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Thinking seriously about a J-45


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So I've played a few in a shop and they all sound beautiful:

 

Standard:

 

j-45-standard.jpg

 

 

I've also played a True Vintage...

 

 

9bdb556c-24c9-486e-b691-690cdfa39cbd.jpg

 

And then there was the purevoice...

 

Gibson_J-45-Pure-Voice.jpg

 

 

All beautiful guitars in their own way and they all spoke to me.

 

So I don't know which one it's gonna be. Can't really afford one yet and, realistically, it's gonna be at least a year until I can. But that's OK. Some things you're meant to wait out. Meanwhile it's going to be a nice journey going into music stores when I can to sit down and play.

 

Anyone here have much experience with either the True Vintage or Purevoice?

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I've got a 1964 J-45. Got it passed down through the family..best guitar I've ever played, and most of my musician friends say the same. Very proud of it.

Sweet! Does it have the adjustable bridge? Do you have any pictures? ( I am kinda a nerd about vintage acoustics).

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I've heard the adjustable bridges are undesirable. Is this the case?

 

I also love the look of an old J50 which, I'm told, is basically a J45 with a natural finish and bigger pick guard.

 

67GibsonJ-50Nat.jpg

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That J-50 is a beauty. Yes, the adj bridge is debatable. Sonically, it is much worse. Adds a TON of weight to the top and is accused of being a tone and/or volume killer. Most people have swapped them out over the years. However, from a collect-ability point of view, people love odd, quirky, original things. Gibson had a lot of quirks in the 1960s. So, YMMV I guess. BTW, here is my 1970 Gibson Dove with the Adj bridge:

 

dsc016359rq.th.jpg

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That is quite a beautiful guitar. I've not tried out a Dove yet (though there was one in the shop the other day - but I was deep in J-45 land on that particular day).

 

When it comes down to it I'm not going to be able to afford this guitar for quite a while but...man...the looking around is quite sweet. Feels right to be having to really work towards something like this rather than just buying something on a whim.

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