Gauge: .025. Elixir Acoustic Guitar Strings are covered with an ultra-thin, space-age polymer tube that contacts the string on the tops of the windings only. This leaves the all-important winding-to-winding-to-core space free from the fear of the enemies of tone!Nanoweb coating permits strings with the feel, bright tone, and punch of traditional strings. Elixirs are the first major innovation in strings in over forty years, and they deliver what they promise: great tone and long life no matter what you put them on or how often you play.Most players report that Elixir Strings keep sounding great 3 to five times longer than ordinary strings.

The Gibson J-45 is one of the most played and cherished acoustic guitars in history. This Legends version of the J-45 can handle music from the blues to bluegrass to folk to pop and everything in between. Hand crafted by Gibson luthiers using techniques from the J-45 guitar's heyday, the Legend J-45 boasts an Adirondack spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides to produce unmatched mellow, full-bodied tone.Did you ever have one of the "what if" conversations? Like, "what if I won the lottery" kind of things. Some three years ago the luthiers at Gibson's acoustic guitar plant in Bozeman, Montana had one of those kind of conversations. It went sort of like this: "What if we could go back in time and build a brand new guitar exactly the way they were built back then".Well, nothing gets the juices flowing like a challenge like that, so the quest was on find the best sounding, original, mint condition Gibson acoustic guitar from the "vintage years," and build a limited number of guitars today employing the same material, same types of tools, same specs, you name it. The plan was to build a new vintage guitar!After a long search, a mint, 1942 J-45 was located. Owned by renowned acoustic guitar expert and author Eldon Whitford, the guitar was perfect. It was historically significant, as 1942 was the first year of production for the J-45. The fact that the J-45 is the number one selling acoustic guitar in Gibson's history didn't hurt either! Mr. Whitford was kind enough to loan the guitar to Gibson for a painstakingly thorough examination. The guitar went through both X-ray and cat scans to accurately determine the bracing patterns, wood thickness. The glue and finish were chemically analyzed. To make a long story short, Gibson learned everything about that guitar. The result? The guitar you see here the "Legends Series" 1942 J-45.Let's start with the body of the guitar. The Gibson "round shoulder" body shape is believed by many players to be the best sounding Gibson acoustic ever made. The gently rounded upper bout keeps the highs clean and precise, while the deep lower bout ensures that famous "Gibson" bottom end. The body in constructed of solid, premium grade Honduran mahogany. The top is solid Adirondack spruce. Both the top and back are gently radiused to provide tension to the wood. This makes the wood "vibrate" (like a tuned drumhead) and as a result, projection and definition are greatly enhanced. The beefy, hand shaped neck is one piece select premium grade mahogany, set with Gibson's famous "double dovetail" neck joint for a lifelong tight fit. Hot hide glue is used in the construction, not synthetic glue like many of today's guitars. Hide glue is organic, and thinner. It makes for a better wood-to-wood construction, without a thick layer of adhesive to impede vibration.The top bracing is exactly like the original, all carve

The Martin D-18 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar is a traditional-style dreadnought that features a rosewood fingerboard and bridge with black binding and pickguard plus chrome-enclosed tuning machines. Solid mahogany back and sides combine with a large dreadnought guitar size to produce a loud, clear treble and a warm, moderate bass. Limited lifetime warranty. The D-18 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar includes a deluxe Martin hardshell case ($190 value).