1969 Gibson J-45 Dreadnought Guitar

Overview: This battle-weary old brute is a "transitional" J-45 -- square shoulders, one-piece (vs. 3-piece) neck, adjustable (non-reverse) belly bridge, and pearl inlay in a big headstock. It has double x-bracing under the hood like the '70s models but said bracing has been scalloped like crazy by a previous repairman. That gives this an outsized, big old sound that most of these square-shoulder Js don't have out of the gate. It's an interesting guitar with a sound halfway between your typical, woody, dry, Gibson sound and a bit of the snappier Martin sound.

Interesting features: As noted, the bracing is scalloped. It also has a non-original, but decent-looking, unmatched set of period Kluson tuners. The serialization suggests it's a '68 model but the features suggest '69. In early '69 the bodies were still the slope-dreadnought shape, so I would imagine this was built after that change to square shoulders later in the year. The neck has a good, easy feel and it sounds like a champ!

Repairs included: Ancel worked long and hard on this one. The heel got a hairline crack repair (with glued dowel support), it got a neck reset, a lot of brace regluing, cleats to hairline cracks on the top, a level/dress of the frets (Sarah may have done that part), saddle mod to give it proper compensation, replacement tuner fittings, some regluing of the pickguard (as I recall), and setup work. I may have forgotten some details, but it was a big job! It's now playing spot-on and is ready to serve.

• Weight: 4 lbs 14 oz
• Scale length: 25 3/8"
• Nut width: 1 11/16"
• Neck shape: medium C
• Board radius: 10"
• Depth at first fret: 13/16"
• Depth at seventh fret: 59/64"
• Body width: 15 7/8"
• Body depth: 5"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid mahogany
• Bracing type: double X (scalloped)
• Bridge: rosewood adjustable
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” bass 1/16” treble (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 54w-12 lights
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium-lower

Condition notes: It's obviously got a lot of wear and tear throughout the finish via scratches, nicks, dings, and whatnot. There's weather-checking to the finish throughout, too. The pins and tuners are non-original but the tuners are period, at least. The bracing on the top has been scalloped to give it a bigger sound. There are three hairline cracks in the top on the upper-bout and a couple on the lower-bout, too. All are repaired. 

It comes with: It has a funky old chip case (brown gator-looking stuff).

Consignor tag: WNDL