1943 Banner Gibson J-45

This is one of the early wartime batches of banner J-45s FON 2109-22, featuring a rare multi-ply top purfling found only on the earliest J-45 batches, a two-piece Adirondack spruce top, a firestripe pickguard, and a thick mahogany neck constructed without a truss rod. These specs are widely regarded as the most collectible and desirable among the spruce top/mahogany back and sides banner J-45s. This example is by far the lightest in weight, loudest in volume, and has the quickest attack out of our current impressive banner J-45 inventory. It sports a beautifully patinaed, sunken-in original nitrocellulose finish with striking checking throughout. Fresh off a recent professional neck reset and a few expertly repaired, sealed, and cleated cracks, it is in excellent structural condition. It plays wonderfully and delivers as much sheer horsepower as some of the finest pre-war and wartime Martin D-18s we have ever encountered, while retaining the woody fundamental tone desired from an old Gibson flattop. This is an incredible-sounding piece of guitar history from the greatest story ever told: the banner Gibson story of the Kalamazoo Gals.