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Gretsch G5622 ElectromaticGibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged Review & Prices
- From Gibson Custom's 2023 Murphy Lab - Light Aged series
- Made in United States
- 6 strings
- 24.75"'' scale
- 12" Fretboard Radius
- Thermally Aged Red Spruce top
- Solid Mahogany back
- Solid Mahogany sides
- Mahogany neck
- Rosewood fretboard
- Bridge pickup: (/)
- Rosewood; Rectangle, Open Slot bridge
- Acoustic Historic Set neck
- 19 Medium frets
- Strap Style, Open Back, Cream Buttons, Aged tuners
- Compare Specs >
Our Scores and Tone Evaluation
- Heavy Metal
- Hard Rock
- Jazz
- Blues
- Funk
- Country
Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged
- Made in United States
- Expensive Wood
- Bone Nut
- Bone Saddle
- Solid Side Wood
- Solid Back Wood
- Cheap Fret Wire (NS)
- No Locking Tuners
- No Top Brand Pickups
- No Electronics
- Laminated Top Wood
- No Compound Radius Fretboard
- No 21:1 Tuner Ratio
- No Strap Lock
Price: is the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged a Good Deal?
Its average competitor's price is $3500, which means that the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged costs around 86% more than the competition. It might be due to it having additional features, but know that you can find cheaper similar alternatives. This takes into account all guitars of the same category in our database with 6 strings and Fixed bridge that are made in United States.
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Not all instruments are created equally, and there are many important things they won't tell you about the one you're buying. That's why it's important to have different opinions. Here's what our users who have played this guitar say. If you've played it before, help others by voting below!
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Is The Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged Easy to Play?
The Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged meets 4 out of our 9 criteria items for beginner friendliness, which means that it's not recommended for complete beginners. This takes into account the type of frets, scale length, nut width, bridge type, fretboard radius, and neck profile to determine the easiest combination for new players to get used to.
Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged
- Easy-to-use bridge
- Tall frets
- Short scale
- Comfortable neck
- Comfortable shape
- Locking tuners
- Comfortable fretboard
- Wide nut
- Soft Strings
Hand Size Comfortability
After taking into account the neck profile, scale size, fretboard radius, and nut width, we can conclude that the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged's construction favors people with relatively big hands.
Nevertheless, this comes down in the end to personal preference. Make sure you test this guitar—or another one with similar characteristics—before buying.
Scale Length
Scale length is the distance the strings will span between the bridge and the nut. It can tell you a lot about the overall playability and tone of the instrument. A longer scale length means longer distance between frets, brighter tone and more string tension—which means lower action, but more difficult bending of the strings.
Here's the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged's 24.75" scale length compared to other common sizes:
This is the scale length used in most Gibson guitars. If you like the playability of a Gibson, this guitar will feel pretty similar. It's a lot shorter than the typical Stratocaster (25.5'')
As you can see from the picture above, a shorter scale length also means shorter separation between frets. If you got really small hands, you probably will feel more comfortable playing this guitar than a Fender Stratocaster.
This scale length also allows for easier bends and vibratos because the strings will have lower tension due to the shorter scale.
Finally, another thing affected by scale length is tone. A shorter scale will give less room for the harmonics, thus resulting in a warmer, more 'bassy' tone.
Still, remember that you string gauge plays an important part in all of this. A lighter gauge will make it easier to perform bends, vibratos and will also give you a brighter tone.
Neck Profile
The neck profile tells you the thickness (neck depth) and shape in cross section. Every difference will completely change the feeling and comfortability of the neck. This is a highly subjective thing, but most players indeed prefer certain types of necks (like Cs and Ds) because they feel nice in most hands.
It has a Vintage type neck. This is a type of vintage neck, so it's thick and has a wider grip than most modern guitars. This is a very particular type of neck that usually only people with a specific taste for vintage guitars will like. We recommend you try this in person before buying if it's your first vintage neck. You might end up absolutely loving it or hating it.
Fretboard Radius
When it comes to fingerboard radius, personal preference will dictate which one is better for you. However, most people seem to agree that a more curved (lower) radius will make it easier to play chords while a less curved (higher) radius is better for soloing and bending.
The Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged has a 12" fingerboard radius. Here's an image comparing this guitar's fretboard radius to other popular choices:
This is the same radius that Gibson uses in most of their guitars. When compare to the other popular radius of Fender Stratocasters, you can see that it's a lot flatter. Guitars with this radius are usually made to bring a good balance between single-note and chord playing.
Compound radius fingerboards give the best of both worlds. Unfortunately, the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged has the same radius across the board.
Playability compared to main competitors
Nut Width
The Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged has a nut width of 43.8mm (1.725''). This size is found mostly on Baritone or 7+ strings guitars since they need the extra space on the fretboard. It gives your fingers the extra space you need to play without muting accidentally, but this also makes bar chords harder to perform, so bear in mind that Baritone guitars aren't for every playing style.
Frets
It comes with nickel silver frets, so they won't last as long as stainless steel frets. If you use your instrument a lot, you might need to replace the frets after a few years. But this is unlikely as most people change instruments before this happens.
Fret Size
Finally, let's talk about fret size. Some people prefer tall frets because it's easier to press the strings and perform bends since there's less friction against the fretboard. On the other hand, some people like shorter frets because they like to touch the fretboard when playing, or because they got heavy hands and tend to press too much on the string and alter the of the note pitch accidently.
The Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged's frets are Medium size. With medium frets, you can feel the fretboard more than with jumbo frets, but it's still easier to press the strings cleanly than with small frets; notes might change their pitch just slightly if you press hard on the fret. Also, if you need to do some fret leveling after years of playing, you'll have some room to sand them down without having to replace them.
Playability Score
Does the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged Sound Good? Tone Analysis
The type of wood and even the shape of the body will have a lot of influence in the final tone of an acoustic guitar. Here's we'll talk about what kind of tone you can expect from its specs.
Wood Used in the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged
Other Top: It's an uncommon material that lacks more information.
Mahogany Back, Sides and Neck: This is the type of wood found in many top-of-the-line guitars, so that's a positive point for the build quality. This red-looking wood Mahogany is found in Africa and Central America and has great sustain and a warm tone due to its high density. The downside about this type of wood is that it's relatively heavy.
Rosewood Fretboard: Since the ban of Brazillian Rosewood, this has become a rare and expensive wood. It's not usually used for guitar bodies because of this, and also because it's heavy. Instead, it's used mainly for fretboards. Sometimes it's also used for necks because it's an extremely hard wood (even harder than maple). Its tonality tends to favor warm tones.
Pickups
This acoustic guitar doesn't come with preamp pickups, so you won't be able to connect it directly to an amplifier. Instead, you'll need to use an external microphone.
Sound Score
How well is the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged Built?
Where is the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged Made?
Knowing where the guitar is produced is a good way to know how well it's built. Some manufacturing countries are known for having higher quality standards. For example, most expensive guitars are made in the US or Japan, but there are some exceptionally great countries—like South Korea—that are building a good reputation.
The Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged is made in United States. Guitars made in the USA have the reputation of being the best instruments you can get. This statement isn't as accurate as a few years ago, but you should still expect top-quality from a guitar made in this country.
Bridge
Rosewood; Rectangle, Open Slot: The advantage of fixed bridges is that they don't require any kind of set-up. This makes it extremely easy when changing strings because you don't need to adjust anything besides tuning the guitar. Also, the fact that the bridge is directly attached to the body will help to increase sustain. The disadvantage is the lack of versatility since you can't create the same vibrato effects as with tremolo bridges.
Nut Material
Another important thing to analyze is the nut material, as it's one of the most important aspects that can affect the sound and playability of your guitar. A well-cut nut will make sure the guitar stays in tune and will make it more comfortable to play.
In this case, the Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged has a Bone nut. This material is one of the highest quality you can get. It provides excellent sustain and tune stability if cut well. The only disadvantage is that it's an organic material, so it's not consistent. Two different bone nuts, even if made from the same bone, will probably sound slightly different. However, bear in mind that this is only relevant when playing open strings.
Build Quality Score
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Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J-45 Vintage Sunburst Light Aged Specs
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