone than the crisper tone of the maple bodied J 185. It is not quite as bright as my Larrivee D 05 ( see review recently posted ). Plugged in, the pickup sounds OK, reasonably balanced, with almost no ?pizzo quack?, but I intend to use it mostly acoustically.

There was a slight ripple in the surface of the fingerboard. This would only effect the playability if the action was lowered to the extreme limit, which I don?t require. Proper adjustment of the truss rod corrects this problem when the action is set to Gibson standards. ( Due to this imperfection the price was further discounted about $300 Canadian. ) The tuners are stiff, with small buttons, and the bridge pins are cheap plastic, but the nut and saddle are well fitted. The lacquer finish on the neck does not allow the left hand to slide smoothly as compared to my Larrivee. The sunburst is nicely applied on the straight grained top. The rest of the instrument appears to be fault free. The tuning / intonation of the 24.75 inch scale is more critical to maintain than a longer 25.5 inch scale.

I always maintain my guitars in near new condition, and I do not foresee any problems. I usually detune the strings to relieve tension on the neck when they are stored. The dark lacquer finish tends to show all wear and scratches more than a clear see through finish.

I have dealt with the store owner for a few years and have always received good service, so I don?t expect any future problems.

I am quite satisfied, and the guitar has so far lived up to my expectations. This has been my hobby and I have owned several guitars over the last 40 years and now also have a Larrivee D 05, Fender US Strat, Yamaha AES 1500B. Norman B 20 Folk, early 60?s Supro Coronado, and 1965 Harmony Sovereign, - all bought new!. My Gibson J 45 shares many of the same traits as the Larrivee, the main difference being the scale length and factory installed pickup in the J 45.

woo hoo! Finally got my very own vintage Gibson acoustic. Checked the serial number and it was made in 1969; best bargain of my life. I think it's mahogany back and sides, but I could be wrong. Nevertheless this guitar is awesome. Someone stained the top - goodbye beautiful sunburst - and re-finished the heck out of it. A couple of cracks on the top, a hairline crack in back of headstock, both very solidly repaired (waddya know? the guy on ebay was telling the truth). Bracing is solid and guitar is in great shape. Neck was sanded, thinned a little, but as it works out it's cake for me to play on the lower strings when I'm standing now. Grover tuners. Not a collector's piece, but definitely a player and that's what I wanted. Gotta' do something about the intonation. No biggie.

I play mostly americana, rock n'roll ala Neil Young, Steve Earle, The Band, Wilco, that lends itself to a lot of acoustic guitar. I mostly strum and finger pick, and this guitar is more than what I've been looking for. It's very resonant, bright as hell and it's got a nice warm bottom end. All the excess finish "dullified" the sound a little but at the same time making it crisp, like it's being palm muted, and I'm really enjoying the wooden bridge/saddle. Put a Fishman Rare Earth soundhole pickup in it, and it sounded good even coming out of a crappy Fender practice amp without touching the knobs.

Action's great; electronics are great (I got that job done myself); love that vintage J-45 bracing - that's the secret ingredient, isn't it?; like I said before, gotta work the intonation a little, and probably will have done in the next day or two. It stays in tune well, but if it goes out I can't tune it without a tuner because otherwise it just doesn't work. Nothing to do but minor adjustments.

Well, it's a 1969 and it is very structurally sound: bracing, binding, neck, all solid. One thing I've noticed is that bridge is starting to collapse to the front, which I need to reinforce. I always have a backup in case of broken string. I wouldn't be afraid to play it w/o backup in fear of the guitar falling apart. For some reason I tend not to play it as hard as the other ones, but I'm not trying. I think it's because it sounds the way it does without any effort on my part as opposed to strumming my heart out on my other ones.

have not needed

I've been playing for 14 yrs, and professionally for about 7. Currently own customized Jazzmaster (w/ humbuckers), Tele, Epiphone 12 string acoustic (love the sound - great for a laminate), 70's Hummingbird copy (which I like better than any real Hummingbird I've tried) and have owned many other acoustics, hollowbodies and solid bodies. For years I was searching for that vintage acoustic sound, be it Martin, Guild, Gibson, whatever, but leaning towards Gibson. All the new ones I've tried, including J-45's, were not impressive at all, until I ran into a 60's-70's J-50 Deluxe, which I thought was it for me. Didn't have the dough, so I found another online, bought it and it was shit. Got my money back (thank you God), thought I learned my lesson, but had to take a chance on a J-45 for that price, and I won. Like I said, not a collector's piece, but it could easily become one. I, however like mine because it's a little rough and I intend to gig the crap out of it. Its weaknesses are also its strengths. My new #1 guitar.

My J45 is a late 2002 model made in the montana factory. The usual stuff in a standard (modern) J45; solid spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides and mahogany short scale neck (joins the body at 14th fret).
Whilst there is a fishman piezo under the bridge, there is no shoulder-mounted preamp/eq - instead the pre set preamp is mounted in the end pin inside the body of the guitar (definitely a bonus for me as I can't stnd those ugly plastic boxes defacing the side of a cool guitar and negatively affecting the tone).
The finish is a wonderful deep burst on the top perfectly complementing the figuring of the spruce. On the back, sides and neck the finish is almost too dark to see the wood (very dark brown).
The Dots on the neck are Gibson's "pearloid", and there is no binding on the neck and the headstock is similarly minimalist with the traditional Gibson "tulip" shape sporting nothing more than a gold screened logo.
The tuners are the old style kluson type with white kidney shaped plastic pegs - the same colour as the body binding which almost loooks too white, but also matches the plain soundhole rosette which is finished with a tortoishell scratchplate.
The bridge is the "reverse bridge" rosewood type with cream plastic (crappy!) pins and two pearloid dots and the usual gibbo type nut is (unusual for gibbo acoustics) well cut.
A sexy black solid case was included.
Overall - pretty good; but BEWARE - DO NOT BUY ONE WITHOUT PLAYING THAT VERY ONE - I played on 11 before I found one which wasn't a piece of crap ina almost all departments.

This guitar really does sound wonderful. I play pretty much all styles both live and in studios - mostly flatpicking and hybrid but not too much fingerstyle, but with this guitar it really does not matter what you play; it's definitely a workhorse. I had a Taylor 712, but I am quite a heavy player and i just couldn't dig in without sounding harsh, so I decided on a bigger bodied guitar.
At the bottom, the sound is earthy warm and woody - think ROUND. The bass is not at all woolly, though and lead smoothly into some very sweet mids. All Slope shouldered dreadnoughts share this feature - dynamic and very expressive mids; and when you dig in or lay back you'll always be able to go that little bit further than other guitarists. The top end is also very sweet and singy with harmonics all over the place - never ever harsh!
This guitar has a warm wonderfully integrated and sweet sound - perfectly between the sound of a Martin OM and a D. If you play a lot of figerstyle as well as flatpicking, you may consider a different guitar in addition to this one; it tends to be quite quiet (but that could just be me) - but i cannot think of a single acoustic which does both as well as this one - and it will only get better.
I initially tried a J45 because I couldn't afford a J200, didn't like the J185 and couldn't find a nice D28. I played on an amazing Bourgeois Slope-D (and have since played on 2 more) and that really turned me on to the body shape (i could't justify #2,500) and so I looked to the J45.
Plugged in it sounds good too, but incredible with a nice condenser stuck in front of it!

Set up perfect for me "from the box", and whist the insides seemed perfectly in order and tidy and there was no glue showing anywhere, the frets on the treble side are still a little sharp.
Everything else was pretty damn good, but if i'm gonna be anal about it the finish (although well applied and and) has sunk slighly in the way that the finish has sunk into a vintage guitar - I like it but it's still a flaw.
So.........

It's a Gibson and if it starts good it stays good (with luck).
I've had it 2 months and have played a bunch of gigs and a load of sessions and it's fine.

No problems yet, but gibson USA are great and rossettti (uk distributors) are notoriously bad.

I love my J45 and so does everybody who hears it. I've been playing for 11 only years now but I do it for a living and I love tone! This guitar has it and is everything my Taylor 712 was not in tems of sound: There is bags of power there but not at the expense of sweetness or dynamics. It looks great too though, and is simple and elegant for a jumbo (I can't stand dripping with gold type acoustics).
Having said all this, what first turned me on to the body shape was the Bourgeois Slope-D acoustic guitar. If I could justify the extra #1,300, I would have got one, just because they are that little bit better in every way and are hand made (and where are all the Gibson Luthiers that are meant to be in the custom shop?). But that's over twice the price and if I can't justify the extra i can't say it's worth it.
If you're gonna think about buying one - MAKE SURE YOU FIND A NICE ONE BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY DOGS OUT THERE.
When are Gibson and Martin gonna sort it out?
Overe

Gibson J45 (40s reissue), made in 2003 in Bozeman, Montana.
Solid Mahogany back and sides, sitka spruce top. 24 3/4 scale with Schertler Blue Stick transducer pickup. Round shoulder jumbo body style with indian rosewood fretboard/bridge and mother of pearl dot markers. Gotoh tuners with white buttons. Came with Gibson/TKL hardshell case, soundhole humidifier, warranty papers.

I play rock, blues and occasionally a bit of folk and jazz influenced pieces. Occasionally plug it into the solid state Channel 1 of a Vox Cambridge 30 for a nice acoustic amplified sound. Pick up sounds great and is very clean. Not a completely natural sound to my ears but very pleasing. Un amped the guitar sounds incredible. Excellent throaty bass response, balanced well with bright bell-like treble. Midrange is not particularly heavy but its there, and it fills out the sound well. Very well balanced and has that traditional woody, deep Gibson sound. Did I mention the throaty bass?? I love this sound, it could be a little stronger in the mids but only slightly... over all its almost EXACTLY what I what I think an acoustic should sound like. This is one of the main reasons this guitar is a classic.

I ordered this through Wichita Band in Kansas. They do set ups on all their guitars that come in and inspect each one so there arent going to be any sloppy ones laying around. Set up was just what I asked for. The guitars finish is almost flawless, one small imperfection in the lacquer on the edge of the fretboard but its about the size of a grain of rice. The rest of the finish is near perfect. The sunburst is beautiful and has a nice fade to it. Nice sunbursts are an art and Gibson does them well, Ive rarely seen an ugly Gibson burst. The insides of the guitar are also quite clean. Braces are nicely shaved, purfling is set well and there are no traces of excess glue. The mahogany used (honduras) is very nice and has beautiful grain that has a nice ripple to it down the back. The tuners are often referred to as looking 'cheap' since they have the white plastic buttons but they are meant to replicate the WW II model and they are made by Gotoh, so they are definitely decent quality. Ive expereinced no problems so far. The only real problem I had with the guitar was that someone in QC had apparently misread the serial number on the headstock and the result was that the soundhole label had a serial that differed by one digit. I contacted Wichita and supposedly there is a new label on the way with instructions. Not a huge problem.

Hardware seems solid and I am sure the J is up to live playing...Ive seen more than one handle that :)

Finish is nitrocellulose lacqer and is designed to age with the wood, ultimately making it sound better in the future. Strap button is solid and Id gig without a backup no problem.

Dealt through Wichita Band over the serial number. They have a rep at Gibson who responded the same day they sent the complaint in. Seems solid, but Ive never dealt with Gibson directly.

Ive been playing for about 5 years with bands and for my own enjoyment. I own a Gibson SG, Laney VC30 2x12, Vox Cambridge and my previous acoustics included an Epiphone J200, '66 Caballero and 64 LGO. The J45 is my first 'serious' acoustic and I settled on it after playing a few taylors (5-600 series) and martins (D16, 28) and realizing that none of them could replicate that J45 sound and feel. I love almost everything about this guitar except that I do wish it had the parallelogram inlays that are found on the southern jumbo. I like the mostly understated looks though, and the traditional feel and vintage vibe (slope shoulders) this thing has. The sound is what really does it though.