Belated NGD - My first Gibson!

[Rosewood99]

I've had it for a week but wanted to wait until I had photos. It's a J45 Standard Rosewood. From what I understand they stopped making these in rosewood for the standard. I think you have to go custom.

I've always heard about the Gibson "growl" and now I know what that means. It has such a unique sound from all my other guitars that I love. I'm getting used to the narrower 1.72 nut width (all my guitars are 1.75) and while finger picking is a bit harder I'm finding that flatpicking is a bit easier. It came with medium strings and the action is set to medium. All my other guitars have lights with low action. I'm hesitant to change the Gibson because the tone is so nice now so I'm going to wait a few weeks and see how it feels. Might be nice to have some variety.

[Eclectichick]

Many congrats--that's a sweet guitar! I find myself bemoaning the narrower nut width on most Gibsons, but to be honest, I haven't tried them. I've just assumed they won't work for me and hold on to the hope that I'll find a custom with 1-3/4" at the nut. Hearing your experience has made me consider checking one out locally. Congrats again!

[Rosewood99]

Originally Posted by Eclectichick

Many congrats--that's a sweet guitar! I find myself bemoaning the narrower nut width on most Gibsons, but to be honest, I haven't tried them. I've just assumed they won't work for me and hold on to the hope that I'll find a custom with 1-3/4" at the nut. Hearing your experience has made me consider checking one out locally. Congrats again!

That's exactly why it took me so long to get one. But I got such an incredible deal on this I figured if I couldn't get used to it I wouldn't have a problem selling it. I still prefer the 1.75 nut width but it's not as bad as I thought. And the tone makes it worth it. It might not become my "all-around" guitar but it will certainly be one I think I will be playing often.

[Yanto]

Absolutely gorgeous. Congratulations Paul. Not jealous at all ! ;-)

[brencat]

Nice pictures Paul. If you like playing lights, I would try them right away. Gibsons can handle mediums, but they ship from the factory and are designed for light strings.

When I had my AJ, my favorite strings were MSP7100 PB lights, and Elixir Nanoweb 80/20 lights.

[cliffenstein]

Very nice, Paul. I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I'm so used to 1.68 & 1.69 nut width that the 1.725 nut width on the 2006 Epiphone J-45 I got 2 weeks ago has me working to get used to it.

[duluthdan]

Remarkable guitars those j-45s. Rosewood - yeah, that'd growl. The nut width at 1.72 is comfortable for me, its only .03 away from 1 3/4. I have a variety of guitar necks in my herd, haven't found one yet that poses any problems. Congrats on a fine guitar acquisition - looks awesomely fun.

Also - agree with Brencat - try the lights, mucho fun.

[Dru Edwards]

Paul, what a beauty - Congrats!!! Was this the guitar that needed the repair work or did you go with another one?

[ewalling]

Congratulations! There are not many Gibsons I lust after; in fact those that I do are both out of production: the CJ165R and yours, the J45 Rosewood.

[GibbyPrague]

Welcome to the club, and I would also recommend lights on it. Gibsons really were made to be optimised with light strings.

[jpd]

It's a looker! That 1.725 nut width with that distinct neck shape will soon become your go to!

[nopicknick]

Beautiful guitar....I am certainly enjoying my J15.

[Dirk Hofman]

Fantastic! If it plays comfortably with the mediums, keep 'em. If not, swap 'em! You should have a great time getting to know this beautiful guitar.

[Play2PraiseHim]

Very nice !! I hope to one day add a rosewood Gibson to my collection. I'm glad you decided to keep this one. And I'm even more glad that you recognize the beauty of the Gibson sound.

[ewalling]

The J45 Rosewood was also built in the days when Gibson had some ebony available for its fretboards, and paired with the dark rosewood back and sides, the ebony board looks really good.