Gibson Acoustic Keb' Mo' "3.0" 12-fret J-45 Acoustic-electric Guitar - Vintage Sunburst Reviews
Keb’ Mo’ and Gibson unveil their third collaboration, the Keb’ Mo’ “3.0” 12-fret J-45, an all-new spin on the fan-favorite J-45. The guitar features an aged Sitka spruce top with mahogany back and sides to produce an extremely versatile tone that’s great for almost any musical style or genre. Whether you sit or stand, the familiar slope-shouldered body and 12th-fret neck joint offer comfortable and balanced play. The neck also has a wider 1.805-inch nut that gives Keb’ more room to work his fingerstyle magic. And finally, the Keb’ Mo’ “3.0” 12-fret J-45 features onboard LR Baggs VTC electronics with soundhole-mounted controls for gigging. Whether you’re a longtime Keb’ Mo’ fan or need a solid, dependable blues workhorse, it’s hard to go wrong with the Gibson Keb’ Mo’ “3.0” 12-fret J-45.
Earn $215 back in Bonus Bucks† OR pay $180/month with 24 month financing*
$215 Earn $215.00 back in Bonus Bucks† on this purchase when you use your Sweetwater Credit Card without financing. Select your offer in checkout. Terms
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Highest Rated Reviews
My Go To Guitar
Ok - so here is my impressions of the Keb Mo after a complete inspection of every inch of it and playing hard for a few weeks.
In two words it is a Work Horse. It is impeccable built to be strong and ridden hard. It is not a show horse with fancy wood bindings, rosettes and fret board inlay. The binding is a strong smooth synthetic material made to take bumps and scrapes. The rosettes look like 2 strips of thin vinyl because something had to go there and the fretboard has the simple small dots. The tuning machines work fantastic and look nice. It is made to be played and take a beating on the stage.
The sound is designed to be adaptable to many styles of music. The highs are clear but not the Taylor high chime like tones, the bass is low but not the big booming lows of some dreadnoughts. The mids are just wonderful with beautiful complex harmonics. It is designed for finger style but sounds just as good strumming. Hybrid picking with a flat pick and fingers as well as just finger nails work equally well with a very nice sound. I played a repertoire of classical music on it from Beethoven to modern day composers and it was perfectly acceptable. I do believe Keb Mo designed a work horse that he could drag around on the stage and play all night comfortably. I was drawn to this guitar because it was a 12 fret with a larger body which is almost impossible to find. I play in the classical position with the guitar on the left leg which extends the fret board further from my hand. So the shorter scale lengths and a 12 fret guitar work great for that position. My only complaint with is guitar is the same as with many other guitars that use high gloss finishes in the back of the neck. If your hands are a little moist the gloss finish impedes an easy slide. I fixed that with 0000 steel wool and it still looks great. I would recommend this guitar to anyone looking for a great hard working instrument built in the Gibson Custom Shop.
UNREAL/BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
I'm a player of 62 years no rookie thought I've seen it all. Till I got this guitar.Big KEB'MO fan love his stuff.Its way more comfortable than I expected its actually 1 inch larger than my J-165.Things I love? Feel of neck,sound,12 fret,width of fingerboard,and gorgeous. I BOUGHT it off of NICK PASQUINO AT SWEETWATER.Super nice guy not pushy,no B.S.,respectful and informative and super helpful.Made it easy to pull the trigger and buy a HIGH END GIBSON.SO
This guitar might be special
I waited a while to write a review because this guitar is both simple and complicated.
I love it and can't see it ever leaving me.
But it took a bit to get there and you have to love certain things that it excels at.
Biggest problem is it's price, you can get a LOT of different top end legendary guitars for this price. Various Martins Taylors Guilds and even other Gibsons like the Hummingbird or other Jumbos are in play.
I was in search for a Gibson J-45 and wanted something cool or special.
Problem is being able to try the different models.
I went all over the place and was able to try J-45s in Standard, Southern, Custom 1942 Banner.
Finally decided on Southern Jumbo Original but by then none in stock anywhere.
This guitar (Keb Mo 3.0) was in stock but not hardly any reviews or much info out there other than the initial press release stuff.
I am a HUGE fan of the 12 fret guitars in general and the Custom Shop pedigree seemed special so decided to take a chance knowing that Sweetwater has a top notch return policy and process.
Guitar is beautiful, well made, and sounds fabulous.
BUT, for the money I still wasn't sure. I could have bought a Hummingbird for less or heck a Southern Jumbo and had money left over for a cool Telecaster!
I took it all over town having my buddies play it or even going into the local shops to compare it to whatever top gun guitars they had in the store.
I wanted to make sure I didn't make a $ mistake.
No one had heard of it but everyone loved it.
I compared it to Martins Taylors other Gibsons and plenty were close some as good but none were better.
Well, except for a $ Collings Maple beast that was unbelievable.
So I decided I better keep this thing.
It is my go to guitar.
I play it every day.
It has a beautiful clear balanced sound that just sings.
And to top it off it seems to get even better.
The thermally aged top is wonderful it really does sound like an old soul guitar.
The fit and finish on my sample are outstanding.
For reference mine weighs 4lbs 2oz.
Other than price the biggest question is the neck.
It's not like any other of the J-45 necks I tried.
It's for sure "thicker" or "bigger" feeling and that concerned me at first.
Now that I am used to it I love it.
Just the right amount of room between strings but not too wide.
It's borderline though and for some it's going to be a deal breaker and be too wide or thick feeling.
All I can say is give it a chance and you might love it.
I will add to this review if anything new comes up.
Good Luck!
