Early '50s Gibson J-45, Sitka Spruce, Mahogany - USED - SOLD

SOLD (R.GREEN)

ON CONSIGNMENT, NO TRADE OFFERS PLEASE!

(USED) The venerable Gibson jumbo design is a shop favorite, instantly recognizable all over the world and rivaled in popularity only by Martin's 14-fret dreadnought.  We love a good Gibson because it goes places many guitars can't... dry, thumpy, growly, articulate, you know almost instantly when you've got a great one.  We're glad to say that this example from the '50s is right up there, it has all of the trademark Gibson tone and at about 70 years old, still has a lot of songs to sing.

It's hard to put an exact date on the instrument, the serial number isn't consistent with those of this time period, but there are a lot of tell-tale signs.  The 19-fret neck (changed to 20 around 1955) the lack of cloth side-straps seem to place it in the early '50s.  It has the belly-up bridge that became standard at that time, too.  The peghead is not tapered (discontinued in 1953) so everything points to 1953-1955.  Thankfully the back and sides are solid mahogany (Gibson experimented with laminated sides and even occasionally used maple for sides in the '40s and '50s) and the top appears to be Sitka spruce.  

This one has a mahogany neck with a C shape, not overly chunky at all but not the pencil-thin shape of the guitars in the late '50s and '60s.  It has a 1 11/16" nut, 2 1/8" string spacing at the saddle and short 24 3/4" scale length.  The fingerboard and bridge are rosewood.  

Condition, condition, condition, am I right?  This one has had a fair bit of upkeep.  It has a Matt Uminov sticker on the back of the peghead, so at least we know that it was in good hands!  We are estimating that the neck has been reset, the frets have been replaced (these show only minimal wear under the unwound strings) and the saddle and pins appear to be replacements.  The back has numerous cleated and/or arrested cracks, but the top and sides are crack-free.  Finish checking throughout, a lot of finish cleaned off the back of the neck, an assortment of dings and some pick wear near the pick guard.  It's playing and sounding very well indeed.  

Been looking to find out what all the fuss is about on vintage guitars?  This one is raring to go!

Includes high-quality non-original hard case.  

Serial #79043 2 
AMW Price: $6,995 (Online checkout, ON CONSIGNMENT)

For more information, email info@acousticmusicworks.com or call (412) 422-0710