1945 Gibson J-45 Guitar (not numbered)
Circa 1945 Gibson J-45 with “Only The Gibson Is Good Enough” banner. The Kalamazoo gals were having a good day when they put this beauty together! The sound of this guitar says it all: full, rich endless bottom and crisp clear highs all the way up the scale. And if your cup of tea is a C-cup neck with truss rod —not the baseball bat of some of the earlier wartime banners—this is a perfect action, amazing sounding choice for the discerning modern musician.
By the time this guitar hit the bench, wartime shortages were beginning to alleviate and this fine-grained piece of spruce with bear claw and an unusually well-figured mahogany board showed up at the old factory on Parsons street. I can only imagine the delight of the work-women in shaping this wood into this guitar. These materials made it available for them to really show their stuff and get the most out of the new design features of style J-45 which included advance scalloped bracing and thin back braces, giving that commanding volume and rich tone that is found in the best of the banner J-45s! With the dramatic resurgence of popularity of these war-time marvels, such a guitar in fine original condition is a real treasure! (For the story of these heroines of war time manufacturing, check out John Thomas’ excellent book, “Kalamazoo Gals”) This guitar is original inside (small maple bridge-plate, forward-X scalloped braces, thin scalloped transverse) and out (sunburst finish, rosewood bridge and fingerboard) and has had a recent neck re-set, fret job and brace re-glue by world class luthier Hugh Hansen; prior to this a pick guard crack was glued and cleated and the original finish was buffed to make a strap stain on the back nearly imperceptible. Now for sale for $11,500 (includes new Sierra hardshell case and shipping to continental US. We also have the period correct soft-shell case but the hinges are broken and in need of replacement)
Specifications for circa 1945 Gibson J-45 banner guitar
Jumbo” body shape with 16 inch lower bout;
sunburst finish;
Fine-grained Sitka spruce top;
Unusually well-figured Honduran mahogany back, sides and neck;
Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with small dot position markers;
tortoise colored acetate pick guard 6 1/2 inch length
scale: 24 3/4
3-on-a-plate Kluson tuners;
“C” shaped maple neck (thickness of 1” at 1st and 8th frets) with truss rod;
gold “Gibson” and the “Only The Gibson Is Good Enough” banner.
Rectangular Brazilian Rosewood bridge
scalloped X brace crosses 1” behind sound hole
tall back braces thinned to a point
small maple bridge plate
nut width: 1 13/16
lower bout: 16
waist: 10 5/8
top bout: 11 1/2
front side depth: 4 1/8
rear side depth: 4 3/4
height of strings at 12 fret (action): .080
relief (.02 at 8th fret measured with straight edge from 1st fret to 19th.)
saddle height: 1/8
Finish original except an almost imperceptable shadow of a strap imprint on the back, which has been buffed out. Crazing of the original finish is intact.
Recent Hugh Hansen neck reset, frets and glued braces. Earlier Pickguard crack repair.