The New Gibson G-45 Standard offers an American Made Gibson for less money than ever before! Part of their new Generation Collection, the G-45 is seriously impressive! Using Walnut and Richlite to help keep the costs down, the G-45 Standard offers Gibson playability and tone at less than half the cost of most USA-made Gibson Acoustic Guitars. While these guitars are more stripped down than fully-featured, they offer some seriously impressive specs.
The back and sides are made from Walnut. This domestically sourced hardwood is still quite abundant so it's more cost-effective than say, Rosewood, which is usually imported, automatically raising the bottom line of any guitar built with it. Walnut's density and stiffness are similar to Koa, so this guitar features a bright and brilliant top-end, prominent mid-range, and slightly reduced bass.
The top is made from Sitka Spruce, the most often used tonewood for the top of any and all fretted, stringed instrument (and many unfitted instruments too!). This wood projects incredibly well, and when paired with Walnut, you get a surprising amount of volume.
The neck is made from Utile, otherwise known as Sipo Mahogany. It is not a true mahogany but performs like one. Utile comes in a couple of hundred points higher (1100) on the Janka Hardness Scale actually making it a more desirable choice (IMO) than traditional mahogany (900). The fingerboard is made from Richlite that offers a uniform look and density. Richlite consists of partially recycled paper and phenolic resin. Multiple layers of paper are soaked in a phenolic resin, then molded and baked into shape in a heated form or press. The fingerboard carries a 16" radius. Gibson's Advanced Response Neck Profile is a thing of beauty and seems to be comfortable to most players. 24.75" scale length is classic Gibson and a 1.72" nut width offers a slightly wider surface for your fretting fingers to find the strings.
A cool feature is the Gibson Player Port, a soundhole on the side of the guitar that helps the player hear what the audience is hearing. While it is a little shocking to see a 2nd hole on the side of the guitar, it'll only take a couple of strums to see (or hear) why this feature is so cool!
