Gibson J-45 Deluxe ‘72-‘74“Rescue Dog”

So, who wants to take a "Rescue Dog" home? Offering my restored Norlin era J45 up to a good home to someone who will give this old guy the playtime it wants!

I came across this early 70’s (guessing 72-74 from Serial # and Natural headstock veneer) on a local FB marketplace. It was still very playable, but scars from old repairs as well as some other current damage made me want to do a complete Rehab. 

So, on the bench…

Neck removed for a later reset. 

I needed to remove the top to address all the cracks and the badly altered bracing. The binding on the top was some pretty bland grainless Maple that isn’t original, so I just routed it right off. 

The top came off relatively easily, but boy is it thin! These Norlin era acoustics used a "Double X" bracing pattern and they thinned the tops down much thinner than most Spruce tops, in the belief that the double X's would handle it. This top is .090-ish inches compared to .105-.110. 

Well, it hasn’t handled it well, with multiple cracks all over. And during the mods done before me, the lower X had been removed and replaced with a couple of crudely placed and glued tone bars. 

The bridge plate was a huge piece of laminate plywood, and significant pinhole damage had left a section of top below the bridge pretty chewed up. Also, the area just behind the bridge had some significant belly bulge due to the removed bracing.

So, now it’s got a new Maple bridgeplate, with a Redwood reinforcement strip backing it up behind it to help counteract that belly bulge. (My idea, we'll see how it works. And just a quick mention, the Redwood is a scrap piece from a build of mine, it’s Reclaimed Pacific NW Redwood from a train trestle built back in 1876 in Nor Cal. Magical, right? 😉)

I replaced all the bracing with new Quartersawn Sitka Spruce, in a traditional 98 degree X pattern. Two lower tone bars, and side strips. All cracks are glued and cleated well (easy to do with the top off) A pretty significant side crack has been reinforced with an inner strip of Mahogany. 

New cream binding on the top and back, with BWBW purfling added to the top. 

Someone had stripped all the finish and resprayed it, so I decided to dress it up a bit with an old 30’s style Gibson style small sunburst. 

On to the neck…

The fretboard extension was cut off during the latest neck rest..I hate it when someone does that…

The fretboard was completely removed, and I replaced the broken old Truss Rod with a 2-way adjustable rod, with soundhole access now. The old truss rod adjuster area up at the base of the headstock is now filled with an Ebony plug, to help prevent a future "Classic Gibson neck break". 

But, the fretboard has now had a complete refret with Medium/Jumbo nickel frets and a complete fretboard level and dress up to the 14th fret. Above the 14, the action is higher, as a result of that extension being cut off in the past. It’s easily playable, but it dips slightly from the 14 to the 15. 

Now, these Norlin neck joints aren’t a normal Dovetail. The neck tenon has small wedge shaped wings, but the tenon is cut straight up and down, not the normal shape that’s wider at the top, tapering to narrow down at the heel. So, it doesn’t seat like a wedge into the neck block, but relies a lot on the glue. I’ve converted this to a bolt on neck, with barrel bolts installed perpendicular into the neck tenon. This will allow easier removal and adjustment if necessary in the future, and it is shimmed very tight for vibration and tone transfer. And, that adjustable truss rod is easily accessible thru the soundhole, although I recommend using a ball-end Allen wrench to do the job. 

The bridge is a handmade belly-down style like the original, but just about 1/16” larger all around to help stabilize that battered area. The bridge is Brazilian Rosewood, from my own stock. Original bridge was intact, but it appears to have been sanded down to lower the action in the past. 

Specs:

-Square shoulder Norlin era Dreadnaught

-Solid Spruce top, Solid Mahogany back and sides

-Quartersawn Sitka Spruce X brace in a standard 98 pattern

-.011” Maine Maple bridgeplate

-Bridge string spacing 2 3/8”

-Brazilian Rosewood bridge with bone saddle

-Mahogany neck with Rosewood fretboard, Original nylon nut

-New 2-way adjustable truss rod (soundhole access with 4mm Allen)

-Scale 25.4”

-Nut width 1 11/16”

-Grover Imperial tuners

This ol guy sings nicely now! Deep lows from that nice thin top, and the new X-bracing will hold it all together for years to come. It’s got a strong punch in the mids as well, and lots of volume, definitely a loud player. 

The small burst was my attempt to replicate those tiny bursts of the early 30’s Jumbos, and a way to somewhat hide those various cracks and glue lines. And I did my best to make it somewhat "Authetic Relic", but I know it’s not exactly a Murphy Lab job, lol. And admittedly, much of the repaired area below the bridge is still visible, and the cracks still show. I added a couple of close up photos that really show the cracks more clearly. They are all stable and repaired, and this old gal is singing better now that she probably did when she was new. But, if you’re looking for a pristine Closet Queen vintage Gibson, this one is probably not for you. This will be a great guitar for your campfire evenings, or to have sittin on your summertime porch corner waiting to get played!

Ships in a brand new gig bag, or message me and I’ll see what I might have for a case, as things come and go. 

Give a good old dog a home, and have yourself a lot of fun playing a 50 year old Gibson for a rock bottom price!

Thanks for looking..

Final note: Please look closely at all photos, as this instrument will exhibit the years it has lived it’s life. My "Resto" process is primarily aimed at the structure and sound properties of the instrument, such as bracing and neck/bridge components. It has NOT been COMPLETELY refinished and oversprayed (unless my listing says so specifically for that instrument), and will show various dings and scratches expected from a 50+ year old instrument. I often apply a little Tru Oil wipe to help seal any chipping or cracking original finish’s, but any completly refinished areas will be described in the listing. I try to really show any significant finish wear as clearly as I can, and I’m always willing to send interested folks more pics on request. 

Please take a look at my Return policy. I always strive to have a buyer 100% psyched to own one of my "babies", but if something just doesn’t click, and they just don’t bond with it, I will conditionally accept returns within a week (buyer will pay all Shipping costs, Full Refund of the purchase price will be processed upon Return) 

Also, my "day job" takes me away from home for 7 days, then I’m home for 7. If you can message me before making payment, I can let you know if I’m away and if shipping will be delayed. If I’m home, I always ship by the following business day!

Thanks!

Brian