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Does anyone know why Gibson stopped making the standard ES-175? All you can get is the 1959 VOS models now which to me don't sound as good as the regular ones. Yes they are very light but sound very bright and shallow to me with a clubby neck and real skinny frets. I ordered 2 59's and sent them both back. Didn't like them a bit. You see a ton of those 59's being resold on eBay. There isn't a single new regular E-175 in the USA for sale right now.
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11-12-2014 07:37 PM
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Try a Heritage, plus you can get one made any way you want it.
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I really tried with Heritage. They seem like really great guys. I ordered a custom Super Eagle and a Custom H575 from them. They promised me 3-4 months on both of them. The SE took 16 months & the 575 over a year to get. They were both dog guitars and sold them both for a big loss.
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I have seen some great Heritage guitars and love there styles but I have totally struck out with them. Not to say dealing with Gibson isn't a crap shoot too. Still back to my ES175 question ?
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They've been made continuously from 1949 til present day. You can't find a suitable one from the past 65 years and x number of variations...?
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No I can not. I don't buy guitars from eBay and I won't buy used unless I can see it and play it first.
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Try being a lefty....
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I am a southpaw but play guitar right handed. For some reason it felt natural for me to play righty.
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If you can't find a suitable Gibson or Heritage guitar . . . sounds to me like you're impossible to please. Either lower your unattainable standards, or try building your own.
Last edited by Patrick2; 11-13-2014 at 12:15 AM.
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vinnyv1k I agree with you re the 59's sound and neck.
I just picked up a brand new 2012 Custom Shop and it sounds way better than the 59's. It has a metal bridge not a wood bridge like the 59's and the neck is still fatter than I would prefer but not as fat as the 59's.
The sound though. Oh my! The sound is just ridiculous, exactly what I wanted. First time in my life I am 100% happy with my guitar sound (EQ pedal has been turfed).
If I can work out how to record a video with a low enough quality for posting I will.
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I just finished the same quest you are on. It ended with me buying a 2012 ES-175 without having touched or played it and it is awesome. Like you, I was not having any success finding any new ones to play and inspect. After several months, I caved after corresponding pretty heavily with a seller and, after considerable resolve NOT to buy it without playing it first, I took the risk. It's perfect!
I've owned several ES-175s (both single pickup and double pickup models) over the years. More recently, I'd heard complaints that the new ones are made from thicker, less resonant laminates. If that's true, it makes the 175 better. This thing sounds amazing. The only thing I've done to it is to fit a very nice rosewood bridge to it and put flat wounds on it. It just oozes warmth with this configuration
Unplugged, it resonates as well if not better than any of the single pickup 175s I've had in the past. The neck profile, frets and overall workmanship is the best I've seen. The thing practically plays itself. My carved-top guitars (some very high-end ones) have been lonely sitting in their cases for the past few weeks as my "new" 175 gets all the playtime.
My point is the new ES-175s are amazing instruments that are perfect for gigging. They play so nice and easy and, although nothing like a solid, carved arch top, they sound fine acoustically. But plugged in, the newer 175s are just unreal. I'm glad you found the same guitar (2012 Custom). The bad rap of being "thick" or "not built like the vintage 175s" is so funny now. I too am blown away with this guitar. Does yours have the zig zag tailpiece? Mine does and the original owner swears it came that way.Last edited by rolijen; 11-12-2014 at 10:29 PM.
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Yes I know the new 175's are amazing. Why has Gibson stop making them !!! I have a custom 2010 custom made single pickup 175 like the one Joe Pass had made and it is amazing both in tone and playability. Now I want a double pickup regular model 175. The 1959 models don't have that nice 175 tone. They almost have a X braced sound which isn't my tone.
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I don't understand why they would stop making them. Perhaps its just a pause? They still show up on Gibson's website. Here's the link:
Gibson.com: Gibson Memphis ES-175
I would email them and ask.
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The 'salesman' where I purchased my guitar was bang'n on about the Gibson timber crisis? I was asking if I could get a 175 with a slimmer neck. He advised they do not do them and that they do not do custom orders because of the timber shortage? I took it as salesman tripe.
I tried out about 10 Gibson's mainly 335's in trying to decide if I could live with the neck. Man the 335's, especially the cheaper ones sounded terrible. They sounded like they were made from plastic except for the Custom Shop one that sounded OK. The only other guitar that sounded good was the 59 version of the 330 with the baseball bat neck.
Maybe the timber thing is real and the 175 in the less expensive timber sounds worse than the 335's so they have stopped/slowed down production?
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Thanks guys !!! Who knows with Gibson. I emailed Gibson 3 times about the regular 175 and never a reply. I know for years they used very nice flame maple on them but I would be fine with slab maple like days of old. They seem to be into this VOS mode these days on everything they are making. They are pushing this 1959 everything these days and asking huge prices for it. Look at the price for a 1959 reissue VOS Les Paul.
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One, a 2014, for sale right here Gibson ES 175 Vintage Sunburst Flamed Maple | Rainbow Guitars .
Rainbow is a great outfit.
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Beautiful! Exact model I have, however, mine has less flame. The neck profile is great, neither a baseball bat nor a twig. It's just right. Fit and finish are impeccable. Sounds amazing.
Originally Posted by Jabberwocky
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I read this thread blubbering, with tears in my eyes.
vinnyv1k, gggomez, rolijen, MAN-LOVE, dawgs.
Beware the cognoscenti. The number of times I have been told I wuz wrong.
Gibson : Heritage. Shark : ......
A) Fins
B) Chum
C) Surfer
D) Remora
E) Patrick Star(fish)
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb2...46/Patrick.jpg
Answer: D) Remora. But one could almost argue for E) Patrick Star(fish).Last edited by Jabberwocky; 11-13-2014 at 01:20 AM.
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I'm curious about what you mean by bright and shallow. Did you notice that acoustically or plugged in? I'm wondering if you are perceiving the type of pickups on the '59 reissues, which I suspect are a really low-wound PAF-type. I can't imagine that the build is significantly different than most 175s, Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
I have a '59 Reissue and when I was shopping, tried a bunch from the different decades. If anything, I thought the later '60s models sounded brighter. My issue is that I can't find a neck that is big enough. The neck on mine I guess is thicker than the really shallow 175s, but I would love one that was even thicker.
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Originally Posted by Encinitastubes
I had a '61 175 and eventually sold it because the neck was too thin. I now have a '99 with the big bat neck and love it.
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why buy a new one when they are more expensive than the real deal vintage.
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I thought I was the only logical lefty in the world! I consider "righty" to be "lefty" Cut off my right hand and I can still play music with a hook (or prosthetic thumb) on my right arm. Cut off my left??? I have to learn to play all over :-) Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
Anyway, I have to say, I think your odds are better with a used one than new especially online with a 175.
Since buying sight unseen is a crap shoot, buying used is not such a bad tack, my reasoning may not match up with your financial situation but...
First up is initial cost, second is loss should you decide to sell a used model, clearly a used model can be sold for closer to the price paid than a new one. Third like you already said, the 59 models are being churned out now (I don't like them either) and there's a lot of great older 175's out there now. Like you I prefer the "right" 175 to a 575 but, I like the 575 I have over some dead, lifeless 175's I've played.
Maybe Patrick is being a bit harsh... finding a guitar that you want in your mind's eye is tough, I played a lot of 175's and even bought a 575 and settled on it till I lucked into the 175 (which I bought online) I have. Take your time it's out there, maybe not perfect, but just maybe perfect for you!
PS, I also believe in a "bonding" period with a new guitar. Some just take time getting all of the nuances between you ironed out. I think too many players expect too much from the instrument the moment they first sit with it and don't take enough time with it. IMO that is.
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One of my local shops is selling the standard custom shop 175 in red and vintage sunburst so they must still be available.
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You mean one like this
Don't worry, your not the first to notice Gibson's new business brainwave, is to charge you more, for less of a guitar because its a VOS. The irony is, they started charging more for a 175 because it had the upgraded hardware and woods. So pricing a VOS above that is frankly pulling numbers out of the air.
Their marketing department is working over time, what with that and the 'Reclaimed wood' commemorative series. Now your paying more for wood, they would have given you at the normal price anyway
Last edited by Archie; 11-13-2014 at 07:30 AM.
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Gary: I was definitely a bit harsh yesterday. It was a bad day for me. Not making any excuses . . it was what it was. Yesterday was one of those days where I just felt like hurting someone. If I didn't love my daughter's pit bull (and dogs in general) so much, I'd have kicked him in his head. I looked, for a brief moment, at my wife wondering if I should just walk over and wack her. I think she knew what was on my mind . . . because she just gave me one of those . . "go ahead and try it, ass-hole" . . looks. I timidly crawled back into my shell. (I rather f*** with the pit bull). But, I feel a bit better today. Originally Posted by GNAPPI
Unfortunately, I've got a very low tolerance level for what I perceive to be whining. It's a real character flaw (one of many) that I deal with constantly. At my age . . I'm not sure it'll ever go away. The OP wasn't whining at all, as I initially perceived. Just being a bit (quite a bit) unreasonably too critical . . IMO. I owe him an apology . . and I offer it to him. He obviously knows what he wants and is unwilling to settle for anything less. OK . . I get that.
But, your council to him is very wise and sage. I think he needs to get a guitar that's *almost* what he's looking for . . and just give it some time. Any of us here, or anywhere, could have found issues with any of our guitars when we first sampled or bought them. Some of those issues are still there . . but forgiven . . based upon other very positive attributes of the guitar. Other of those *perceived* issues were discovered, [after we owned and played the guitar for a while], to be non existent and indeed perceived.
IMO . . when searching for *The One*, one must keep their expectations realistic and reasonable. I'm not saying that one should settle for anything that's absolutely unacceptable. But, to seek absolute perfection, in anything in life, is to set one's self up for disappointment time and time again . . as has the OP in this psrticular matter.
Again . . my apologies to the OP.
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