Epiphone ES-175 Premium

**cc_mac** · 08-21-2014, 06:06 AM

The paragraph in the above post (#22) from the other thread was written by me: "From a practical standpoint....therefore not exposing the original pinning holes in the top."

Congratulations to Beanctr on your new guitar. It looks nice and I hope you enjoy owning and playing it.

Thanks for posting the pics showing the bridge out of situ showing the method of pinning.

Chris
1969 Guild Starfire IV
1999 Guild X150D

**docbop** · 08-21-2014, 11:51 AM

I agree no need to pin the bridge, if buying an archtop need to adjust playing for the instrument. If bridge is moving on you then it's probably not the right guitar for that tune or style music, better get a guitar designed to have embedded bridge posts like a ES 137 or 335. I agree the hole will probably never be seen, but I'd rather they have used a light double stick tape, or as I've seen on other guitar a small brad in the bridge foot that is minimally piercing the top. Oh well see how long Epi keeps this version in production.

I wonder what the weight is like? A buddy has the Epi version of a ES-295, basically a gold top 175 and that is the heaviest guitar. He eventually bought a used Gibson 295, nice guitar.

**Doctor Jeff** · 08-21-2014, 03:04 PM

That's a beautiful guitar. I've always liked blondes, and I like the way the black pickguard and aged cream bindings and switch cap set it off. Subtle but classy.

I've had Godins with the satin finish--I think it works better on a natural or black finish than bursts. It sure feels good when you're playing, especially if you're playing outside and it's hot and muggy.

With the Classic 57's that should be a killer jazzbox.

**Longways to Go** · 08-21-2014, 06:41 PM

I stumbled across one of these new Epi ES 175's on a trip to Oklahoma this week and boy did it catch my attention! I think I want/need one. GC had both black & a natural -- they looked great, but I did notice the black showed a lot more shine from playing than the natural. I have a feeling the black is going to grunge up a bit quicker. Build quality was good but not perfect. Pickups sounded wonderful and what really got me was to be able to dial in a very mellow jazz tone with the factory strings & set up -- I've had plenty of guitars where you kind of have to guess what it will sound like with 13's . . . Both neck and neck+bridge positions made wonderful jazz tones IMO. Anyway, I'm into it. The local GC is supposed to get one soon & I may have to jump on it! We'll see when it gets here. I'd prefer to play first rather than go the mail order blindly route . . .

Also, I should mention that I have an Eastman AR 371 too, but I still want the Epi ES 175. My Eastman has great resonance & playability, but it sounds more acoustic. The local Eastman dealer has had a number of 371's come through the shop and I passed on each of them until this last one. They are all bright, but the one I finally got has a very rich singing upper register which spoke to me. The other 371's had various problems, or just didn't grab my attention somehow-- honestly, I had written them off as not for me until this last one came along. AR371 & ES175 may look similar, but they sound worlds apart.

**rsclosson** · 08-28-2014, 08:33 AM

I played one yesterday at the local GC and am in LOVE! Fit and finish were perfect and the semi-matte finish is a very refreshing change from the usual encased in plastic feel of cheaper guitars. (I owned an AR-371 at one time and fairly quickly sold it. Almost sounded like a flat top.) This has what I consider the perfect jazz tone and the feel of the neck is great! The second pickup would not get as much play but it did add a great dimension to the sound.

Played it side by side with my Emperor and it was a little brighter and livelier, but I could still hear and feel that nice straight ahead "thump" I look for in a hollow body. I am guessing that it was brighter due to the stock round wound 10s (???) on the 175 vs my flat wound 12s. The TOM bridge also is a likely factor,

I am currently cataloguing my list of guitars to see what can be sacrificed to obtain this gem. (The Emperor is going nowhere but the Ibanez and at least one solid body I am not playing is already on the short list.)

**WillsJazz** · 09-04-2014, 12:05 PM

My ES175 Premium is an awesome guitar. Being a jazz player I bought it on a whim from Musicians Friend. Couldn't be happier with it. I did have the regular Epi 175 at one time and it was a fine guitar for the money. The Premium is in a different class though. First big difference is the thin matte finish. Acoustically it resonates really well and is very lively. I use Ernie Ball 11s but I believe it came with 10s. It came set up really well, all I had to do was adjust the pickup heights. The bridge is pinned which is fine by me. Plugged in it sounds fabulous, just like a hollow body jazz box with humbuckers should sound. The tuners are nice and the neck feels great, especially with that matte finish. I also own an Easman AR371 and I can't for the life of me figure out which I like more!!! I think the Eastman sounds slightly better acoustically but the Epi sounds slightly better plugged in. I like the finish on the Epi better but the neck profile on the Eastman better. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!!!

**Steve Z** · 09-04-2014, 08:48 PM

Great reviews in this thread.

I saw one for the first time about a week ago at GC. It looked so nice I had to give it a play. It was actually really nice. I only played acoustic as I didn't want to complete with the little metal jammers power chording away in the next row. The guitar felt really nice,

**rsclosson** · 09-05-2014, 10:42 AM

Well, my AFJ91 is history and another guitar is up for sale. The 175-Premium will be mine before long.

**Treading Water** · 09-15-2014, 02:09 PM

I tried one in the store and could not resist! I have always wanted a (Gibson) ES-175, but thought this was close enough. I have a floating pick up hollow body which is very nice, but this guitar is different.
I haven't had it long enough to know its strengths and weaknesses, but i liked the way it sounded acoustically and at a low volume through a Princeton in the store.
When i first examined it at home I noticed the bridge was lifted at one end slightly. I took the bridge apart, inspected, and cleaned up the holes where the bridge is pinned. When i put the strings back on, the bridge lifted again, so i learned attention must be paid when tensioning the strings as they seem to pull on the bridge.
There is a slight amount of residual glue at one seam, but i would rather see glue than a void.
I can't wait to play it more!

**docbop** · 09-15-2014, 03:30 PM

My local Guitar Center got one of the new 175 premium's and sorry but I was very disappointed the guitar. I like satin finish but this didn't look good and neck felt strange. I played it (unplugged) for awhile and couldn't get comfortable with it, the tuners were slipping like crazy. Looking inside at the wiring if my guitar I would be replacing the wiring harness first thing. I think the previous Epi 175 they discontinued was a better guitar. Me I would get an Ibanez for probably less money.

My buddy got one of the new Epi hollow body Les Paul's I'm looking forward to checking it out, but a pot was bad on it and GC had to order replacement pot to fix it. Problem with a lot of these low end guitars all brands is the wiring and pots are really bad.

**rsclosson** · 09-15-2014, 03:45 PM

Hmmmm...
I am quite surprised. The one I played (and recently brought home) is superb all the way around. I guess build quality isn't as consistent as I expected.

**Longways to Go** · 09-15-2014, 10:46 PM

rsclosson, I've had one a couple of weeks now & am loving it. I look forward to comparing notes

**Longways to Go** · 09-20-2014, 05:52 PM

I've had about 3 weeks with my ES 175 premium and I am loving the heck out of this guitar! Tone & playability are just super -- I really like the neck. Satin natural is beautiful too. The Eastman Ar371 is on the sidelines in it's case for now.

Minor negatives: as Docbop noted above, the tuners are not great. They're OK for now, but that's one thing I may upgrade eventually. The nut on my guitar was a little rough & grabby on a couple of strings, but I took care of that with a bit of delicate sanding and some pencil lead. Pickguard rattled some but I fixed that with a bit of foam tape. Satin finish on my guitar is beautiful but not perfect -- a couple of little black spots here & there that I carefully picked off with a pocket knife. All in all, a handful of very minor quibbles on an all around great guitar.

So the ES 175 premium is my current #1 guitar. Part of me is relieved to own a $900 guitar rather than it's $3,500 Gibson equivalent -- a little less precious works great for me-- won't hurt quite so much when it gets knocked around. FYI, my jazz guitar instructor gave it a spin during our last lesson & he's gassin' for one now too.

I think Epiphone hit a home run on this model. should be interesting to see how long they run production. IMHO, this beats the socks off the previous Epi 175, mainly because of the finish. The new satin "laquer" finish (whatever that means) brings out way more resonance than the old dipped-in-polyurethane approach. I wish they would do something similar with the Sheraton, Emperor Regent, Joe Pass, etc. I expect they'd all sound better.

**Drifter** · 09-20-2014, 06:31 PM

I have bought my second Epiphone recently, a Casino Coupe. It has a gloss poly finish but it is much thinner than than the poly finish on my older SG. So maybe they generally apply a thinner finish these days. Could it be they have listened to their customers?

**Dale6122jr** · 10-10-2014, 12:58 AM

I recently purchased a blonde (natural) one and love it. Great feel, play, sound, looks, etc. I've never played a Gibby ES-175, so I can't compare, but I don't think you can go wrong buying the Epi. No regrets here. I've got a post and pictures over in the Epiphone forum.

Dale

**jazz.fred** · 10-11-2014, 02:21 PM

Hey Dale,

It would appear that Epi is making a concerted effort to compete at the low end (sub $1,000 or so) of the marketplace. I believe that their QA/QC is better than Gibson's right now. They're putting out a highly competitive product at reasonable prices.I don't think that Gibson gives a damn about QA/QC.

**Dale6122jr** · 10-11-2014, 05:28 PM

Hey Fred,

Sorry to hear about Gibson's QA/QC. I had been leaning toward either a Broadway Elitist or Byrdland Elitist a few years ago, but the models were discontinued and there were none to be found. When the Gibson Kalamazoo came out, I was interested until I heard it wasn't a true archtop, but a flat top. I was really looking more for the traditional jazzbox tone, and I understand the Kalamazoo has a different tone. So when I read about the upgrades on the ES-175 Premium, I knew I had to try one. Sweet!

Best,

Dale

**woyvel** · 10-14-2014, 10:11 PM

I'd like to hear about a side-by-side review new epi175 vs the one from 5 years ago that had a street price under $500. They used to cost less than Joe Pass Emporors.

**acoustictones** · 10-15-2014, 06:52 AM

Originally Posted by Rondonopolis

The Epi plays well and sounds good. (I've had a couple Epi's and the 'E' just fell off, leaving a clean pickguard.)

For a little more dough, check out the Eastman ar503ce - with carved spruce top. At $999, street, a sweet deal.

They actually had both at my local guitar center last week and I choose the es-175. I just slapped some flatwounds on her (12's) and I'm really pleasantly surprised. Totally thought I was going to end up with the Eastman, but the es-175 sounded so good through both a nice fender tube and acoustic amp, and felt great, and so I offered them $776 (that's all I had with me) and told them that they could take it or leave it, and they took it (that was the total including tax)

I went in assuming the worst about the Epiphone (I wound agree that their quality control can be hit and miss, so you may need to play a few of them to get the right one for you), but the model on the floor that day simply felt and sounded a lot better than I had thought it would. And when plugged in it just gave me more of what I wanted than the Eastman. The es-175 I played and purchased had a great feel, fit and finish and tone, and that tone just got better when I put the flatwounds on her.

**Archie** · 10-15-2014, 08:38 AM

People comparing the carved top Eastmen to an Epiphone Es-175 are in my mind making the wrong comparison,

A carved top like the Eastmen will sound far more edgy than a smooth dulled, laminate epi.

So don't be surprised when people say the Epi sounds better, as they probably want it, for what they will do, which is playing smokey 40's 50's style jazz.

**Al Br.** · 10-15-2014, 08:41 AM

With the price of Peerless going sky high an ES may be in the future. The fact that the finish has been changed to something better than a bowling lane cover really appeals to me.
Kidding aside, for the moment, the thick urethane finish of the J.P. and some other models did turn me away from them. Seemed to deaden the sound a bit compared to thinner finish types, especially un-plugged. I'm a stickler on that point. It has to sound good ala-natural first.
Like the looks of the 175 as well, seems a bit tidier than the other models. Good commentaries above, very helpful.

**Beanctr** · 10-15-2014, 09:41 AM

I've had my Epi ES-175 for a while now and still really like it. I have decided the one thing I don't like is the skinny neck, but am willing to put up with it. rick

**acoustictones** · 10-15-2014, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven

People comparing the carved top Eastmen to an Epiphone Es-175 are in my mind making the wrong comparison,

A carved top like the Eastmen will sound far more edgy than a smooth dulled, laminate epi.

So don't be surprised when people say the Epi sounds better, as they probably want it, for what they will do, which is playing smokey 40's 50's style jazz.

I only speak for myself on this one, but I wasn't comparing them because I thought that they may be similar. I was only comparing because I think that although they are both VERY different, that they are both reasonable guitars for the price, and I could only afford to purchase one or the other, and choose the ES-175 because it was the right guitar for me right now based on the sound that I was after.

So for me choosing one does or did not take away from the other. Personally I would love to own one of each, in addition to a few others as well, but for the day I had to choose, and the ES was what I took home.

So your last line nails it on the head for me, but just thought I would throw in my two cents on why at least one person happen to compare the two side by side... the other reason is because they were the ONLY two decent jazz-boxes available at that particular store in my price range on that particular day

**Archie** · 10-16-2014, 04:49 AM

Originally Posted by Dale6122jr

Hey Fred,

Sorry to hear about Gibson's QA/QC. I had been leaning toward either a Broadway Elitist or Byrdland Elitist a few years ago, but the models were discontinued and there were none to be found. When the Gibson Kalamazoo came out, I was interested until I heard it wasn't a true archtop, but a flat top. I was really looking more for the traditional jazzbox tone, and I understand the Kalamazoo has a different tone. So when I read about the upgrades on the ES-175 Premium, I knew I had to try one. Sweet!

Best,

Dale

Cant talk about the Byrdland becuase I have never played one but I found the Broadway to be massively dissapointing.

Its heavy and not very resonant (its also a laminate). It has quite a thin brittle sound to add. I actually turned one down some years ago after hunting like you.
The older Epiphone Broadway or Emperor I think are better guitars. (Japanese ones mind you).

There was a Byrdland on here for sale for ages and the price was very low. Keep your eyes open they are about and falling in price.

**Greentone** · 10-16-2014, 07:43 AM

Bridge pinning is due to the fact that Gibson/Epiphone has the realistic expectation that Little Joey Sixpack is going to string that guitar up with a set of .09s. The reduced top tension that results would cause the bridge to wander all over the place when Joey starts assaulting the guitar (er, playing) a la Phil X.