Gibson J-45 Special Vintage Sunburst
Product information "Gibson J-45 Special Vintage Sunburst"
The Gibson J-45™ was first introduced in 1942 and remains a staple of Gibson acoustic guitars to this day. It has earned its reputation as a "workhorse" due to its widespread acceptance, straightforward simplicity, and understated elegance. It is one of the most recorded acoustic guitars in history and Gibson's best-selling acoustic model of all time. The new Gibson J-45 Special is carefully handcrafted in Bozeman, Montana, by Gibson's experienced acoustic luthiers and offers players a US-made Gibson acoustic guitar at a very attractive price. The J-45 Special has a round-shouldered body constructed from genuine solid mahogany for the back and sides and a solid Sitka spruce top. The top is reinforced with our traditional wavy X-bracing. This combination of tonewoods delivers a warm, balanced tone with excellent dynamic range, suitable for any musical genre. The "Concert Depth" body is slightly thinner than a standard J-45, giving the J-45 Special a leaner, tighter bass response that blends perfectly into the mix and is also easier to hold. The neck is attached to the body with a composite dovetail neck-to-body joint and, as with all Gibson acoustic guitars, is secured with hot bone glue. The neck has a comfortable and fast SlimTaper™ profile, and the rosewood fingerboard has a 12-inch radius and is decorated with simple pearl inlays and equipped with 20 standard frets. The traditional rosewood "belly up" bridge is fitted with a TUSQ® saddle, and the saddle inserts and bridge pins are also made from TUSQ. High-quality Grover® Rotomatic® tuning machines ensure solid tuning stability. The J-45 Special is finished in a satin nitrocellulose lacquer in your choice of Satin Vintage Sunburst or Satin Wine Red. It comes with an L.R. Baggs Element Bronze piezo pickup under the saddle with active electronics and an easy-access volume control mounted in the soundhole, pre-installed for studio-quality plug-and-play anywhere. The J-45 Special also comes with a high-quality softshell bag.
- Back / Sides: Mahogany
- Binding: Cream
- Body Shape: Dreadnought
- Body Shape: Round Shoulder
- Body finish: Satin
- Bridge: Rosewood
- Bridge-Pins: Tusq
- Color/ Finish: Vintage Sunburst
- Colour: Sunburst
- Construction / Acoustic: Solid
- Controls: Volume
- Country of Origin: USA
- Cutaway: no
- Finish: Satin
- Finish: Matt
- Fretboard: Rosewood
- Fretboard Inlays: Pearloid Dots
- Fretboard radius: 12"
- Frets: 20
- Fret size: Standard
- Includes: Gigbag
- Neck: Mahogany
- Neck Mount: Dovetail
- Neck Profile: SlimTaper
- Neck finish: Satin
- Nut Width: 43,8 mm
- Pickguard: Tortoise
- Pickup Details: L.R. Baggs Element Bronze
- Pre-amp system: L.R. Baggs Element Bronze
- Saddle/Cross piece inlay: Tusq
- Scale Length: 24,75" (629 mm)
- Strings: 6 string
- Strings thickness ex factory: .012 - .053
- Top: Sitka Spruce
- Top Bracing: Traditional Hand Scalloped X-bracing
- Tuning Machines: Grover rotomatic
The American Gibson Guitar Corporation, founded in 1902 by Orville Gibson in Kalamazoo, Michigan, first became known for the production of mandolins and banjos. Today the company’s headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee, and Gibson is one of the world’s most renowned and respected manufacturers of electric guitars.
The model Les Paul, named after its creator Lester William Polsfuss, is one of the most famous and best‑selling electric guitar shapes of all time and established the single‑cut guitar form, which has been copied, adopted and reinterpreted by numerous other manufacturers. The Les Paul is mainly prized for its sound, characterised as warm and full. The humbucker pickup largely responsible for that sound, in its now common design, was developed by Seth Lover at Gibson.
In the early 1960s the Gibson SG appeared as another solid‑body electric from Gibson. Originally intended as the successor to the Les Paul, it became — helped by Angus Young of AC/DC — another rock‑history icon and is the basis for the double‑cutaway guitar type.
With the Flying V and the Explorer Gibson is responsible for two body shapes that, although they were far ahead of their time when introduced in the late 1950s, have over the years also achieved legendary status. They still serve as the foundation for a host of heavy guitars today, for example from makers such as Jackson or ESP.
The Gibson Custom Shop produces custom orders, high‑quality one‑offs and precise replicas of famous models and legendary instrument years. These are often subjected to an artificial ageing process called relicing.
Almost as long as the company has existed, acoustic guitars have also been produced. The J‑45, the Hummingbird, the L‑00 and the SJ‑200 are among the world’s most beloved steel‑string acoustics and were the instruments of choice for Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and John Lennon.
Besides the instruments already mentioned, you can of course also buy picks, bags and cases or merchandise from Gibson with us.
We are particularly proud to host a Gibson Flagship Store in our Frankfurt branch. There you’ll find not only a large selection and exclusive models to try out in person, but you’ll also benefit from the expertise of our Gibson‑trained and certified staff when choosing the perfect guitar.
