1953 Gibson J-45

The Gibson J-45 was first introduced in 1942 as the companies flagship, affordable dreadnought guitar, and remained so for many decades to follow. This 1953 Gibson J-45 is a great example from a particularly good period for this mdoel.

Constructed from a Spruce top with Mahogany back and sides, this J-45 features the taller scalloped X braces that make these early J-45 so resonant and dynamically responsive, with a lighter build that gives a beautifully balanced tone with plenty of top end clarity and mid range focus, perfect for the nuances of finger style playing while being equally suitable for the punch and projection of flat picking styles. The neck profile is a comfortable, more rounded 'baseball bat' style profile, as opposed to the 'V' profile found on earlier Gibson instruments, with a 1 11/16ths nut width. The original belly up bridge is present and correct, along with the single line 3 on a plate tuners and gold silk screened Gibson headstock logo that was introduced in 1948. 

This guitar is in good condition for an instrument of its age, and sports many years of play wear and patina accumulated over its life. This guitar has recently benefitted from some work by our luthiers to keep it playing and sounding as it should. Some braces have been re-glued on the top and back, including two X braces and the tone brace, ensuring the soundboard is resonating as it should be. Two back cracks and one lower treble bout crack have been glued and cleated, and are now perfectly secure. Other than that, this instrument is in all original condition, and plays and sounds exceptionally good. This guitar also includes a later period hard case.

This guitar has been given a full service by our luthiers at the Vintage Instrument Workshop, and includes a 3 year warranty.