Review of the Gibson J-45 Shouldered Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

05 Oct 2009

Features of the Gibson J-45 Shouldered Dreadnought

Tuners - Lovely chunky sealed Grovers ensured that this little beauty was almost perfectly in tune from its American factory set-up.

Headstock - Classic waisted and gabled Gibbo headstock - a thing of some beauty.

Nut - The aged white plastic nut abuts the fretboard and is immaculately cut.

Neck - The mahogany neck is finished in dark brown lacquer and, if you had your eyes closed, you'd think you were holding a Les Paul. There's a little bit of Gibson chunkiness in the width which contrasts with and is enhanced by the slim depth of the neck's profile. All in all it's a simple joy to play.

Fretboard - The rosewood fretboard has an attractive grain which varies subtly in shades of deep brown. The traditional dot markers are pearloid.

Frets - The medium-thin frets are perfectly finished and nicely buffed.

Action - I was able to play whatever I chose with great ease anywhere on the fretboard, even up to holding chord shapes on the 13th or 14th fret.

Body - The body has mahogany back and sides and a spruce top. Although technically a dreadnought-sized guitar, this particular design (called the shouldered dreadnought) was a Gibson innovation. The width of the body is narrower above the soundhole than a traditional dreadnought. This makes it easier to hold and play, particular in the seated playing position. It also gives a bit of a mean racing-snake attitude to the guitar's appearance. The body is bound front and back with white binding. On the front of the guitar this binding is nicely embellished with a single pinstripe. The vintage sunburst finish is brimming with character. It looks black in the picture but the darkest part of the finish is actually very dark brown. On the back and sides of the body and up the neck this allows the grain of the mahogany to peep through in a lovely fashion. The soundhole has a simple pinstriped rossette. 

Bridge - The bridge is a traditionally simple rosewood affair with white bridge-pins. The plastic saddle is compensated (staggered) at the second string to aid intonation.

Pickup - It took me an embarrassingly long time to realise that this guitar had electro capability. The battery compartment is actually a small cloth bag attached to the heel of the guitar inside the body, accessible only through the soundhole. The pickup it runs is mounted under the bridge.

Controls - There's a tiny volume control in the form of a wheel mounted inside the body at the top side of the soundhole.

Pickguard - Mock tortoise single-ply teardrop.

Strap-buttons - There's one strap button on the bottom of the body that incorporates the jack output.

Finish - This is an American-made instrument and everything is immaculate.

Accessories - The guitar comes with an exceedingly tough-looking fitted guitar case.

Sound of the Gibson J-45 Shouldered Dreadnought

Acoustically the J45 has everything you'd expect from a top-notch dreadnought. There a beautiful depth to the lower-register resonance that translates to honey in the mids and real authority in the higher strings. The voice of this guitar makes the playing of it an instantly more rewarding experience, and it's a feeling that doesn't diminish as you are drawn back to pick it up again and again.

Amplified this voice inevitably changes somewhat. But you have to remember this is an acoustic guitar with a pickup rather than a guitar designed from the ground up for electro-acoustic performance. This also makes it slightly more susceptible to feedback at higher stage volumes. I'd be tempted to run the guitar's output in tandem with a miked feed for tone critical applications such as recording.   

Overall Impressions of the Gibson J-45 Shouldered Dreadnought

This is a very beautiful and sublimely playable instrument. It's a piece of high-quality American manufacture and is therefore an expensive proposition compared to other high-end modern variants. But the ownership of such a fabulous instrument is a daily reward in and of itself. If it gives you £1's worth of pleasure every day it will have paid for itself in four years!  If you play country or folk music this is your dream-machine, believe me!

Review of the Gibson J-45 Shouldered Dreadnought by The Man in the Jar