Gibson Custom 1942 Banner J45 Sinker Mahogany TFOA 25th Anniversary #21726010

This Gibson Custom Shop 1942 Banner J-45 was built especially for us: a small limited run to mark The Fellowship of Acoustics' 25th anniversary, with only a handful ever made. Finished in a beautiful vintage sunburst, it pairs a solid Adirondack spruce top with sinker mahogany back and sides, and even carries its own custom TFOA 25th Anniversary truss rod cover.

The J-45 is Gibson's most famous acoustic, and the wartime "Banner" models of the early 1940s are among the most revered of them all, named for the "Only a Gibson Is Good Enough" banner on the headstock. Gibson's Custom Shop recreates that golden-era magic here: the slope-shouldered body, the hand-scalloped X-bracing and the dry, immediate voice that made these guitars legendary.

What makes this one extra special is the wood. Sinker mahogany is reclaimed timber recovered after decades submerged in rivers, denser and more stable than freshly cut stock and prized for its clarity and resonance. Combined with a powerful Adirondack red spruce top and finished with cream binding, elegant multi-line purfling and rosette and a classic tortoise pickguard, it is as beautiful as it is rare.

Played, it delivers everything you want from a great J-45 and then some: a punchy, focused low end, singing mids and a wonderful openness and headroom from that Adirondack top. It is a dry, powerful and endlessly musical voice that works just as well for fingerstyle as it does for driving a full band. It comes complete with its hardshell case, certificate of authenticity and case candy.

This guitar has been carefully inspected for condition and playability, then set up to our Gold Standard by a luthier. We make sure it arrives in your hands exactly as it should: sounding its best, playing effortlessly and ready to be enjoyed from the very first note.