Playing 50 years.

Folk and rock.

Country, Gospel, Blues

My own

Gibson Generation Series G 45 is louder and brighter than my Gibson J 15

I appreciate that ebony wood was used for the fretboard, slightly slimmer body than the J 45. There are similar satin finish acoustic guitars on the market, they're made of Medium Density fiberboard with plastic laminate faux wood patterns. Gibson G 45 is made of real wood. Walnut back and sides with a spruce top and a mahogany 'utile neck. Utilie is one of 250 species of Mahagony. Gibson could have just referred to the neck in their specs as being made of Mahogany but decided to be more specific as to exactly which type. Probably because of the sustainable wood agenda imposed by the Obama Administration

String height action right out of the box was a tad high for my taste. Higher string action actually produces more volume. I will probably not file the underside of the bridge insert to lower the string action and just leave it the way it is. The neck has a noticably grainy texture to the palm of your strumming hand. I sense the dryness of this guitar adds to the brightness of the tone, I play without a guitar pick. Strumming this guitar sounds as if Im using one. Lots of midrange and lots of volume with the Gibson G 45.

Compared to my J 15, I expected the G 45 neck to be small the way the Epiphone acoustic guitars are, the G 45 doesn't have a tall fretboard but I wouldnt call it thin. Definitely feels like a full sized Gibson acoustic guitar. Reviews claim that the bridge felt like a plastic material, I don't sense that. Feels like wood to me, it is Ebony. This guitar doesn't come with that new factory Gibson Vanilla scent, it smells like fresh wood and glue. As I opened the box I anticipated the sweet smell of sweet Vanilla I have come to expect from Gibsons other guitars to fill the room. The Vanilla scent of their other guitars will last about 2 years when properly stored inside a case. The lack of binding on this guitar may be a concern for some, if you were to accidentally tap this guitar on a countertop the top may delaminate from the sides. As long as the top and sides stay glued together, I'm good with the way it looks. The grain of the contrasting walnut sides and and spruce top are beautiful. The appeal of this guitar for me was that it didn't have electronics or a gloss finish, if it's cold outside and I leave this guitar outside in my trunk, a satin finish has me covered. A gloss finish would crack and make check marks in the finish. A satin finish isnt going to crack. Electronic soldering may also be susceptible to cold temperatures, with a G 45 that won't be a concern. In the heat of summer any guitar needs to be in a climate controlled environment, the glue on the pickguard and headstock string slot nut could easily melt and seperate from any guitar

Gibson G 45 comes with a gig bag. I ordered a Gibson Modern Dreadnought guitar case for this guitar, not sure how it will fit this guitar as it is still in transit. The G 45 fit inside my Gibson J 15 case like a glove, should be pretty standard sizing. The Gibson Modern Dreadnought case and the G 45 both have the matching silver colored Gibson Block Logo. My Les Pauls have gold Gibson block logos on the headstocks; their Modern Les Paul hardshell cases have mis-matching silver logos. Both the Gibson G 45 headstock and Gibson Modern Dreadnought cases have silver colored exterior guitar case logos in the same font. I do feel this guitar is a few hundred dollars over priced, other satin finish guitars sell for half the price but they aren't made of solid tonewoods. I am however grateful that Gibson caught that and provided this alternative. Sold separately are the Generation seires sound hole covers. I have purchased both the rosette cover and player port cover. If the cover is over the front soundhole you'll hear the player port clearer, if you put the cover that goes over the rosette soundhole you hear the notes your playing through the front of the guitar. People in online reviews say the player port is a gimmick but it isn't, sound travels. A design that Gibson came up with but never produced by them in the early 1960s works the same way today