The Collings Forum

I have not seen much commentary lately on the CJ45T......whats the consensus on these? Have they been popular? Those that have them happy with them?? I have a CJ45AT and loving mine. I liked it right away, but now that its getting played in of course sounding even better. Still experimenting with strings....have D'addario nickel-bronze (mediums) on mine and even as a fingerpicker....like them quite a bit.

I have a CJ45T (Sitka) and it's a phenomenal guitar. Flawless build quality aside, the notes seem to jump off the fretboard in a similar way as I've only heard from the very best vintage instruments. I've played it side by side with a '43 Gibson SJ and the Collings is louder and more balanced. I would say it's objectively a better guitar, though of course what "better" means to each player varies. For the type of instrumental playing as say what Bob Minner does, it's the perfect guitar IMO.

BUT... it isn't the perfect guitar for all styles. In my case, I'm considering selling because I play mostly singer/songwriter/folk style music and I find my voice can get a bit lost in the mix with the CJ-45T.

You know, I love my CJ45TA, but I don't see that much about them after the initial roll out. In fact, TME has had one, now two (the new one with a smaller neck) for sale for a long while now. Very surprising. I snagged the first one they got as soon as I saw it thinking it wouldn't last long.
It's actually at home back in South Carolina and I'm headed back there tomorrow for a week. Looking forward to opening some time with it.

I recently celebrated my one year anniversary with my CJ45AT. I love it now as much as the day I got it. My favorite neck profile and the short-scale makes it a joy to play. Warm and punchy at the same time. I think it’s a fantastic guitar and I tend to gravitate to it more than my D1ATS.

It’s my favorite Collings of all time.

Great to hear guys and I feel the same about mine for sure. What strings are you settling in on? I'm using the D'addario NB's in medium....PB mediums were/are stock. I'm considering trying some PB again either in medium or maybe even light gauge.

Bluesandswing wrote: ↑Tue Nov 01, 2022 10:47 pm Great to hear guys and I feel the same about mine for sure. What strings are you settling in on? I'm using the D'addario NB's in medium....PB mediums were/are stock. I'm considering trying some PB again either in medium or maybe even light gauge.

All I ever use on my CJ45 and D1AT is John Pearce PB Mediums. Maybe I'll try the NB's sometime. I like them on my OM1AJL.

Wonderful guitar but I ended up trading for an OM1AT. Just suits my playing style.

my initial impression is that the neck is quite wide the guitar does sound great though. I will go and play it again as it has not sold yet

Georgelange wrote: ↑Sat Nov 05, 2022 1:26 am my initial impression is that the neck is quite wide the guitar does sound great though. I will go and play it again as it has not sold yet

You won’t regret purchasing it!