My guitar collection - Collings
Whereas the CJ and CJ Mh are still re-imaginings in the Collings spirit, the CJ-45 T is much closer to the inspiration for the Collings Jumbo, a particular, very successful model made by Gibson. The last word used in the write-up for my CJ Mh ASB is “workhorse”. Gibson uses that word on their webpage for its J-45. It also claims it is one of the bestselling and most recorded guitar models. In large part, the CJ-45 T is closer to the J-45 due to it being a Traditional build. In addition, it replicates the shorter 24⅞” scale instead of the 25½” on the CJ (Mh). Incidentally, if the CJ-45 T did no have its own model designation, and would just be a “plain” CJ variant, the presence of the short scale would have been indicated by ‘SS‘ on the sticker in the soundhole. In addition, the CJ-45 T does not have the usual 14”-26” compound radius for its unbound East Indian rosewood fingerboard with Mother-of-Pearl (MOP) long dot position markers but rather 12” across the board (pun intended). There is still a small difference though. Whereas the J-45 has 20 frets, the CJ-45 T has 19. The dimensions for the high-gloss nitrocellulose finished body with a Dark Gibson Sunburst are very similar, if not identical, to its inspiration: a body width of 16”, 4⅞” body depth, and body length of 20⅛”, for a total length of 41” for the entire guitar. It has a Sitka spruce top, Sitka spruce CJ-45 Wartime scalloped X-bracing, single ring rosette with multiple B/W purflings, ebony straight-style bridge with drop-in saddle (instead of the default cut-through saddle), and Honduran mahogany (single piece) back and sides. The high-gloss polyester resin finished Honduran mahogany neck has a truly Gibson-like beefy CJ-45 profile, the aforementioned unbound East Indian rosewood fingerboard with 1¾” wide nut, and an unbound “Haircut” headstock with ebony veneer, MOP logo, and 20:1 gear ratio Waverly nickel-plated tuning machines with ivoroid buttons. It came in a super stylish Collings Traditional hardshell case (S/N CJ-000042). So you own no Traditional case at all, so you have six, more than half of the 9 different Traditional cases Collings built! All within a year. Go figure! More information on this model currently (2026) still in the Collings lineup can be found here:
Collings CJ-45 T
The story behind this guitar
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This is a bit weird, at least for me. I never intended to have more than 1 of a single model. You do your research, you settle on the specs you want for the given model, and that’s that. So why a second CJ? I hope that the difference mentioned above is enough of a justification. You may argue that the CJ-45 T is an entirely different beast than either the CJ or CJ Mh. And yes, the Gibson J-45 is an iconic model played by many. This guitar was listed on Reverb by Mike Melinder, providing another incentive: the Collings traditional case. And given the year when they were discontinued, this must be one of the last CJ cases built. After a bit of back and forth, mainly concerning the S/H since the guitar had to come from Hawai’i, a deal was struck. And 2 days later it was here. The guitar looks absolutely gorgeous. Certainly in that case, which is so snug, it takes some effort to get the guitar out. And then when you strum it, there is an odd familiarity. Something you have heard a gazillion times on many records. Because Collings absolutely nailed the vintage sound: a little dry, woody, resonant, with a bit of attitude on the edges. Immediately one of my favorite guitars. The neck profile and slightly wider string spacing feels super comfortable for my gig hands. Same for the short scale on such a large body guitar. No regrets to add the “duplicate”.
The story behind this guitar
February 28, 2022
32292
Drop-in bone saddle
