Gibson ES-275

[Filmosound 621]

here comes a pic from my ES-275 with the Filmosound Re-Issue amp and orig. Filmosound 1 x 12" Cab.

had to sell it all when I wanted something else.

that's the way love goes.

[Herbie]

(...) The sound is still on the brighter edge of the spectrum compared to other hollowbodies I've owned, but not so bright I can't use it for my playing. (...)

It is the bridge with titanium saddles. A year ago I had the P90 ES275, I liked it a lot but the titanium zing of the bridge was too weird for me! I like bright but not that thin! I ordered an ebony bridge for the guitar and it made it sound good. Maybe a normal brass bridge would have done the same.

Congrats for Your ES275s, altough I sold mine I love them!

[GNAPPI]

Honestly, at the age of 61 going on 62 I don't want to leave behind a room full of stuff that my family knows nothing about. I have thought about a wider coffin to hold the amps and guitars. And cremation? Geez those guitars will make one hell of a fire. Quick story. I had an aunt that was a horder. Took months to clean out her house. After that well, kind of rethought the whole thing. Oh and before she died she sold prewar Martin that was her brother's for a song. Yikes.

I gave my son a pictorial list with my cost and approximate fair retail on all of my gits. Going on 70 I guess I should downsize but I get separation anxiety thinking about it and honestly I'm not motivated financially so other than planning for my demise there's really no reason to sell... maybe someday :-)

[EllenGtrGrl]

ES-275s are neat guitars, and I seriously looked into getting one a couple of years ago, but I just couldn't swing the cost to buy one. In retrospect I'm glad I didn't buy one, since they basically have the same slim taper necks my old ES-137 had, that drove me up the wall.

[Herbie]

I gave my son a pictorial list with my cost and approximate fair retail on all of my gits. Going on 70 I guess I should downsize but I get separation anxiety thinking about it and honestly I'm not motivated financially so other than planning for my demise there's really no reason to sell... maybe someday :-)

A year ago, when the Covid made us all think about eternity, I started to make a list of my guitars and amps with estimated resale values etc.

Soon noticed that every modification in amps and guitars will make things more complicated for the people who try to solve what is and where. ”ES-175 with non stock bridge and neck pickup (the stock ones are in the cardboard box in the drawer blah blah blah)”.

Remember this if a modification is in Your mind! It won’t make things easier for those who come after!

[Woody Sound]

I loved everything about the 275, but mine had the dreaded neck hump at the body. Had to say bye-bye.

[blkjazz]

Honestly, at the age of 61 going on 62 I don't want to leave behind a room full of stuff that my family knows nothing about. I have thought about a wider coffin to hold the amps and guitars. And cremation? Geez those guitars will make one hell of a fire. Quick story. I had an aunt that was a horder. Took months to clean out her house. After that well, kind of rethought the whole thing. Oh and before she died she sold prewar Martin that was her brother's for a song. Yikes.

I'm 72. I already have several nice guitars, including a 2017 ES 275 and a 1985 ES 335. I can't get my mind off getting a new 335 for some reason.

[Filmosound 621]

that's the way love goes.

[jads57]

So it’s been some years now and I love the design of smaller hollow body guitars or Archtops in general. After playing numerous versions of the 275 platform, I am not overly impressed.

I think this might work for solid body or even thin-line aficionados.
But the neck being flat to the body as opposed to say a 175 pitch above the body, is my preference.
Doesn’t work well for me.
I also think the neck shape is on the small/med side of Gibson profiles, which I don’t care for either.

I say this owning a Benedetto Bambino in comparison. But again everyone is different and you might end up loving them.

[jim777]

When I've thought about getting a 275, my wallet always points me towards a Seventy Seven Hawk instead. But the Montreux Burst 275s are undeniably gorgeous guitars.

[John A.]

When I've thought about getting a 275, my wallet always points me towards a Seventy Seven Hawk instead. But the Montreux Burst 275s are undeniably gorgeous guitars.

There are lots of glowing reviews of ES-275's, and I think they're a great concept. But I tried a couple back in 2018 (brand new, hanging on the wall at Sam Ash), and they were awful. One had a visibly twisted neck and was unplayable and unfixable without a new neck. The other had all kinds of workmanship problems and blemishes, and was also unplayable, but maybe fixable. This model came out at the nadir of Gibson's QC problems around the time of the bankruptcy, and I think it's probably not a good idea to get one without either being able to check it out carefully before hand or return it.

I have a Seventy Seven Hawk Jazz (the full-depth version, though not the thin body). Can't say enough about how great a guitar it is and how great the quality and workmanship are. If I were in the market for a thin archtop, that would be top of my list, but the MIJ ones are hard to find these days.

[Gitfiddler]

Gibson test markets different models every few years. The ES-275 was a sweet guitar, but based on user reviews/comments about it on this forum, the QC fell short. The same occurred with the discontinued CS-336 and recently reintroduced CS-356...even though the QC was excellent. The smaller body size of each of these models is very attractive in my view, even though high fret access is a challenge. Personally I love this design.

My favorite small bodied, full hollow Gibson is the (discontinued) Johnny A Signature. Now that was a great run in my view. It had all of the high end bits, outstanding QC, plus great upper fret access.

[John A.]

Gibson test markets different models every few years. The ES-275 was a sweet guitar, but based on user reviews/comments about it on this forum, the QC fell short. The same occurred with the discontinued CS-336 and recently reintroduced CS-356...even though the QC was excellent. The smaller body size of each of these models is very attractive in my view, even though high fret access is a challenge. Personally I love this design.

My favorite small bodied, full hollow Gibson is the (discontinued) Johnny A Signature. Now that was a great run in my view. It had all of the high end bits, outstanding QC, plus great upper fret access.

I agree that the the ES-275 was an excellent design, but it was priced way too high to succeed (around $4k at the time, IIRC). That was a very weird point in Gibson history (2017-ish). They were falling apart financially and desperately shoving every idea they had out the door, often before manufacturing was ready and often at unrealistic prices.

[Slaminsam]

I recently picked up a 2019 ES275 Thinline (Stoptail piece version). Based on the comments I was somewhat skeptical. It is a "Demo" stamp model. I have to tell you it has quelched my thirst for a 335/345. Yes, they are different (size, etc), but the sound is similar to me and what I play. I briefly had a Heritage 535 and it was just OK, nothing wrong with it, just did not inspire me to play. I do have a Heritage Eagle that I love, but a 17" Solid Hollow is very different than this guitar. I know that every guitar is different, but I have to say that this one is every bit as good as any Gibson I have ever played. This one inspires me to play and to me that is worth any more than anything else. It's a fantastic guitar.