There's no question the Gibson J-45 is one of the quintessential American-made acoustic guitars. Introduced in 1942 as a streamlined slope-shoulder dreadnought, the J-45 was Gibson's answer to the war effort's constraints on production. Its simplicity is part of its genius. In the nearly 80 years since this model first hit guitar shops, the J-45 has become a symbol of Americana—a bold, robust-sounding guitar more than capable of supporting a singer and crossing many different genres.
Traditionally, the J-45 features Mahogany back and sides, but what happens when you build it with a premium tonewood such as Brazilian Rosewood? The result is familiar sounding, yet altogether new. It's a new level of inspiration that pushes your music in new directions while feeling right at home at the same time.
This 2003 J-45 was built in Gibson's Custom Shop in Bozeman, Montana, and it features gorgeous book-matched Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. This is a premium cut of a premium tonewood, and it looks absolutely stunning. But of course, its tone is remarkable. It is warm and packed with that classic J-45 "thump," but it offers incredible clarity unlike a traditional J-45. The Brazilian Rosewood also lends some high-end shimmer and complexity you don't expect to find on this model.
This 2003 Gibson Custom Shop J-45 Brazilian Rosewood was originally part of set of three identical guitars, which borrow from the classic early-'50s white-label J-45 design. As you'll see in the photos, It is about as clean as you could possibly ask a guitar from 2003 to be—no repairs, no issues—just a fantastic, hardly-played guitar with stunning Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. It includes its original case (combination lock is broken).