Recording a Gibson J-45

[BrotherDoobie]

Hi...first post here.

I am currently in the market for a Gibson j-45. Really love the warm tone & vintage vibe. But first I would like your advise about this guitar recording-wise:
-Does this guitar record well? I have some trouble getting a balanced sound recording my taylor 210, should I be able to notice a difference with the gibson? I mainly record just acoustic guitar (fingerpicking/light strumming) + vocals (think: ryan adams, damien rice, etc.) in a crappy (bed)room.
-more specialistic: is there a difference recording wise when it comes to the j-45 modern classic vs j-45 TV?

Hope someone can shed some light on this. If additional info is needed I would be happy to oblige. Thanks in advance.

[Gretschman]

There are a million factors which effect recordings .

The room your in .

The mic's and pre's and converters ect .

The strings used .

The guitar itself .

The player .

Everything changes everything .

I own a Gibson AJ with Madagascar Rosewood body and a red spruce top from
the Montana custom shop . I must say , it is killer , and records like a dream .

but , that one is just one of many good ones I have and if I need a different sound ,
lots of times I just change strings , or microphones or both , or record in a different room . Try experimenting a little .

[drbob1]

Recording your acoustic can be really simple or quite hard depending on what you're looking for...

Simple: buy an aura preamp, either the version that matches your guitar or one of the ones you can download images to. Set it, plug in the guitar, plug into recorder, done. It sounds really good.

Harder: Blend the piezo signal from your guitar pickup with an internal mic (I have an AMT) to taste. Can get great sound, although there's more chance for the room/player to interfere.

Hardest: mic with SDC, LDC or both. Now the room makes a bigger difference and will probably color your sound in unhelpful ways if you hate the room sound. Possible way to improve that is to mount a wooden plate on the part of the wall facing where you record, so at least the first reflection of the guitar sound is off a good sounding surface?

[Benlittlejohn]

Ryan Adams used a Guild D-25 on Heartbreaker.

killer guitars not much $.

[rogerbrain]

how many J-45's have you played? they all sound a bit different. I will say I think there is a 'classic' gibson sound but I don't think of it as s finger picking guitar.. I think they sound great strummed into a bit of compression (chugging)

i have had several Gibsons including a couple J-45's and had to record a lot of them when I worked in a commercial studio (long ago)

I personally would not use a J-45 as a solo guitar.

I did have a DOVE IN FLIGHT that would have worked but it did not have what i call a typical Gibson sound.

Look at an older Martin D-28S with 12 fret neck joiint
or some other full sized guitar with wider neck (more mass and articulation of notes) and a 12th fret joint..

Laravee and others make some.

the guitar is only an element .. mic/placement/room/player are alll important too

[appleburger]

I have a '67 j45 that I love to record! Mine is pretty quiet and doesn't have a real full bodied sound but it records really well. Lots of character. That being said the new ones I've played sound quite a bit different than mine.

[Musiclab]

Finger style usually requires a brighter guitar. In general brighter guitars record
better, generally

[satellitedog]

I think you could play a couple of various 45s, maybe even record them on the spot with a portable recorder, then buy one that you actually fall in love with.

I really dig the way they look, but have come across pretty mediocre Gibson acoustics, and some surprinsingly uninspiring ones too, so don't buy unplayed.

[adathead 53]

Originally Posted by Musiclab

Finger style usually requires a brighter guitar. In general brighter guitars record
better, generally

I have to agree with this one, especially if you play with bare thumb and fingers rather than thumb/finger picks. I love my '65 J50 for fingerpicking but, since I use my thumb and fingers (no picks) it really doesn't record well at all with the close micing that's neccessary in a bad/small room. I've gotten my best results using a parlor sized guitar. I don't care for the sound of the guitar on its own as it doesn't project well and has very little bottom end, but stick a mic 8-12" from the neck joint and it gives me a sound that's quite usable.

[nighthawk128]

Hate to be a killjoy, but your guitar's sound matters. Its at the heart of your sound-your recordings-live. Too many believe that any guitar can be made to sound good in post-prod. Nope. There is no software-period-that can make a crappy guitar sound good. Not to say the j-45 is bum but needs careful mic positioning-good mixing, etc.

James Taylor played a Gibson J-50 early in his career, but switched over to Olson's nearly 20 years ago.

The link is from Gibson's site called "tone tips." Its more about JT playing a Gibson J-50- than improving sound. Although they do say he isn't playing a Gibson anymore, nothing like a bank shot plug for the J-50. Taylor calls his J-50 the "Dont Let Me Be Lonely Tonight-Fire and Rain-Something in the Way She Moves"-guitar. A long title but impressive resume. Good luck with your sound ventures. You defiantly get exactly what you pay for with sound.
Gibson named this link-
How to Get James Taylor's Tone

[Jose]

As far as I am concerned, the J45 is one of the most recorded guitars.

I am on the market for a J45 Custom (Rosewood back & sides).