Gibson J45..Width at nut?
Necrosis1
Is it safe to say that most Gibsons are 1 11/16 at the nut?
What about today's current line?
thanks
Mike
Greg Z
> Hi:
> Is it safe to say that most Gibsons are 1 11/16 at the nut?
No. My J-185FS (Fred Shrimer model) has a 1 3/4 nut width. But this
was a custom order.
The J-45 does have a 1 11/16.
> What about today's current line?
Good question, I just checked Gibson's site, and they list just about
everything EXCEPT the nut widths. What's with that?
> thanks
> Mike
Regards,
Greg Z
--
"I'll help you carry your load,
When you come to a turn in the road"...Steve Wariner
hank alrich
> Necrosis1 wrote:
> > Hi:
> > Is it safe to say that most Gibsons are 1 11/16 at the nut?
> No. My J-185FS (Fred Shrimer model) has a 1 3/4 nut width. But this
> was a custom order.
> The J-45 does have a 1 11/16.
'69 J50 1 1/2" edge-to-edge at nut. The J200's in sick leave
storage, so I can't easily measure it.
--
hank alrich * secret__mountain
audio recording * music production * sound reinforcement
"If laughter is the best medicine let's take a double dose"
shrimer
hank alrich wrote:
>
> > The J-45 does have a 1 11/16.
>
> '69 J50 1 1/2" edge-to-edge at nut. The J200's in sick leave
> storage, so I can't easily measure it.
Wow!! That's positively tiny!! Smaller than my Rickenbacker electric (1
and 5/8" at the nut)
Fred
shrimer
>
> Hi:
> Is it safe to say that most Gibsons are 1 11/16 at the nut?
No.
> What about today's current line?
Also, no.
I guess I'm anal enough to actually measure that dimension from time to
time, on various guitars that happen to wander across my path. So I
know that for "recent" Gibsons, whatever THAT means, the tendency
*seems* to be that the neck-width-at-nut is usually a hair under 1 and
3/4".
Many of the Gibson acoustics I've looked at and measured were 1 and
11/16", or 1 and 23/32", although a few were a bit tighter to 1 and
3/4", but just the teeniest little bit below.
Bear in mind that the binding will add to that dimension as will the
lacquer, and the lacquer (number of coats) has varied, even with "recent
production" guitars. (The J-45 is unbound.)
Some are intentionally made to a narrower spec, perhaps for "historic
purposes", others just turn out wider or narrower "because".
I find that I can live with a variety of neck widths, so long as the
geometry of the profile and the fingerboard, and the set up of the
guitar, interact to make for a comfortable playing instrument.
As Greg noted, his J-185 "Festival of Flame" guitar has a 1 and 3/4"
width, while the J-185 I have now has a 1 and 11/16" neck width. I
found them both eminently playable instruments. Actually thought his
was a bit nicer, possibly due to the profile (?).
When in doubt, don't measure, just play.
Fred
hank alrich
> hank alrich wrote:
Yeah, it's one skinny puppy, and it takes me a second or three to adjust
when switching from the McCollum. But when my skinny-fingered daughter
picked it up and started playing it she commented that it was "one of
those wonderfully slim Gibson necks". If I'd known she'd feel that way I
could have kept the 000-28. <g>
Greg Z
> As Greg noted, his J-185 "Festival of Flame" guitar has a 1 and 3/4"
> width, while the J-185 I have now has a 1 and 11/16" neck width. I
> found them both eminently playable instruments. Actually thought his
> was a bit nicer, possibly due to the profile (?).
Hey Fred,
Can you get a J-180 sometime so's I can buy it from ya used?
Solid/solid of course. Keith Whitley played one of them before he joined
the great angel band. The 1 11/16 width suits me best. The J-185 renamed
"Jake" is dedicated to DADGAD purty much.
shrimer
All's I gots is a WM-180. Although it's for sale, it does NOT have
those really cool pickguards and star inlays:
http://montana.gibson.com/guitars/J-180/j-180.html
Nice for stage performer types named "Phil" or "Don".
The one I have is the plainer, sit-around-the campfire version:
http://montana.gibson.com/guitars/J-180/wm180.html
Fred (small jumbos R us)
Conrad Shiba
Hank Alrich wrote:
>'69 J50 1 1/2" edge-to-edge at nut. The J200's in sick leave
>storage, so I can't easily measure it.
That's odd. My '64 J-50 is 1-11/16".
Conrad Shiba
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*** Usenet.com - The #1 Usenet Newsgroup Service on The Planet! ***
http://www.usenet.com
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
shrimer
:-)
Fred
hank alrich
> Hank Alrich wrote:
> >'69 J50 1 1/2" edge-to-edge at nut. The J200's in sick leave
> >storage, so I can't easily measure it.
> That's odd. My '64 J-50 is 1-11/16".
Yep, it is; skinny, too. That's why I was prompted to go measure it when
this thread came up. And that's edge-to-edge, not
edge-of-string-to-same, which is 1 3/8". It's the slimmest Gibosn
fingerboard I've met. Great sounding axe, been retopped by McCollum
years ago.
Conrad Shiba
The top of my '64 J-50 also has the widest-grained spruce that I've ever
seen on the top of a guitar. And, despite this and the adjustable bridge,
it is a great-sounding guitar with that mellow, bassy Gibson sound.
shrimer
>
> The top of my '64 J-50 also has the widest-grained spruce that I've ever
> seen on the top of a guitar. And, despite this and the adjustable bridge,
> it is a great-sounding guitar with that mellow, bassy Gibson sound.
I'm not convinced about the connection between "width of spruce grain"
and "lesser or better" tone.
I've played the same models with either top wood, ones made quite some
time apart from each other (i.e., several years or more) and those made
in the same batch, and could not discern "clear winners", tonewise.
For Gibson, I tend to think the wide-grained stuff is actually a pretty
good thing. Heck, my J-2000 Custom has a fairly wide grain to it, and
it sounds pretty fine (to my ears).
My J-100, OTOH, has a very tight-grained spruce top, and is a similarly
wonderful-sounding guitar.
So, I'm not prepared to cast my vote in one camp or t'other. :-)
Fred
Hojo2x
>I'm not convinced about the connection between "width of spruce grain">and
"lesser or better" tone.
Nor am I, really, though I tend to stick to tight-grained tops because I've had
such good luck with them.
But my Martin OM-21 had a VERY wide-grained top, and that was just an
exceptional-sounding instrument right out of the box.
Fred continues:
>For Gibson, I tend to think the wide-grained stuff is actually a pretty
>good thing. Heck, my J-2000 Custom has a fairly wide grain to it, and>it
sounds pretty fine (to my ears).
Having played the guitar in question, I have to agree - it's one of your
nicest-sounding instruments.
>My J-100, OTOH, has a very tight-grained spruce top, and is a similarly
>wonderful-sounding guitar.
That's your OTHER nicest-sounding guitar.
In my opinion.
Wade Hampton Miller
shrimer
>
> Fred "Gibsonz Rewl" Shrimer wrote:
>
> >I'm not convinced about the connection between "width of spruce grain">and
> "lesser or better" tone.
>
> Nor am I, really, though I tend to stick to tight-grained tops because I've had
> such good luck with them.
And as a generality, so do I.
> But my Martin OM-21 had a VERY wide-grained top, and that was just an
> exceptional-sounding instrument right out of the box.
Probably still has, and does. :-)
> Fred continues:
>
> >For Gibson, I tend to think the wide-grained stuff is actually a pretty
> >good thing. Heck, my J-2000 Custom has a fairly wide grain to it, and>it
> sounds pretty fine (to my ears).
>
> Having played the guitar in question, I have to agree - it's one of your
> nicest-sounding instruments.
> >My J-100, OTOH, has a very tight-grained spruce top, and is a similarly
> >wonderful-sounding guitar.
>
> That's your OTHER nicest-sounding guitar.
You'll notice that I did not raise the inscrutable "...and the J-2000
has an Adirondack Red Spruce top while the J-100 does not", which it
does, simply 'cause I did not want to muddy the water any further.
That's a whole 'nuther topic for "Debates-R-Us".
Fred
min...@minn.net
Yeah, I'm an attorney, but everyone needs a day job.
Josh Pincus
>
> What about today's current line?
My 2001 J-45 is 1 11/16 at the nut. I bought it new, and it came with a
glossy brochure for the entire Montana-built line. As I recall, that
brochure has all the specs you're looking for. Perhaps your local Gibson
dealer has a copy.
Unfortunately, detailed specs for the current line are not available at
Gibson's Web site. However, they do maintain archived version of their 1998
online catalog--complete with detailed specs, including Width at Nut. Check
it out...
http://montana.gibson.com/indexold.html
Cheers,
--Josh Pincus