Advice on ES-175 Copies

[Archie]

pity that they’re all sold out

I've heard bad things about the JT series.

[BeboppeurUSA]

Hello all,

Many valid suggestions have been made already. While a genuine Gibson ES-175 is a timeless guitar, there are many good Japanese, Korean and Chinese copies out there, most of which have been mentioned. But a carved guitar just provides something extra acoustically which may appeal to the potential buyer. Yes, you will get more feedback but at reasonable volumes, it's usually OK. For reasonably priced carved top guitars, it is hard to beat Eastman, and their laminated 371 and 372 guitars are great too, even acoustically. The moral is really this: just try to play the guitars in-person and see what grabs you the most.

[Lkdog]

I had a Peerless Gigmaster which I actually liked better than a Gibson '59 VOS ES 175 I had here on loan from my buddy.
Korean made, good quality, and show up on used market under $1000.

Lots of options as noted.

[garybaldy]

I had a Peerless Gigmaster which I actually liked better than a Gibson '59 VOS ES 175 I had here on loan from my buddy.
Korean made, good quality, and show up on used market under $1000.

Lots of options as noted.

I've suggested that one as a possible option on other threads. I've never had one but considered one for myself before I got my Gibson. George Hess uses one on Youtube and it has a fair bit of thunk. I've seen them £800 - 900 in the UK. For me anyway, far less complicated and worrying than something shipped from Japan.

[garybaldy]

I had a Peerless Gigmaster which I actually liked better than a Gibson '59 VOS ES 175 I had here on loan from my buddy.
Korean made, good quality, and show up on used market under $1000.

Lots of options as noted.

This one is now $500! If I was in the US I'd buy it. Not my favorite finish though. [For Sale] Peerless Gigmaster Jazz [For Sale] Peerless Gigmaster Jazz

[Carloscepinha]

I do have a Peerless Imperial which I do like a lot due to the Solid wood build etc, unique design measures etc.

The fit and finish is a bit sub-par. The binding lines on a 5ply binding do not align perfectly at every corner.

Now back to the reason I logged in, just did a random luxor 175 search and this topic poped up, hope I'm not too late.

I got my Luxor 175 many many years ago, from a luthier who restored it, and it was described as a "working" instrument, not collectors condition not perfectly mint but the guitar was playing great.

I must say, I've owned more than 15 guitars by this point, and this particular one is the best setup easiest to play instrument of them all.

I think I researched it once, it was from either 68 to 70. It's old wood, the neck doesn't seem to "go anywhere".

The build is on the thinner side, I compared it side to side to an a 70s and 90s Gibson 175 on different ocasions.

The gibson's build was actually heavier and sturdier, the necks and joints and even all the body wood top and bottom were thicker everywhere.

I must say, very rarely I've been deeply disapointed by a Gibson, usually their build is very strong. The finish was also pretty spotless, but the details are missing, it's a very simple finish, so it's harder to mess up. The finish on the luxor is actually more detailed. The inlays on the gibson are also of higher material.

Acoustically, in both cases the gibsons were less loud, idk if it's setup/string related. But the Luxor seemed to have a bit more "air" to it, maybe higher vibrations from the thinner top and back, probably based on vintage / old designs (from 1970 based on an older design would be like 1940s or 50s probably).

Ah I forgot I've tried a 155 ? I think, with a P90 pickup. Very old maybe 50s? Really sublime, really expensive.


Unless you're going for an insanely specific sound and way of playing, a guitar is just a guitar, play whatever you like.
The guitar itself sounds great, maybe a bit more "gainy" and mid-rangy and "eletric" sounding than the GB200 and Peerless for sure. Also, more compressed sound and less extreme dynamic range.
On some other guitars, if I get distracted with the right hand some notes can become obnoxiously loud and present. If you roll of the tone a lot on my Luxor it sounds very mellow, on the extreme it loses clarity. You can open it up depending on how you EQ/setup/play and get a pretty decent workable sound with barely any tone knob adjustments, you could also record it straight without any compromises.
Tonewise to me it sits in a bit of a unique place, maybe build, maybe pickups, it doesn't sound like a Gibson 175 right away and thats mainly the reason (together with insanely confortable setup and lightweight build) that makes me keep it, no matter having mostly been playing on way more expensive instruments. Another thing is the rarity. Most guys around here Portugal etc, only know Fender and Gibson, think nothing of Luxor, and many ppl don't understand it's real value as a giging instrument. Another thing is rarity. I've had more room and less room over the years, I used to play rock and sold some Ibanez RG570s made in Japan that today I do regret those sales since now I would rather have 1 those guitars than the money. So I end up playing it less often but I can't really get rid of it.

And any "good setup" I can think about, I always loop back to my Luxor, take neck curavture measures, string height measures etc... Every note in tune, strings low and easy, still nice dinamic range. etc
It's my "comparison" my ground zero to which all other guitars get pitted agaisnt when I think about confort of playing an instrument. I can't really get rid of the most confortable guitar I've ever touched. lol

I actually refused buying a Gibson 175 I had the oportunity because it was all battered, heavily used, needed big rework. It would be an improvement over the Luxor but at a huge cost. Also, the Luxor I can keep it as a work horse, it's very light and confortable, I used to busk on the street a lot with it and I never felt "too tired". The gibson would destroy my back.

Years later I got an Ibanez GB200... which is superior to the Gibson 175 in fit and finish, sound can be personal preference. Also more confortable, but also really heavy, and I've been playing it a lot but I must say I feel how heavy it is. Specially when standing for a couple of hours in hot summers, the ankles hurt a bit.

Excuse the video being 7 years old and the playing, just a quick shootout bettween the Luxor 175, Ibanez GB200 and Peerless Imperial.
These 3 guitars have 3 different kinds of build tecniques for their bodies meaning different acoustic properties which I try to showcase here.

Oddly enough, while the Peerless is the one with the "solid wood" high end materials, it is in such a mint perfect condition that I end up not playing it live very often. I enjoy exploring a richer sound with more harmonics and it does push into different harmonic ideas but that guitar is mostly only played at home.