1980 Gibson J-45 Dreadnought Guitar

Overview: This big old bruiser is the Martin-flavored version of the Gibson J-45 that was first introduced around 1970. It's got a square-shoulders dreadnought shape, longer scale length, and correspondingly stiffer bracing. It definitely suited the sound of the times, though, with its punchy, more aggressive, wail-on-me-friendly vibes that fit nicely with bluegrass revival types and folk-rock, heavy-handed, chord-strummers.

This one's been around the block a bit but is now playing nicely and ready for its next span of shows.

Repairs included: It got a neck reset and crack repair from me and a level/dress of the frets, new saddle, cleaning, and setup work from Jose and Jacobi, as I recall. It's playing well and ready to roll.

• Weight: 4 lbs 13 oz
• Scale length: 25 3/8"
• Nut width: 1 11/16"
• Neck shape: medium C
• Board radius: 10"
• Depth at first fret: .82"
• Depth at seventh fret: .93"
• Body width: 15 3/4"
• Body depth: 4 7/8"
• Top wood: solid spruce
• Back & sides wood: solid mahogany
• Bracing type: x
• Bridge: ebony
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: multi-piece maple
• 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/hair wider

Condition notes: The neck joint on these is a little tricky to reset (it's a shorter dovetail with an odd block installed under the fretboard and at the top of the neckblock) and so I dotted my Is and crossed my Ts by adding a bolt hidden at the neckblock on the inside as well during the work because I wasn't entirely happy with the slightly-slippery dovetail Gibson baked into this equation. Due to the same quirky joint and a top that's built a little lighter than normal, after work the action rose a little and so the saddle had to come down more than I wanted during setup. It's stabilized in a decent place, however, and is good to go.

There's a repaired hairline crack to the treble side of the pickguard and a very short one of the same on the opposite side near the soundhole. The pickguard is unoriginal/replaced. It has a variety of small scratches, nicks, and dings here and there throughout the finish. The (locking) tuners are unoriginal and the saddle and bridge pins are, too. There's disturbed finish in the clearcout of the middle of the headstock front -- like someone either got a chemical reaction or overheated it or something -- though it's not obvious at a glance.

It comes with: It has an old hard case.

Consignor tag: DDMN