[Accidental NGD] 1967 Gibson J-45

mo6020 · January 2023

I had an hour to kill in town while my girlfriend was getting a pedicure so I took myself to Denmark Street to see if there was anything worth looking at. No. Tom had a lovely ‘65 335 in the window so I go in and have a go on that and a ‘65 Strat.

Both were too rich for my tastes, but I’ve also been in the market for a 60s J-45 or Hummingbird, and they had a ‘68 Hummingbird and a ‘67 J-45 hanging next to each other on the wall. The Hummingbird was so-so, but as soon as I picked up the J-45 I was like, “oh shit I’m in trouble here”

Anyway, it’s an absolutely brilliant guitar and rings like a bell. The Hummingbird was still good but was much warmer sounding, this’ll cut through a band setting way better tho I think.

Mellish · January 2023

Happy NGD!!!

The J-45 (if a good example) is a very nice find.

mo6020 · January 2023

Mellish said:

Happy NGD!!!

The J-45 (if a good example) is a very nice find.

Thanks, I had expected to be (eventually) walking out with a Hummingbird but this really surprised me.

tomjax · January 2023

Congrats! That sounds a spectacular find. My J45 is a stunning guitar too, with a beautiful tone strummed or picked. Enjoy...

hollywoodrox · January 2023

Congratulations on such a beauty ,surprised you left without a hummingbird though
One of my highly desired guitars for an acoustic purely because of Keef . How long til the next pedicure lol ?

Mellish · January 2023

@mo6020 and @hollywoodrox ; I'm a sucker for a Gibson 'Bird.

I've had three over the years, one truly great. And I saw one recently but its satin finish put me off (that was at GG Birmingham if any want to pop along if it's still there).

ICBM · February 2023

That’s very nice. It makes me miss my old one even more

.

mo6020 · February 2023

hollywoodrox said:

Congratulations on such a beauty ,surprised you left without a hummingbird though
One of my highly desired guitars for an acoustic purely because of Keef . How long til the next pedicure lol ?

I am too, the hummingbird didn't sound anywhere near as nice and was a grand more, so it was a no-brainer really.

mo6020 · February 2023

ICBM said:

That’s very nice. It makes me miss my old one even more .

It's really great, man. Needs a refret, and I think I'm going to put an LR Baggs in it as well, but I absolutely love it.

ICBM · February 2023

mo6020 said:

I think I'm going to put an LR Baggs in it

Don’t.

I’ve spent a reasonable amount of effort removing them cleanly from two of my guitars, including my Dove. They are not the last word in amplified sound, and I would absolutely not modify a vintage instrument to fit one, even a ‘player grade’ example.

Mellish · February 2023

^ absolutely, I agree with ICBM @mo6020 ;;

I've had a J-200, three 'Birds, a Dove and a J-45. All came fitted with electronics. I removed them on all but the Dove, which I p/e'd anyway.

mo6020 · February 2023

@ICBM @Mellish ;

Thanks for the info there guys, I’ve only heard good things previously.

ICBM · February 2023

mo6020 said:

Thanks for the info there guys, I’ve only heard good things previously.

They're fine as far as pickup systems go, one of the better ones - I wouldn't have any issue with fitting one to a modern guitar. However, they don't sound even close to as good as mic'ing the guitar if you're recording, and are you actually going to gig with a '67 J-45?

Personally, I prefer a passive piezo UST pickup and offboard guitar modelling (Fishman Aura etc), anyway - although on a guitar with an adjustable bridge like the J-45 a K&K soundboard transducer is probably the easiest option for a passive pickup. You could possibly make a replacement saddle bar incorporating a piezo strip pickup - but you'll still have to drill the end of the guitar, which I wouldn't do.

This does all remind me of why I stupidly sold my old J-45 too - too fragile to gig, and couldn't be fitted with a pickup anyway, whereas my other guitar (a Lowden, which I never actually liked) had factory-fitted electrics. I should have sold the Lowden and bought a cheap electro for gigging.

Mellish · February 2023

When I removed the electronics I did (if I recall correctly) get better tone from each guitar by just doing this.
And that's what it's all about for me: tone. I gig but with a mic for me and another for the guitar.

mo6020 · February 2023

ICBM said:

mo6020 said:

Thanks for the info there guys, I’ve only heard good things previously.

They're fine as far as pickup systems go, one of the better ones - I wouldn't have any issue with fitting one to a modern guitar. However, they don't sound even close to as good as mic'ing the guitar if you're recording, and are you actually going to gig with a '67 J-45?

Personally, I prefer a passive piezo UST pickup and offboard guitar modelling (Fishman Aura etc), anyway - although on a guitar with an adjustable bridge like the J-45 a K&K soundboard transducer is probably the easiest option for a passive pickup. You could possibly make a replacement saddle bar incorporating a piezo strip pickup - but you'll still have to drill the end of the guitar, which I wouldn't do.

This does all remind me of why I stupidly sold my old J-45 too - too fragile to gig, and couldn't be fitted with a pickup anyway, whereas my other guitar (a Lowden, which I never actually liked) had factory-fitted electrics. I should have sold the Lowden and bought a cheap electro for gigging.

so what you’re saying is I need a decent newish acoustic as well so I don’t need to risk the J-45 at the local open mic night?

ICBM · February 2023

mo6020 said:

so what you’re saying is I need a decent newish acoustic as well so I don’t need to risk the J-45 at the local open mic night?

Yes

. Or at least a cheap newish acoustic

.

Or if the open mic isn't too scary and you want to risk it, just put a mic in front of the guitar... it sounds much better anyway.

mo6020 · February 2023

ICBM said:

Or if the open mic isn't too scary and you want to risk it, just put a mic in front of the guitar... it sounds much better anyway.

I always just used to mic acoustics at gigs anyway, but when I was last gigging frequently all the electronic pickups/preamps sounded like shit. I don't really have any qualms micing it up if it's still noticably better sounding.

mo6020 · August 2023

Following up on this for anyone who’s interested - I bought an LR Baggs M1 Passive that I can just screw in to the soundhole when needed. It sounds pretty great so I’d recommend it for those who are wary of drilling into older guitars.

Soupman · August 2023

I have a Baggs M1a (active) which I like.
Same pick-up I believe, but with a higher output level to go direct into a PA.
I reckon you made a good choice.

roberty · August 2023

mo6020 said:

Following up on this for anyone who’s interested - I bought an LR Baggs M1 Passive that I can just screw in to the soundhole when needed. It sounds pretty great so I’d recommend it for those who are wary of drilling into older guitars.

I used to use a SD Woody which always preferred to piezo systems. I'll bet the M1 does sound good :-)

mo6020 · August 2023

Soupman said:

I have a Baggs M1a (active) which I like.
Same pick-up I believe, but with a higher output level to go direct into a PA.
I reckon you made a good choice.

Yeh it’s the same but requires a battery. I have a DI box + preamp so figured I could get away with the passive one.

mo6020 · August 2023

roberty said:

mo6020 said:

Following up on this for anyone who’s interested - I bought an LR Baggs M1 Passive that I can just screw in to the soundhole when needed. It sounds pretty great so I’d recommend it for those who are wary of drilling into older guitars.

I used to use a SD Woody which always preferred to piezo systems. I'll bet the M1 does sound good :-)

I was surprised at how good, actually. It exceeded my expectations.

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[Accidental NGD] 1967 Gibson J-45

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