❌SOLD❌ Gibson J45 Slope Shoulder Dreadnought Sunburst, 1959

The Gibson J45 appeared in 1942, and started gaining popularity just in time to have wartime restrictions placed on is production. During WW2, various adaptations were made, in particular the omission of a steel truss rod when Gibson out of their metal rations. However, it has stayed in production to the present day, with some changes along the way.

The J45 has proven popular with countless musicians, and works exceedingly well as an accompaniment to the human voice. Its characteristic tone is rich and warm, with plenty of high end sparkle and clarity. However, the harmonic output is not overly complex, which allows the J45 to fit nicely in a mix without trespassing into the sonic space meant for other instruments (or nothing at all).

Based on a round or slope-shouldered dreadnought – or jumbo, depending on brand – body design, the Gibson J45 pairs a Spruce top (here Adirondack Spruce) with Mahogany for the sides, back, neck, body blocks, linings, and back braces. The
fingerboard is Rosewood, and at the time this guitar was built, the Rosewood was sourced in Brazil.

Here we’re looking at a Gibson J45 built during 1959 at the historic Parsons Street plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Dating is established from the FON or Factory Order Number – serial numbers were not applied to these. The initial character of the FON is S, which indicates 1959.

This guitar is in excellent playing condition, while physically it looks like a 60 year old guitar that’s been used as intended. It has had some key work performed – the bridge is not original and it has been refretted. Originally, this guitar had a Rosewood bridge with adjustable saddle. That bridge design bolts an ounce or so of metal to the middle the top – there are two large nuts for the saddle support, plus two smaller locating bolts under the mother of pearl dots on the bridge. All of that metal was removed, the holes filled, and a new Indian Rosewood bridge built with a standard bone saddle. The result is that the top is less restricted and the guitar sounds better!

The saddle sits fairly high above the bridge, which is excellent news for the neck angle – it’s high enough that a neck reset is not remotely necessary. The original Kluson strip tuners have been replaced with drop-in reproductions.

All J-45s had Sunburst finishes – in Natural, it was the J-50. Here, there is lots of honest play wear to the finish pick wear on the top. The refret appears to have been relatively recent and wear to the frets is minimal, and it plays quite cleanly.

An Access case is included.