Gibson J 45 or L 00 - Acoustic Guitar Forum

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Gibson J 45 or L 00

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Author	Topic: Gibson J 45 or L 00
NicolasM Member Posts: 10 From: Switzerland Registered: Dec 2003	posted 04-30-2008 12:07 Hi,I have the Gibson J45 western(made in 1994 for the 100 years of Gibson).Nice guitar,nice neck,a lot of bass.A friend of mine wants to trade his Gibson L00 (from 1999)with my J45(or my J50).... What should I do? My Gibson J50(from 2001)has a more modern feeling (the neck is narrowed than the J45+has a pickup).Does not sound as good as the J45,but I took it with me for the last IGS,and Jorma and Steve James told me that they used to have one J50 too...and I'm more attached to the J50!!! And for the small body,I all ready have a Gibson L1 and my wonderful Santa Cruz H13... Life is hard....... Keep the J45?or the J50?or trade one of the two for a L00??? Thanks I hope my english is not too bad Nicolas http://www.myspace.com/yellowdogstheband ------------------ IP: Logged
eskimo Member Posts: 3519 From: Midwest Registered: Feb 2004	posted 04-30-2008 12:55 Keep both of the J's. By the way, do any of these guitars have a rosette (the decorative rings around the soundhole) that is a complete circle ? Or does the fretboard extension go over it (them) ? IP: Logged
Brian Kramer Member Posts: 843 From: Stockholm Sweden, via NYC Registered: Oct 2003	posted 04-30-2008 13:09 On the subject of the J-50, I fell hard for one the other day from 1955, really sweet tone, great bass... It's in fine condition (finish checking, some heavy dings in the neck, non orig. tuners) & the store wants around 6 grand. A bit steep but is this in the neighborhood of good value for this era of vintage Gibson... Anyone have some experiance with these babys? I know zip... Sorry to digress, but this has been on my mind. IP: Logged
drive-south Member Posts: 341 From: Worcester, MA USA Registered: Aug 2006	posted 04-30-2008 13:43 I would definately keep the J45. I have a J45 from 1994 with a banner headstock decal and it would take a LOT to get me to part with it. I had a Boseman LOO for a while. No thanks! drive-south IP: Logged
jvesey Member Posts: 1828 From: New York Registered: Jul 2003	posted 04-30-2008 13:46 quote: Originally posted by Brian Kramer: the store wants around 6 grand. A bit steep but is this in the neighborhood of good value for this era of vintage Gibson... Hmmm? Brian, I think 6K is steep for a 50's J50, but is this European pricing? Guess you need to add in for that (and then subtract for the week dollar?, Dunno). I think in that range you could get a Banner J45. The last I checked they started at 4K(US) for a beater and went up for a pristine one. Loads of people started out on '50's J50's. That was the guitar back in the day. As for the J45 vs L00? Don't we have this conversation every ninety days? Completely different beasts. If you can afford it, you should have a round shouldered Gibby and a little parlor (Stella, Gibson, Martin or other). Aside from that, keep what sounds good and get rid of the rest. IP: Logged
jvesey Member Posts: 1828 From: New York Registered: Jul 2003	posted 04-30-2008 13:52 Brian, yup Fred Oster has several old Country & Westerns, Southern Jumbo's and J45 for about 5K. The '59 CW, which is pretty close to a J50 is $3600. But you'd need to get it across the pond. Also be careful, Fred sells good instruments, but sometimes they need a little work. I'd love to try that '48 Southern Jumbo. Look like a keeper. http://www.vintage-instruments.com/navigate/catidx5.htm IP: Logged
ANashMan Member Posts: 75 From: Nashville, TN USA Registered: Sep 2005	posted 04-30-2008 14:05 I sure do like that Lightnin' Hopkins J-50 sound. IP: Logged
Brian Kramer Member Posts: 843 From: Stockholm Sweden, via NYC Registered: Oct 2003	posted 04-30-2008 14:10 Thanks much Jvesey for the info and link. Yeah, if I cant get them to drop the price, I may hold off till I get back over to the East coast next month... BTW, I believe I saw on one of the gigs your promoting, you booked my ol' pianist David Bennette Cohen. Thanks again IP: Logged
Brian Kramer Member Posts: 843 From: Stockholm Sweden, via NYC Registered: Oct 2003	posted 04-30-2008 14:52 Funny but I was doing some fishing & just found the actual J-50 I am interested on ebay that wound up in Stockholm; http://cgi.ebay.com/1955-Gibson-J-50-Natural-J50_W0QQitemZ370042726362QQihZ024QQcategoryZ2385QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting The buy it now price is half of what the store is asking... Wonder if I could use as leverage? Swedes dont bargain well though, from my experiance... IP: Logged
toremainn Member Posts: 806 From: Bod�, Norway Registered: Jan 2003	posted 04-30-2008 15:11 Sell the 45 and save up for the LOO. Keep the ones you're attached to. IP: Logged
Willy T Member Posts: 43 From: Marlborough, NH USA Registered: Apr 2006	posted 04-30-2008 15:14 People are crazy for the old J45's and 00's right now. I can't believe what shops/auctions are getting for them. I passed on a beater '59 J45 last week that had a straight neck, new frets, new bone nut & saddle and a gorgeous sound for $2500. Loved the guitar, but it didn't sound that much better than my Guild dread, which I'd never part with. Looking back, I probably could have turned it around at a nice profit. IP: Logged
ben's dad Member Posts: 150 From: Registered: Jul 2003	posted 04-30-2008 15:18 John Renbourn told me that his first two albums were recorded with a J50. He said there weren't a lot of good acoustic guitars available in Europe at that time. I have a J50 I bought in the 60's and wouldn't part with it. Don Bendig IP: Logged
jvesey Member Posts: 1828 From: New York Registered: Jul 2003	posted 04-30-2008 16:58 quote: Originally posted by Brian Kramer: BTW, I believe I saw on one of the gigs your promoting, you booked my ol' pianist David Bennett Cohen. Small World! Then again, when you've been playing blues piano since Monterey Pop . . . . you tend to run into a few people. I'll say hi to DBC. He's an unofficial/official 2nd Fiddle these days. PS - When's the next time you'll be Stateside? You should come sit in with us at the Rodeo Bar. IP: Logged
Brian Kramer Member Posts: 843 From: Stockholm Sweden, via NYC Registered: Oct 2003	posted 04-30-2008 17:12 Yeah David's great... Played that gig with him at the Living Room that you helped hook up last April. Zeke (from Matt U's) sat in on a few tunes too... DBC is on an album I did in the 80's with Junior Wells, Mick Taylor etc. (dont get me goin' again). We also share the Buddhist thing... I'll be in town from June 6th for about a week. I'll come to the Rodeo... My son is also bringing his fiddle. I am in the process of putting together a quick gig to get a bunch of friends together using the Living Theater venue. Tired of trying to book "real" gigs over there, just a pain in the ass when dealing from this end (it's gotten much flakier then I recall). I'll rent spaces... IP: Logged
4hook Member Posts: 30 From: new hyde park Registered: Jan 2008	posted 05-01-2008 05:46 quote: Originally posted by Brian Kramer: Yeah David's great... Played that gig with him at the Living Room that you helped hook up last April. Zeke (from Matt U's) sat in on a few tunes too... DBC is on an album I did in the 80's with Junior Wells, Mick Taylor etc. (dont get me goin' again). We also share the Buddhist thing... I'll be in town from June 6th for about a week. I'll come to the Rodeo... My son is also bringing his fiddle. I am in the process of putting together a quick gig to get a bunch of friends together using the Living Theater venue. Tired of trying to book "real" gigs over there, just a pain in the ass when dealing from this end (it's gotten much flakier then I recall). I'll rent spaces... Small world! David is my upstairs neighbor in our building, and we always have the pleasure of hearing him play while we have dinner. He is a great keyboard player, and if you get the chance to hear his CD's you would be in for a treat. He is also an accomplished guitarist who is fond of the same old timey music I play. Whenever possible,we spend a few hours playing and David has been a tremendous influence on my playing as well as being a good friend over the years. It is always a pleasure to lend him instruments and know he is enjoying them. On his latest CD, he used my Martin 000-18 which he really made good use of. I am also most familiar with his Buddhism and have attended some of his meetings through the years... I did forgot the main reason I responded to this posting, and that was to reply that as a J45 owner I would be hard pressed to trade or sell it for the L00. The J45 is just one of those guitars... David [This message has been edited by 4hook (edited 05-02-2008).] IP: Logged
woody Administrator Posts: 332 From: New York NY USA Registered: Jan 2000	posted 05-02-2008 08:06 test IP: Logged
woody Administrator Posts: 332 From: New York NY USA Registered: Jan 2000	posted 05-02-2008 08:06 test IP: Logged
woody Administrator Posts: 332 From: New York NY USA Registered: Jan 2000	posted 05-02-2008 08:07 test IP: Logged
Administrator Freed Administrator Posts: 37 From: Berkeley,CA USA Registered: Oct 2002	posted 05-05-2008 12:01 Woody: admin's and moderators can still operate the old forum in case we have to edit the old content for any reason in the future. IP: Logged

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