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PAPPY
December 18th, 2008, 10:17 PM
A good friend of mine just bought a Gibson J54 from an older gentleman who purchased it new in 1942 and I would like some info on the guitar and approx. value. It is in real good condition for a guitar of that age and the fact it was used by the gentleman for a number of years in a band and is still in good shape is remarkable. Thanks for any info any of you can give me.

markb
December 19th, 2008, 12:11 AM
OK, so is that a J45 or a Jumbo 55? Both models existed in 1942. They were both 16" wide round shouldered dreadnoughts but the J45 is much more common. A 1942 J45 will look something like the guitar below (the one at bottom, of course) but with the Gibson banner headstock ("only a Gibson is good enough") and a narrower bridge. Some wartime J45s had no truss rod and some had maple back and sides instead of the usual mahogany. The Jumbo 55 had the fancy bridge of a J200 but a bit smaller and was discontinued in 1943. Both came in sunburst only.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3189/2546699668_8c5563221e.jpg

ref: Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars, 1991

PAPPY
December 19th, 2008, 08:13 AM
markb, thanks for the responce. I will have to do some more research on the guitar as I haven't seen it yet. It's at a luthiers getting a clean up and new strings that haven't been changed since the 50s. It is supposed to be mahogany sides and back with a spruce top but I will check it out. Did they not make a J54 back in that time era? He said that was the model number but could have been confusing it with a J45. Thanks.