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I'm wondering why this guitar is never discussed? I has all the neck accessibility of a 335 with big box sound, great pups and a very useful master volume.
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02-05-2013 08:27 PM
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Hi GNAPPI -
I bought a '69 Walnut ES 150 brand new to replace an Epi Sorrento that hit the deck in rehearsal at college. Played it thru College gigs and a couple of different Rock bands (never had a feedback problem) with a Fender Super Reverb,but used the sale of it to purchase an L-5 in '76......to this day I regret the sale - in fact, it's the ONLY one I ever sold (still have the Epi).
Though I've added several Archtops since, that's one I really miss - that master volume was great, the neck was great,the scale (I believe it's 24.6") was great, and it's value now is unbelievable - Now that I've gotten into the jazz thing, I wish I still had it . Would you believe I sold it for $450.00 ? OUCH !!!!!! ( I've never been much of a salesman, and I was so enamored with the L-5, I just let it go................................................ ......
With painful (but fond) regards,
Chip
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I think they have a narrow nut width. This seems to turn a lot of players away from them.
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Hi PHILCO,
You might be right about that..... but I have small hands, and having played the Epi, the 150 was a great fit.
Regards,
Chip
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Let's discuss. I bought one in 1972, thinking I would get a: A. a Gibson, B. a Gibson hollow body jazz box, C. a Gibson 335.
And to complement it, I bought a Twin Reverb with 2 JBL's. I had the dough then, and I figured I would just get the best I could dream up.
The guitar fed back like crazy, so I stuffed it with foam. We played in big clubs, and at fair volumes. The foam did the trick.
The guitar/ amp combination did not rock so well, but was great at chording. Solos were a struggle, but the band said it was the fullest sounding guitar they had heard. They loved it. I really wanted a 335, cause most of my favorites played them, and the guys with the early ones (early 60's and 59's) had tone to die for.
I didn't have the knowledge then that is commonplace today. The narrow neck turned out to be something I avoid today, like the plague. I ended up buying a Les Paul DeLuxe in '73 and an Acoustic amp. I then sold all the Gibson stuff and TR for a '62 Strat which I still have and adore.
So, the ES 150 could have been better if I had known what to do with it. I shoulda bought an L5 CES ($800 - 900 back then)
and a Super Reverb. I'd a had tone for years - probably would still have them!!!!!
Anyway, back then, used guitars and amps were cheap to a working musician. I bought a '65 Gibson Johnny Smith for $550, a Blackface Twin Reverb for $400. So, the ES 150 quickly faded into the past, easily forgotten! Don't miss it. The fact that they get great money for them kinda shakes me, but, as we all know, the prices today are incredible. My '62 Strat cost me $100 and I found a '62 blonde case for it for $11. Then.
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Hah, those days when guitars and amps were cheap. In around 66 my Dad as usual had taken away the guitar he "gave" me as punishment for some transgression, so with money I earned from a paper route I bought a new strat and used blackface bandmaster with TWO 2x12 cabs for I think it was $500 total?
Later that year I traded the Strat I think plus $100 for an ES335 in Walnut, and I still wish I had that 335, but always wanted as ES-150 in the same color.
I started this thread because I recently got an ES-150. The nut is ~.130" narrower than my 175 but I don't have big mitts and it sounds better than the 175 so it's gonna get played a lot more.
The 150 was only made for a few years so it seems as if history proves that most would agree with Jimmy Mack but I think its main fault if any was the narrow neck, it doesn't have any issues that other Gibsons don't have in various degrees.
Like Chip I find its sound a heavily redeeming feature and the master volume and full neck access more than make up for anything I could complain about. But if the neck width was the death knell you would thin that Gibson would have fixed that before discontinuing them?
The one I bought is as close to new as I can expect from a nearly 40 year old guitar and I am indeed fortunate that I found it.Last edited by GNAPPI; 02-06-2013 at 09:32 PM.
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There's been one or two threads about this model: the narrower neck width seemed to be a deal-breaker for many.
All I know is that Jesse van Ruller sounds great with his:
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When I was a teenager, I had (still have) a '68 ES335TDC. My guitar teacher had a walnut ES150DC. I still remember comparing the two, and still remember how full and rich the tone of the ES150DC was. I've been casually watching these guitars on EBay. I think I'd go for a blonde...
Something to remember is that Gibson produced an ES150 in the '40s. It was a non-cutaway with one pickup. Its a much different guitar than their '60s and '70s counterparts.
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Finally found a 1969 on eBay, blondie. Got it for $700.00, auction ended on the evening of 9/11, yeah that 9/11. No one was online but me (at work). It needed a lot of work, rewiring, the pickups were not the originals so had my tech throw in some Seymour Duncan Antiquities (which were the cool pickup of that time). Got a lovely ebony tailpiece made for me by then not known Steven Holst (what a great guy !!). Here you see her all in her glory. Found that my go to guitar was always my '81 GB10 so this sat in it's case a lot. That fully hollow body could drive you nuts if you're playing gigs at louder volumes.
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Yes. There has been three versions of the ES150:
Originally Posted by Rick Kay
1) The one from the 1930s which Charlie Christian used. 16" body. CC pickup. It's considered the holy rail of guitars by some, but actually the CC pickup is quirky, unbalanced and noisy (I know firsthand because I have one in another guitar).
2) The one which superseeded the CC model in the beginning of the 1940s. In the beginning the top was made of carved maple, later laminated maple. It had a 17 inch body, 25½" scale and a single P90 pickup. In the 1940s it had dot position marker and as such it was not so easy to distinguish from an ES125. Later in the 1950s it got larger position markers. It was discontinued i the beginning of the 1960s.
3) The double cutaway version which this post is about.
For my part, I like version 2) best. They may not be so much to look at and many are road worn by now, but they are great sounding working musicians jazz guitars. They are not very sought after by collectors so if a sample in good condition can be found they often offer great value.
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I had a one for a few years, 1969-72 or thereabouts. I thought it was just OK - a good all-purpose axe, but I decided I needed one guitar for rock and one for jazz. Now I need at least five, but that's another story!
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Guys, There's a nice 150dc on Archtop.com. Walnut color.
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The 150DC is an under appreciated and undervalued guitar but has everything a jazz player needs. They have been considered ugly because of the brown finish and the thick/hollow body 335 appearance. But they are basically a variation on the ES-175 for much less $.
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saw one in a store and i figured i'd give it a shot. was always a little curious. like many of you, thought it would be a great idea- form and function and all that. a neat solution.
a few minutes later, i put the guitar back on the wall.
i remember nothing else about the encounter, other than it happening. guess that tells me all i need to know. walked out with something else that day. strangely enough, i'm still curious, though... isn't it just a misshaped 175 (from a "bad" era)?
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Hi, BigMike,
Wow, does that 150 look great ! I'm jealous........I did some thinking last night about my first post in which I mentioned I had no feedback problems. As I recollect, the 2 bands I played in played loud, but not overbearingly loud - but I think the biggest reason I had no feedback was that I had it connected to a Morley wah pedal that I just left on the wah setting. Whatever that setting was, combined w/the amp placement ( on a chair behind me @ a 45 degree angle to my right must have been just enough to avoid the feedback). Yeah, we played alot of Motown and early Disco in those days, but the pay was pretty good, and most of our gigs were 3 - 4 nights in the same room - in fact, I think HoJo's hired us a month at a time ......fewer times to pack up.........
Your 150 really looks great with that ebony tailpiece - sort of puts the guitar in a whole new class ! She's a beauty in my book! Is that a Super Reverb under it ? I wonder if the 10" speakers contributed to the lack of feedback ?
I'm still jealous...........................,
Chip
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There are no bright switches like on a super reverb, so I am guessing a deluxe reverb Originally Posted by Chip
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I recently got a 1940-41 ES-150 which is "in-between" the 16" and 17" guitars of the 1930s and 1940s, respectively. It has 16" lower bout width, carved top and back and early P-90 pickup with metal cover. A very sweet guitar.
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I too, had mostly seen the walnut finish. Here's a nice fat blonde.
Last edited by cosmic gumbo; 12-17-2017 at 01:50 AM.
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I bought my 150 DCN about two years ago and I just love it! What an awesome guitar. A 1970 model that someone must have just kept in the case all the time. Practically no finish checking at all. I use it for rock gigs and all kinds of styles from Beatles to Bruno Mars to ZZ Top etc. Just the most beautiful guitar I have ever owned. Would not trade it for the world!
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I have played a walnut, a natural, and even a sunburst ES-150TDC. They seem to be a bit more common in walnut, from what I've seen.
I like them in any color...but the natural and the sunburst (the only one I've seen is the one that a buddy owns--the one I've played) are the pretty ones.
The sunburst one looks like you'd expect a late-60s to look--big guitar pick sunburst pattern. That's the way Gibson was spraying bursts on the double-cutaway guitars from about '68-'74 or so.
I really like the ones I've played. Come to think of it now, I'm not sure why I never bought one. They would work quite well for me. Some folks don't go for the kerfed braces, but heck--Gibson was using them on all sorts of ES-guitars at that point.
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I have mine awhile now and in pure tone the only thing I own that equals it is the Tal Farlow. Everything else including my 175 and others are a distant second. I'm surprised the 150DC hasn't gotten a following, if all original and in decent shape they are about the least expensive quality archtop from that period but one of the best sounding. Go figure.
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