The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hi and hello.

    So we all love Gibson ES-125s and wish they would be reissued.

    Then other manufacturers have taken up the call...

    Godin Kingpin, nice.

    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-download-jpg


    Guild T50, very nice but pricey.

    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-t_50_front_web-1500x630-jpg


    So I find this... Alden A150. Ooo!!

    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-_35-1-jpg

    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-_35-jpg

    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-_1-jpg

    There coming up on ebay for £250/$360/€316 area.

    Mahogany back, sides and neck. Spruce top and rosewood f/board.

    Generic P90 and 24.75" scale

    So we now have a cheapy chappy in the market.
    Last edited by jazzbow; 05-08-2016 at 06:48 AM.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    How about the Loar?

    €440

    (But it has a solid top, so It wouldn't really be an ES-125)

  4. #3

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    Since you asked...

    I got to try the Loar 301T and didn't enjoy the big, "D"-shaped neck.

    I've got better guitars already and still I'm eyeing the Guild T-50 cause
    my A150 Savoy has such a great neck & frets. Lunacy.

  5. #4

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    and the just recently announced epi -century in sunburst and cherry

    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-386041-jpg


    cheers

  6. #5

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    We can add the Washburn HB-15 to this list, if you route a P90 in the top yourself. It's all mahogany, especially for the neck I think that's important as it contributes to the ES-125 tone IMHO.




  7. #6

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    a couple of things:

    1) the godin is made in canada.. not asia
    2) on paper the godin is very similar to a 125... but play one side by side they are quite different. Not saying the vintage instrument is better..

  8. #7

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    Anybody know if that new Century is going to be full depth or thinline? That's a very welcome addition to the budget jazz box world, in my opinion...if it's full depth.


    Beware the allure of the 125...go play some. Then see if you really want one.

    These budget alternatives are all probably better choices for most modern players.

    (especially the Kingpin, the best budget jazz guitar ever)

  9. #8

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    I'd love to hear you expand on that. I've had the itch to own a Gibson that was made the year I was born, 1955. The only ones that are even remotely affordable are ES125s with P90's, usually in "player" condition.

    What warnings would you give?

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by neatomic
    and the just recently announced epi -century in sunburst and cherry

    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-386041-jpg


    cheers
    any more details /price on those ?
    might be too thin for me if they're like the originals
    Last edited by pingu; 05-09-2016 at 01:15 PM.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by lawson-stone
    I'd love to hear you expand on that. I've had the itch to own a Gibson that was made the year I was born, 1955. The only ones that are even remotely affordable are ES125s with P90's, usually in "player" condition.

    What warnings would you give?

    I shouldn't say "warnings," more like just an FYI.

    They're built like old guitars...so if you're used to modern neck shapes, bigger frets, wider nuts...you might be taken aback by how difficult they are to play.

    The other thing was, they were student models...a lot of them were rode hard and put away wet, so to speak. If you find a gleaming new old stock looking ES-125 out there, that's something very uncommon...and if the price is right--pounce!

  12. #11

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    My 125 is from 1958, I bought the pieces (neck broken off) and some odds and ends for $10 some 30 years ago and gradually rebuilt it and refinished it. It is a new guitar but still uses the old frets which I like. I think the main thing to look at is the neck/body joint and body glue lines. If a reset is needed doing it will improve everything as far as volume and tone.

    Construction wise only the first post war years were mahogany with the flat back. After that they have the laminated maple top and back with mahogany sides using the same size pressing as the 175. And it is not a thick top, the outer lams are quite thin and it has decent acoustic tone and volume for a laminate. I use mine as a benchmark for comparing new guitars, most of which don't match it in sound. These new offerings are using quite different woods for the tops, cherry in the Godin and mahogany in some of the others. If Gibson reissued with thicker lams it wouldn't sound the same. Hopefully one of these makers will get all the ducks in a row instead of just putting a P 90 on one of their regular guitars.

  13. #12

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    Care to share some pics of your 125, Cavalier? I'm curious about the restauration and the refinish! (I'm a sucker for those kind of things

  14. #13

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    Not sure of the model.. looks a little large for a 125...


  15. #14

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    This one will have to do from a few years back, my phone is on its last legs with the screen non functional over the camera shutter. These are my archtops, both had the necks broken off with the heels in 2 pieces. These had to be dowelled of course. The 125 came from the estate sale of a instrument repairman. The finish on the back and sides was removed in most places and the sunburst was damaged/checked as those old Gibson finishes do.

    The 125 really looked like it had been in a bar fight or smashed ala Hendrix. The jack had been ripped out the side taking some wood with it, the neck was broken at the heel, just held on by the fingerboard and some of the top/back to the side joints were separated and the neck block was loose. I wound up taking the back off the body completely to put the internals right then reset the neck. I finished stripping the finish, the sunburst came off well allowing me to go with a natural top, I didn't want to cover the wood again. The back and sides were stained a reddish brown then a violin style varnish finish was applied and rubbed down, same as the cello. Varnish tends to impact the sound of a instrument less than other alternatives, laminates need all the help they can get. I can do cutaways as seen on the cello but didn't want to affect the acoustic volume on the 125.

    The electronics went from none to the standard setup and finally more or less stabilized at what I call the Swiss army knife set up designed to cover as many bases as possible. The P90 style neck pickup is actually a stack using my magnet structure and donor coils. It has its own sound. The bridge floater gives more options for the treble sound. Finally there are K&K transducers in the body and currently under the bridge, not shown in this photo. I'm also currently using a rosewood bridge but keep a tunomatic in the case. This allows a usable acoustic sound when unplugged, the K&Ks just make it louder giving a good Gypsy or old swing tone. I'm not set up for sound samples but will try to cobble something together in the future. Not much to say about the controls, they are designed to give access to the options without putting more holes in the guitar which was a design objective, I really think people are best off evolving what works best for themselves in these areas.
    Attached Images Attached Images Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-cello-guitar-jpg 

  16. #15

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    Thanks Sambooka, I'm a sucker for vids like that!

    Cavalier, I love your 125, you obviously turned it into an instrument that serves your needs!

  17. #16

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    Thanks Little Jay.

    It did evolve over time.The need was to be able to cover the bases with one guitar so I could carry less. For a violinist I have way too much time in guitars..... I ought to call the guitar homework because it is what I played while my son did his homework. He's in college now and I'm still doing homework on these things.

    I wired these magnetic/transducer instruments in stereo to skip a on board preamp for the transducers. That lets me treat the signal paths separately and update preamps without cutting into the body for an install. When used with a mono cord the guitar reverts to magnetic pickups only.

    The restoration link brought back the memories, I had to redo the top braces too. They used water proof glue on these things apparently. I read about one that floated in a flooded basement for weeks and didn't delaminate. It was dried out for months, got a new harness and went back into service. Probably the biggest challenge on projects today is you can't find broken Gibsons inexpensively anymore.

  18. #17

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    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-t_50_front_web-1500x630-jpg
    Guild T50, very nice but pricey.
    The guild is thin , the Loar has a triangle shape neck I believe

    I'm not into the Godins (they're good but don't work for me for some reason)

    the Epi seems interesting tho , any more info ?

  19. #18

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    this singer/songwriter kid from the uk- james bay..been using two vintage ones..thin ones...probably why epi is launching reissue

    Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-james-bay-century-jpg

    cheers

  20. #19

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    Cool, it was vintage...I figured with the corporate giant the Voice is, he was handed that guitar because Gibson/Epiphone is a sponsor.

    I thought he was a contestant...I gotta get out more.

    But if he's the reason for the reissue, yep, gonna be a skinny body. Nothing wrong with that, I just think a deeper bodied non-cutaway single P90 archtop is the bee's knees.
    Last edited by mr. beaumont; 05-11-2016 at 04:12 PM.

  21. #20

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    depends...a true hollow thinbody ala a 330 or casino can be pretty cool too...if its a true hollow thinbody (no center block), there's still hope..haha....

    cheers

  22. #21

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    Has anybody actually played/handled the Alden AD150? Dimensions? Nut width?

  23. #22

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    How about a Gretsch New Yorker, any one tried or used it before ? Also in the league ?MO.
    Attached Images Attached Images Alden A150 (Gibson ES-125 Clone)-2704051537_gtr_frt_001_rr-png 

  24. #23

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    Search the forum for Gretsch 9550 New Yorker, for a couple of threads on this guitar.

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by Little Jay
    We can add the Washburn HB-15 to this list, if you route a P90 in the top yourself. It's all mahogany, especially for the neck I think that's important as it contributes to the ES-125 tone IMHO.



    i hadn’t seen that before. I wonder if there’s a good acoustic sound to the box? Not a huge amount of point otherwise with floater.

    main point of actual ES125 IMO is they aren’t too pricey and sound great plugged.... OTOH a clone has to compete with reasonably priced 175 clones...

  26. #25

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    And....James Bay made those old Epi's sound Fabulous. Great musician and singer who knows how to coax the best out of a guitar (and his own abilities). Saw a concert of his on TV - wow - true talent - I really enjoyed a young contemporary artist for a change.