Gibson

Gibson J-45 FON 4690 (1950)

$9,000.00

Pickup available at 165 Showroom

Usually ready in 1 hour

Expedited Shipping Required

Product information

This 1950 Gibson J-45 sounds better than it has any right to sound. What do we mean by that, since most J-45s from this period sound good? Well, they're usually not as open, powerful, and warm-voiced as this one is. While we expect post-Banner J-45s to be a bit tighter than their predecessors from the mid-1940's, with a more compressed, midrange-forward sound, this guitar is looser, rounder-sounding, and softer in the mids than a typical instrument from this period. It's not going to take the place of a "Banner" guitar for those in the know. But at a fraction of the cost of a guitar just six years its senior, we think this J-45 represents an incredible value. And Gibson geekery aside, it's just a beautiful sounding instrument in its own right -- perfectly suited to a singer songwriter who needs the versatility of a guitar that won't punk out when it's driven a little harder than normal.

The guitar has certainly been played a lot over the years (an undeniable contributing factor to its sound). It shows the expected lacquer checking, alongside a significant number of dings and deep scratches scattered across its surfaces. There's one repaired back crack, but no top cracks. The original bridge plate has a strip of maple added to it, reinforcing the areas between the pin holes. Several braces have been reglued outside our shop -- the work is solid and professional. Our techs have refretted the fingerboard, made a new nut & saddle, and replaced the tuner buttons. The setup is gorgeous, and the guitar plays easily under tension of light gauge strings. Priced with an aftermarket hard case.

Materials
Top
Spruce
Back & Sides
Mahogany
Neck
Mahogany
Fingerboard
Rosewood
Bridge
Rosewood (Original)
Nut & Saddle
Bone (Replacement)
Tuners
Original Kluson (Replacement buttons)
Construction
Hide Glue
Finish
Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Neck Specs
Carve
Medium-fat C
Fingerboard Inlays
MOP Dots
Nut Width
1 11/16"
String Spacing
2 1/8"
Scale Length
24 3/4"

Other
FON
4690 4
Case
Modern Hardshell

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Glenn Nichols, Repairs & Restorations

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