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Gibson Acoustic J-45 Standard - Vintage Sunburst

6-string Acoustic-electric Guitar with Sitka Spruce Top, Mahogany Back and Sides, Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, and LR Baggs VTC Active Pickup System - Vintage Sunburst
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Gibson Acoustic J-45 Standard - Vintage Sunburst
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Gibson J-45 Standard Acoustic Guitar, a.k.a "The Workhorse"

Gibson's J-45 is one of the best-known acoustic guitars out there. Dubbed "The Workhorse," this round-shoulder dreadnought gives your music full, balanced expression, warm bass, and excellent projection. The J-45 Standard features all that rich tone, thanks to its solid Sitka spruce top and a solid mahogany body. And, for unbelievable onstage tone, this Gibson sunburst J-45 Standard acoustic guitar comes loaded with an LR Baggs VTC pickup system. Whether you're a singer/songwriter or an onstage acoustic rocker, the J-45 Standard is for you.

Choice tonewoods for incredible tone

Known as "The Workhorse," the Gibson J-45 body style is among Gibson's most beloved. This particular workhorse features a superb blend of tonewoods, giving you rich, strong sound — day in, day out. The J-45 Standard features a solid, vintage-looking Sitka spruce top for presence, while premium mahogany adorns its back and sides. Other Gibson J-45 specs include traditional hand-scalloped X-bracing, a compound dovetail neck joint, and multi-ply top and single-ply back body binding.

Eminently playable neck and fingerboard

The Gibson J-45 Standard's fingerboard comprises high-grade rosewood, which is personally inspected and qualified by Gibson experts before it enters the Gibson factories. It's a resilient and durable wood, making way for a balanced and stable fingerboard, and giving each chord and note enhanced clarity and bite. The dot inlays on the J-45 are made of genuine mother-of-pearl and are added to the fingerboard using a special Gibson process that eliminates gaps and doesn't require fillers. What's more, the J-45 Standard's fingerboard boasts a rolled edge that's lightly beveled, which enhances the instrument's smooth playability.

Amazing sound onstage

The Gibson Acoustic J-45 Standard comes with LR Baggs's popular VTC acoustic pickup system, a popular choice among acoustic guitarists at Sweetwater. This system features a low-profile under-saddle transducer that enhances the coupling between the pickup and the guitar for a robust, lively, and natural acoustic sound with excellent dynamics and delicate high end. Combined with an onboard preamplifier with an unobtrusive and removable volume control, mounted just inside the soundhole, the VTC gives your J-45 Standard the amplification you need, with zero compromises for tone or convenience.

Gibson J-45 Standard Features:

  • The classic acoustic workhorse
  • Solid Sitka spruce top offers great projection and tone
  • Solid mahogany back and sides offer warm, round sound
  • LR Baggs VTC electronics transfer every nuance of your tone to your PA or amp
  • Softened fingerboard edge adds increased playing comfort

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

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Tech Specs

  • String Type: Steel
  • Number of Strings: 6
  • Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
  • Body Shape: Round Shoulder Dreadnought
  • Back & Sides Wood: Mahogany
  • Top Wood: Sitka Spruce
  • Top Finish: Gloss Nitrocellulose Lacquer
  • Color: Vintage Sunburst
  • Body Bracing: Hand-scalloped X-bracing
  • Binding: Multi-ply Top, Single-ply Back
  • Neck Wood: Mahogany
  • Neck Shape: Slim Taper
  • Radius: 12"
  • Fingerboard Material: Rosewood
  • Fingerboard Inlay: Mother-of-pearl Dots
  • Number of Frets: 20
  • Scale Length: 24.75"
  • Nut Width: 1.724"
  • Nut/Saddle Material: Black Composite nut/Tusq
  • Bridge Material: Rosewood, Traditional Belly Up
  • Tuning Machines: Grover Rotomatics with Kidney Buttons
  • Electronics: LR Baggs VTC Under Saddle Pickup
  • Strings: Gibson, .012-.053
  • Case/Gig Bag: Hardshell Case
  • Manufacturer Part Number: RS45VSN19

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

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Customer Reviews

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Rated 5/5

Great guitar

Purchased this guitar in January. Tom Maxwell was extremely helpful and I couldn't be happier with this purchase! Truly a great sounding instrument and another great purchase from Sweetwater!
Rated 5/5

More exciting than a Diploma..

Retired,gas prices high to continue riding around. So, purchased a guitar to learn to play and fill my time. Curiosity had me buy a begginner guitar Yamaha fg 800. Soon learned that I was gonna stick and learn guitar. So, purchased another guitar more appealing and pleasing to the eye. Martin D15M Street Master. Month later fell in love, wanted had to have it just no other way..Gibson J45 Standard.. So, im just out of 30 different chord progressions with metronome. Breaking ground on strumming and learning music now. What's making me even more excited about my progress and my new hobby is once I learn to play I'll be pleased. But my Surprise (Diploma) will be the Gorgeous exciting heirloom that can pass on to my Grandson the...Gibson J45 Standard.. And Aaron was and is a great sales engineer to work with. Hope Sweetwater finds him indispensable..
Music background: None
Rated 5/5

Class act

Worth the price , the sound is clean across the spectrum, used Fender Deluxe to amp it , i cant say enough about the sound but the looks are equal in class , you wont be disappointed
Rated 5/5

Awesome guitar

This is an awesome guitar. It sounds so nice. I love it. Thank you Matt and Chris for helping me get it set up. It is so easy to play. Thank you again Matt
Rated 5/5

Perfect guitar

This guitar is perfect in every way! Having never been a fan of the Gibson "hype", I was a bit apprehensive of being underwhelmed - I was really going based on the J-45's reputation. But once I got to touch and play it (waited almost the recommended 24 hours before taking it out), everything felt right. The build quality and the finish are great. And when I plugged it in I was astounded at the richness of the sound, maybe a combined result of the Gibson body and the LR Baggs pickup. Started rehearsing and gigging with it straight away, as you might expect.

And as for the transaction - working with Matthew was a pleasure, and he managed to discount the deal as if it were on sale. The whole experience, from first mouse-click to removing it from the case - was better than any experience I have had from buying instruments at music stores.

This 5-star rating notwithstanding, 2 things I will focus on with my next purchase:
- give more input for the setup. (I still intend to reduce the bass side action by .007~ish at the 12th fret)
- ask for installation of front strap button. It came in the case and I installed it myself - bit nerve-wracking but it came out exactly right.
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