1967 Gibson J-45 Adj Sunburst

The Gibson J-45 is—despite Martin’s claim—America’s guitar, the signature instrument of the serious player in jams, gigs, hoedowns, hootenannies, parties, and front porches since the 1940’s. The original J-45 has a slope-shouldered jumbo body (until 1969) with a solid spruce top and mahogany back, sides, and neck. Since World War II it has a 14/20-fret rosewood finger board with pearl dot inlay and a 25.4” scale, and a “belly-up” (until 1968) rosewood bridge with an adjustable saddle (until 1974-75). In 1955 the large tortoise pick guard replaced the early smaller black pick guard and the original black body binding was replaced with ivoroid (not the notorious disintegrating tortoise binding of the later 1970s). And of course it has the huge, focused sound for which vintage round-shouldered Jumbo Gibsons have been famous for decades.

This guitar has serial number 064051, which along with what remains of the above specifications probably dates it as 1967—fifty-three years of making music. There were some structural issues which have been professionally dealt with, such as the center seam below the bridge and four humidity cracks have been glued and cleated, and the top has been lightly sanded and re-finished (somewhat unevenly). In the process, the sound-deadening adjustable bridge has been replaced with a solid bridge with compensated saddle, and the warped pick guard has been removed. The original Kluson Deluxe tuners have been replaced with other vintage Kluson-style tuners which work well but have amber buttons, and the rather worn frets have all been professionally replaced. The good news is that the action is now very fast and comfortable at 3/32” at the 12th fret low E, the neck, body, headstock, and braces are all original, the nut is a comfortable 1 9/16", and of course the sound is as strong and resonant as one expects from a 53-year-old slope-shouldered Gibson Jumbo: for a player it is better than “original.” The bad news is that for a museum or collector it may be less “collectible” because of the repairs and finish modification.

Cosmetically, the sunburst finish is now in good shape, although the headstock, neck, back, and sides show many of the occasional scratches, dings, and bruises one expects on a working 53-year-old guitar, along with lotsa fine crazing in the finish “to let the sound out,” as my luthier says. In other words, it looks like what it is: a great Gibson jumbo guitar which has been playing the hard-driving music for which it was made, to the great satisfaction of the previous owner who regrettably wrote his name inside the sound hole. Most importantly, playing the music for over five decades has made that Gibson sound even better, more resonant, and more powerful. This is a player’s guitar, and I sincerely hope that its next owner is someone who will play it hard, well, and often.

The vintage chip board case is probably the original Gibson case, and it is certainly of the right vintage. It is in relatively good shape, inside and out, with only some warpage in the top and some loose threads and wear along the edges. The hardware all works perfectly, it offers adequate protection, and it is an excellent vintage complement to this fine vintage guitar.

Buyer pays a flat rate of $55 for insurance and shipping to the lower forty-eight states; shipping costs elsewhere will be negotiated as necessary. Payment by Paypal is preferred; cashier’s checks are acceptable, but checks must clear before the guitar will be shipped.

I have tried to be perfectly clear and accurate in describing this vintage instrument, so its return will not be accepted unless it can be shown that it was egregiously misrepresented in this listing. Please check out the pictures and ask any questions you might have before offering to purchase it.

Thank you for your interest in this fine vintage Gibson guitar.