1995 Gibson ES-165

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Any thoughts about this guitar?

[wintermoon]

Some pics will get you a better response.....

[garybaldy]

!t's probably nice.

[[email protected]]

Wintermoon,
Do you know anything about that guitar?

[wintermoon]

Wintermoon,
Do you know anything about that guitar?

I don't, sorry. but w/out inspecting it in person it's priced about what they go for in the real world
in other words realistically, unlike many on reverb etc....

[[email protected]]

Thanks. I thought when you posted the listing picture you knew the guitar.

[wintermoon]

Thanks. I thought when you posted the listing picture you knew the guitar.

No just added the pics so people could make an assessment but didnt post a link to the seller/location in case you were thinking of buying.

[Skip Ellis]

Any thoughts about this guitar?

Nice guitars - I had one about three years ago - I think it was a '92. Sold it to fund a custom build acoustic. If I didn't have my GB10 I'd probably try to find another one. If it's clean one, it's hard to beat - not sure what they go for these days.

[floatingpickup]

I had one for about 10 years and it was a really nice guitar. I played it on all my gigs during that time and I was always happy with the way it performed in a live situation. At the time, I also had two vintage ES-175’s (a ‘59 and a ‘69) for comparison. The 165 had a chunky neck that felt a lot like my old ‘59. It had the stock pickup, which I think was 490R, and it sounded good. For some reason, this model has always been cheaper than a 175 and it is a lot of guitar for the money.
Keith

[lawson-stone]

I had one of these for about 10 years and sold it to a former student who was starting out in jazz guitar. It was a splendid instrument. Every bit an ES175 in sound, tone, feel, except that the single pickup gave it more acoustic voice, and the pickup is not the usual 57 Classic but the 490R which I felt had a little more "bite" than the 57Classic. Except for the level of bling (no inlaid Gibson logo) it's every inch an ES175 with one pickup.

[icr]

I had wanted an ES165 for many years. However, when I set out to actually buy one, I found them over priced. What I mean is that for only a few hundred dollars more I could get an ES175. So, I got an ES175 instead.

That was over ten years ago. I'm not sure about the price difference today.

[nevershouldhavesoldit]

I bought an early 165 (‘91) and used it regularly for a few years. It was a great guitar and one of the last of my 6 strings to go after I went to 7 a few years later. I kept my 2 best archtops because there was no production 7 string yet and I wasn’t yet ready to commit big $ to a luthier built 7. The other one to go last was my blond Guild X500. The 165 was every bit as good as the X500 in every way - and I think it sounded better (smoother and better balanced top to bottom) when amplified for jazz.

The 165 was a wonderful gigging archtop that served me well until Ibanez came out with the AF207 and I went full 7 string for a lot less than the closest luthier built alternatives. I thought my 165 was the equal of my 175, except for the slightly brighter pickup, which was great for commercial dates and could be dialed back close to PAFs with EQ.

I’d be using it today if I were still on 6, just as I’m still gigging with that AF207 today despite having “better” carved archtops. Both offer the joy, comfort and familiarity that breed long term relationships.

[lammie200]

I have both the 165 floater and set pickup guitars. Both in excellent condition. One was $2k and the other was $1800. Both in original condition with OHSC's. The floater is more of a flamed maple variety. At the time 175s were at least in the mid $3k prices almost regardless of condition. Love the neck profiles on both. Not thin and not super fat. I had a CC-175 many years ago (I think it was $1k) which I wasn't totally jazzed about. Heavy and hummy. 165s were (and maybe still are to some extent) the best value for a 175-type of guitar IMHO. And as it has been pointed out, and a bit strange as far as value goes, 165s have a bit more premium features than most 175s, but they are very closely related to 175s in almost every other way.

[Jimmy blue note]

Weren't these also known as the Herb Ellis? I remember when they started the run of these, it was during a time when 175's were being made with two pickups, maple laminated backs and maple necks. I was finding it increasingly difficult to find "old" 175 Gibsons which were, I guessed too jazzy or not versatile enough to be put in the Gibson line up. In answer to my prayers, they issued the L-7C and the L-4C which were cousins in the 175 family...and for the hardcore traditionalists, the ES-165 Herb Ellis which, you know Herb played an old style ES-175. So the ES-175 "classic"(?) became the 165 (Ellis) which, to make things more complicated, came with a laminate. unbroken top with a lovely BJB floater off the neck AND traditional set-in full sized pickup in the top.

Or at least that's the way I remember it. This was after the Norlin QC dip and when Gibson seemed to be trying to get their reputation back. I also saw a number of these 165's and they all had really gorgeous mahogany necks and a very warm sound because of that.

For a work horse jazz guitar, these were a working man's dream. I really liked them.

[Stringswinger]

Weren't these also known as the Herb Ellis? I remember when they started the run of these, it was during a time when 175's were being made with two pickups, maple laminated backs and maple necks. I was finding it increasingly difficult to find "old" 175 Gibsons which were, I guessed too jazzy or not versatile enough to be put in the Gibson line up. In answer to my prayers, they issued the L-7C and the L-4C which were cousins in the 175 family...and for the hardcore traditionalists, the ES-165 Herb Ellis which, you know Herb played an old style ES-175. So the ES-175 "classic"(?) became the 165 (Ellis) which, to make things more complicated, came with a laminate. unbroken top with a lovely BJB floater off the neck AND traditional set-in full sized pickup in the top.

Or at least that's the way I remember it. This was after the Norlin QC dip and when Gibson seemed to be trying to get their reputation back. I also saw a number of these 165's and they all had really gorgeous mahogany necks and a very warm sound because of that.

For a work horse jazz guitar, these were a working man's dream. I really liked them.

By the time Gibson came out with the Herb Ellis 165, they had long discontinued maple necks on the 175. I owned one maple neck 175 (1977) and it was a great guitar that I probably should not have sold.

The Herb Ellis 165 with a built in pickup is a great jazz guitar, full stop.

[lammie200]

Yeah, the set in humbucker that I have has a silk screen Herb Ellis signature on the headstock. The floater has Herb Ellis routed into the truss rod cover. Both have mahogany necks. Great guitars. I am holding onto mine.

[floatingpickup]

Funny thing…the label inside the Herb Ellis guitar that I owned said “ES-175”. Other than the label, it was definitely an ES-165 - single pickup, gold hardware, silkscreened logo, Herb’s signature on the headstock, etc. That mistake is evidence that the body of both models is identical, other than the single pickup vs. double and typically more flame on a 165.
Keith