Gibson J-45 Faded vs J-45 Standard - Acoustic Guitar Comparison 

What brand strings are on the faded?

it's been my experience that all the 50's j45 appointments have a more resonant bassy response. The standards seem brighter sounding to me. ...the faded Gibson looks like a Taylor 214 koa sunburst. I think they look cheap, however I do like the j35 and the hummingbird without the sunburst.

@@deborahmcalister3936 kinda agree, it doesn't look "faded" more "ran out of paint". i have a 66 cherry sunburst that is actually faded completely, looks like a j50, but it's really rich golden brown now, not a sort of pale rust look.

@@HarryNicNicholas SWEEETTT!!! I love to see a pic of that fine jewel!!

Yeah, that pick guard is unnecessarily huge (see Martin)

It's paper thin and looks great to me.

I think you hit it on the head with this. I'd prefer the J-35 faded for this reason. Smaller pick guard which results in it being more responsive and resonate. I think in the last video they did they said the J-35 had a bigger sound to it meaning it was a bit louder. So it makes sense.

@OLX kidstaff I personally like the old style Gibson logo on it and the tiger striped pick guard. The open geared tuners are a nice touch, but I wouldn't of minded the white ones they put on the 45.

@OLX kidstaff I like the look of them even if they can break easier or crack. I have open gear tuners on my Martin D-15M and I've never had a problem with them.

Might be normal variation...might be that the J-45 Faded has the fatter 50s neck, and a light finish with no grain filler.

@@noamaster3898it’s the saddle bruh, the faded has a bone saddle

Yep it's not even close, The standard by a mile

Gotta shave the braces down

I compared those two a week ago. The faded was better, hands down. But that was between THOSE TWO guitars. They're all unique and there will be gems and duds of any model.

@@fiddsj45 More so with Gibson than other builders. They "tap tune" their tops during the hand scalloping process to give "each guitar its own personality", which means "correct to the ear of the factory worker doing the hand scalloping". "One players dud is another player's treasure" is another way I've heard it put, which does kind of make sense with Gibson acoustics because probably more than any other brand they are "singers guitars" instead of "players guitars", valued for their short-sustain and focused mid-range over long sustain and booming bottom end (e.g. Martin HD28V). Artist who have acclimated ears and know what they want prefer to cherry pick their guitar and value its distinguishing qualities. General performers, just want a reliable tool to get the job done and should their instrument get stolen or destroyed, they can walk into any authorized dealer, buy the same model and be good to go... Not everyone is looking for the same thing and knowing which brands shine at what is important.

Correction, Gibson does not "tap tune". They do go through a selection process, but they do not carve braces based on tonal response of the unique top.

@ John Violette - just a simple (or not so simple!) case of GAS. Why do you feel you should be immune to that "malady" any more than the rest? ;-)

I think you are right. You have a good ear.

The DSS-17 rocks, especially costing $1200 less.

You might be true but any pickguard vibrates in a certain way and it's a part of the unique sound of the instrument. And we love the sound of 50s Gibson's sound with that big pickguard, less resonant and less sustainy, vintage, dry and lonely. If a guitar sounds best without pickguard, every guitar should not include a pickguard. I do love resonant guitars but I don't expect resonant sounds from Gibson.