Gibson ES-175 - 2008 vs 2015?

[ogeva]

Hi,

I have seen at a store that holds 2nd hand guitars an 2015 ES175 I really liked, but the price tag was too high for a non planned purchase. By the time I made up my mind it was gone.

Now, a 2008 one surfaced at a similar price, and it looks quite mint by the pictures. Its a long drive for me, and it means I need to pay cash to a private person. |
These are quire rare here.

I asked some questions on chatGPT and it seems that the 2015 is preferable over 2008 for various reason, which I could not really find good reasons to believe online.

Is there are reason to believe the quality, playability and sound of a 2015 will be better that a well preserved 2008?

[Stringswinger]

I owned a 2008 ES-175 and I did not like the neck profile (too fat) compared to a 2017 model that I bought new and which I still own. In addition the neck on the 2008 had a slight twist that prevented me from getting the super low action that I like. Soundwise, they were pretty similar.

HTH

[ogeva]

My understanding is that the 2008 is slim taper neck in terms of specs, so it may be an individual guitar variance,.so its not a blocker for me, unless you or other can say that that isnthe general trend...

[Cunamara]

I think, particularly with something like the ES-175, that differences from one guitar to the next are as great or greater than from one year to the next, generally speaking. The ES-175 design recipe has been pretty consistent over the years, particularly over the last 30 years. Gibson knows better than to change them very much. Unlike cars and laptops, there's a lot of variability within model years with guitars. Cars and laptops are mostly assembled by machines and exact repeatability is necessary, whereas guitars are still assembled mostly by hand even if the parts are made on a CNC milling machine. The more hand work there is by human beings, the more errors and variations there are likely to be.

In short, you have to take each guitar on its own merits and think less about model years.

[ogeva]

I think, particularly with something like the ES-175, that differences from one guitar to the next are as great or greater than from one year to the next, generally speaking. The ES-175 design recipe has been pretty consistent over the years, particularly over the last 30 years. Gibson knows better than to change them very much. Unlike cars and laptops, there's a lot of variability within model years with guitars. Cars and laptops are mostly assembled by machines and exact repeatability is necessary, whereas guitars are still assembled mostly by hand even if the parts are made on a CNC milling machine. The more hand work there is by human beings, the more errors and variations there are likely to be.

In short, you have to take each guitar on its own merits and think less about model years.

Thanks. You're probably right. I just know that there are spec variations in other models. For example, the 2013 SG standard has the small pickguard and burstbucker pickups while 2012 or 2014 have the large one and 496/498 pickups.
I am not that versed on ES175. I played newer ones 201x.
Anyway, I decided its worth the drive, so I'll go see her tomorrow.
If she sings to me, she sings.... and I'll be a few 1000s dollars poorer.

[2bornot2bop]

Thanks. You're probably right. I just know that there are spec variations in other models. For example, the 2013 SG standard has the small pickguard and burstbucker pickups while 2012 or 2014 have the large one and 496/498 pickups.
I am not that versed on ES175. I played newer ones 201x.
Anyway, I decided its worth the drive, so I'll go see her tomorrow.
If she sings to me, she sings.... and I'll be a few 1000s dollars poorer.

Good move imo. I owned a 2008 and regret selling it years ago, especially since that same guitar today sells for twice what it did.

[ogeva]

Ok, I am not sure that this is her place on the wall, but there it goes. After cleaning and replacing the 0.10 roundwounds that were on her with 0.12 flatwounds. I'll let her settle then complete the setup.
She's a 2007, not 2008. Souds great, a buit of hazing onthe tailpiece, other than that in a mint condition.

[joe2758]

put them in order from darkest to lightest

[Tal_175]

The ES175's I played and heard all had this very particular dryness in the way they sound and a percussive quality. This doesn't seem to depend on the production year. I don't think I've ever played a guitar that sounded as dry as ES175's (maybe Tal Farlow or ES350?). You especially hear it when you contrast it with a guitar like L5. I love it.

[2bornot2bop]

Ok, I am not sure that this is her place on the wall, but there it goes. After cleaning and replacing the 0.10 roundwounds that were on her with 0.12 flatwounds. I'll let her settle then complete the setup.
She's a 2007, not 2008. Souds great, a buit of hazing onthe tailpiece, other than that in a mint condition.

Hazing on tailpiece is not a big deal. They all have that. It’s an 18 year old guitar, so some minor imperfection is anticipated.

[Archie]

There are no major differences in the modern ES-175.
The last ‘major’ tweak seems to be around 1980 (81 being JZ’s favourite), where the f holes are wider and the guitar weighed a LOT more due to the massive internal neck block and other factors.
After the early 80’s Gibson moved onto narrower f-holes (imo to give a more vintage look), which are still in the current design and reduced the internal blocks. The headstock seems to have changed too.

There are differences in neck shape and size, regardless of year and dependant on the person at the sander and how many coffees they've had.

I have a 96 and a 2012. The 90’s paint jobs and rosewood (orange colour) is ugly imo but they always seem to play really well and sound good.
Post 90’s the paint job vastly improved but I think the Mahogany for the necks was iffy at best.

Yours looks great! Enjoy.