1950 Gibson J-45

ARCHIVED • SOLD

1950 Gibson J-45

With its darkly shaded early ‘50s sunburst finish, gorgeous pickguard and aged binding, beautiful rosewood bridge and pickguard, killer tone, and heavenly neck carve, this c.1950 Gibson J-45 is about as close as it comes to the ideal post-war Gibson flat-top. It’s a wonderfully photogenic guitar and might make a cameo on the cover of our 2025 calendar, if we can make such a thing happen!

This J-45 has just come through our repair shop. We’ve reset and refretted the neck, reglued various braces and cleaned up some glue left by the last repairperson, installed a new bone saddle and Antique acoustic pins, and set it up with 12-54 strings with an action of 5-6.5 64ths. The guitar is just about crack-free; its only visible repairs are its reglued back centerseam and a very minor b-string pickguard crack. The tuners are ‘50s replacements, and there is a visible filled screw hole at the base of each of the Kluson strips. There is some playwear to the finish, most notably on the side’s upper bass bout and on the back of the neck in the 1st position, and some fingernail groves remain visible on the fretboard.

The round neck has a 1st fret depth of .850” and a 9th fret depth of .980”, 1-11/16” nut, and 24-3/4” scale. The guitar weighs 4.0lbs.

A great sounding guitar with clarity, sustain, and plenty of that classic J-45 warmth, this Gibson is a perfect songwriting companion and vocal accompanist. It sounds lovely with fresh or old strings and is remarkably appealing in just about every way.

With modern hardshell case
1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45
  • 1950 Gibson J-45

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Folkway Music in Guelph, Ontario Canada

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We've spent thirty years building relationships with musicians, collectors, and fellow dealers across Canada and the US. Every guitar we sell has been inspected, played, and approved by hands that know the difference.

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