Bozeman

Gibson J-45 Rosewood Round Shoulder Dreadnought, 2005

On July 16, 2018 /

The Gibson J-45, produced since 1942 with only one brief pause, is one of my favourite guitars. The round shoulder mahogany dreadnought body and spruce top produces a warm, rich tone that works really well with voice. From 1999 to 2006, Gibson produced a variant of the venerable J-45, the J-45 Rosewood using Indian Rosewood instead of mahogany with all the warmth of the original plus extra depth and power.

Used

This instrument has sold

Gibson Country Western Model Steel String Guitar, 1957

On July 11, 2018 /

The Gibson Country Western Model made its debut in 1956 as a miracle of rebranding – it is the classic Gibson SJ-N, Southern Jumbo Natural, with a new label! Until 1964, this model – like other Gibson dreadnoughts – was a round shoulder design. At that point, it’s likely that market pressures like the popularity of the Martin style changed the shape to square shoulders.

Vintage

This instrument has sold

Gibson J-45 Slope Shoulder Dreadnought Guitar Sunburst, 1962

On July 4, 2018 /

This Gibson J-45 Slope Shoulder Dreadnought Guitar Sunburst is in clean condition and plays quite well. It appears to have been recently refretted, which included cleaning up the rosewood fingerboard. There are a few minor spot touch ups on the neck to fill dents. These were done competently and probably at the same time as the refret. There is also a colour touchp on the top at the lower treble bout edge, a bit of fill on a finger wear area between the pickguard edge and the bridge, and a touchup of some pick marks below the bass side soundhole.

Vintage

This instrument has sold

Gibson Keb Mo Steel String Guitar Sunburst 2014

On June 14, 2018 /

The Gibson Keb Mo model uses the L-body, with a 12-fret neck design that puts the bridge close to the vibrating center of the Adirondack Red Spruce top. The back, sides and neck are Mahogany, a pairing that provides a crisp, sparkling clarity and good note separation. The fingerboard and bridge are East Indian Rosewood. The body is bound with a creme ivoroid and herringbone purfling. Herringbone was a very common guitar decoration right up until World War II, but it came from Germany and when US stocks ran out, they couldn’t be replenished. Most subsequent instruments used plainer, multi-layer purfling. The tuning gears are Grover Sta-Tite models.

Used

This instrument has sold

Gibson SJ Square Shoulder Dreadnought Guitar, 1972

On May 17, 2018 /

Here we have a vintage Gibson SJ from 1972 at the historic plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It features a Spruce top with Mahogany for the back, sides and neck, with Rosewood for the fingerboard and bridge. The SJ is a somewhat more ornamented model, so the fingerboard is bound and has split-parallellogram position markers. It also features a standard adjustable saddle, in Rosewood; some earlier models used a ceramic saddle. The finish is the original sunburst executed in nitrocellulose lacquer. The scale length is longer than many other Gibson models at 25.5 inches. This brightens the tone slightly and brings the feel closer to Gibson’s main competitor, Martin.

Vintage

This instrument has sold

❌❌ Gibson Country Western Model SJ Natural, 1956

On May 8, 2018 /

This Gibson Country Western was built during the model’s first year, and is in good playing order. It has had some repairs – it is 62 years old, after all – including some cleated top cracks and over-sprayed finish. The tuners have been replaced with new vintage-style models, and work well. As is typical, the pickguard is lifting a bit. Under the bridge, a sub-plate has been added to the bridge plate due to normal wear. The top is spruce, the back, sides and neck are mahogany, and the fingerboard and bridge are rosewood. The fingerboard is bound and has dual-parallellogram position markers, as an ‘upgrade’ from more basic models like th J-45.

Vintage

This instrument has sold

Bozeman

Gibson J-45 Rosewood Round Shoulder Dreadnought, 2005

Gibson Country Western Model Steel String Guitar, 1957

Gibson J-45 Slope Shoulder Dreadnought Guitar Sunburst, 1962

Gibson Keb Mo Steel String Guitar Sunburst 2014

Gibson SJ Square Shoulder Dreadnought Guitar, 1972

❌❌ Gibson Country Western Model SJ Natural, 1956

THE TWELFTH FRET

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