The sound of this guitar is balanced. Nothing sticks out which makes this guitar stand out. This guitar reacts to how you play in an extremely natural way; gentle finger picking sounds soft, hard strums sound aggressive. In this regard, this guitar can be used for any type of music depending on playing style. Let me rephrase that: this guitar sounds GREAT for any type of music.

The first thing I noticed was the attention to detail on the fretwork and fretboard. A lot of experience built this instrument. There’s nothing flashy or extra about it, but what is there is as good as can be.

How well can you play guitar? That’s the only major limitation I’ve found! Playability is where this instrument is, perhaps, on top of the whole pile. The neck is so comfortable, with a taper that feels natural all the way down. It has a pickup inside and the sound is useable but what’s coming out of the hole has the depth and shine I prefer so micing the instrument is better for live performance.

This guitar is the standard by which all others are judged for a reason. I don’t think it’s designed “well” I think it’s one of the best designed products for making music humans have ever produced.

When you start talking in terms of thousands of dollars for an item that can generally be had for far less it becomes a matter of WHAT you want to pay for. If subtle, unpretentious looks, perfectly equalized sound, and supreme playability are what you value then you won’t be getting any more by spending more than what this costs. If you’re chasing a larger than life brilliance and flashy appointments that’s not what this is either. If you’re not a skilled player this won’t make you sound better and might actually sound worse because it accents how you play. Just know I will never sell mine for any reason.

No and I doubt I will have to.

I knew the J45 had a history prior to owning one and now I know why. It’s adaptable, it sounds great across genres and styles, it plays how you play. It is the standard of acoustic guitar.

Singer-songwriter, frontman in a three piece rock band, producer and audio engineer

Flatpick, fingerstyle, generally the rock genres

The J45 sounds like pretty much every great recording of an acoustic guitar. Very balanced tone, warm with plenty of clarity.

The pickup in the guitar is decent, never been a fan of the plugged in acoustic sound, but I use it for convenience when a live acoustic is called for. Comes with a very nice case.

Tune it and play it. Very playable acoustic guitar, both for chord work, single note runs, or anything inbetween.

Top notch quality.

Value is subjective, especially at this price point. At nearly $3K is this guitar 3x better than a $1K guitar? No, not from my experience. I find that the higher you go in price point on guitars, the more incremental the quality differences. However, the J45 is by far the best sounding acoustic guitar in my opinion, and I was not especially bothered by the high price.

Haven't needed Gibson's support yet, guitar came to me perfect.

The guitar is beautiful, but also sort of basic in appearance. On the other hand, many people comment about how good it sounds while I'm playing, that don't generally same the same about other acoustic guitars in my hands.

Studied guitar at LA Music Academy, play in active original band, 17 years playing overall.

Pop/Rock/Americana

been playing 30 years

country and rock. Primarily a rhythm and fingerstyle player.

been playing 30 years

Country and some rock.