Epiphone ES-175 Owners Club

[SeanSeb]

I have the following (all bought second hand in London and nearby towns.) All fantastic - with small differences in sound and playing characteristics - as would be expected.

Epiphone 175 Reissue: Made in Indonesia, November 2010 Production Number: 20072, sunburst):

Epiphone limited edition ES-175 Premium
Serial no 1405213750

Epiphone es-175 vs
Unsung Plant, Korea
October 2010
Production Number: 1042
Number: 1010211042

The only modification I have ever made to these was to change the neck pick up of one of the Reissues to a 'IronGear Blues Engine' pickup - Not a very well known pu, but very highly receommended to me by a number of gtr technicians and musicians. They have certainly made an enormous difference to the sound (not that I was unhappy about the original Epi pickups --- I changed the out of curiosity). Not hugely different in quality, but just a very different tone-colour; a very different, fruitier, mellow, rich tone - whereas the original humbuckers made a very decent, but very one-dimensional noise, these have a variety of aspects.

Something very odd about one of my Reissues (Made in Indonesia): It has never been fitted with the black pick guard which is usually found on this model (see pictures online). Although some people remove the pick guard from such guitars themselves, the holes where the pick guard used to be fitted are then visible on the body of the guitar, which is obviously NOT the case with this guitar as it was never fitted with the pick guard in the first place.)

Also, I don't understand why the Premium is so much lighter in feel and actual weight than the 175s (I also own a Gibson 175 -- 1985 which is very heavy, I mean, compared with the Epis and older Gibson 175s.)

S

[lawson-stone]

Also, I don't understand why the Premium is so much lighter in feel and actual weight than the 175s (I also own a Gibson 175 -- 1985 which is very heavy, I mean, compared with the Epis and older Gibson 175s.)

S

I have the Premium as well as Gibson ES175 and a Gibson VOS1959 ES175. I think the Epiphone Premium is modeled more on the VOS1959. My copies of these two are nearly identical in weight.

[MoCee]

Love this guitar! The only thing I did was change out the tune-o-matic bridge with a wooden bridge for a warmer, woodier, old school jazz tone. I like it, but I may switch back, maybe it's too woodsy sounding! Ha! It sits proudly next to two other jazz boxes I own and enjoy(ed), the AF95RW on the left (I sold it and bought an AF155, amazing guitar!) and my LGB30, on which I removed the MIC Super 58s and installed a set of authentic, via Ibanez, Made in Japan Super 58s. Wow! What a difference. The interesting thing to note is that for years I heard the comparisons and debates about which pickup is better, the USA Gibson Classic 57s or the Ibanez Japanese (not Chinese) Super 58s. My conclusion? They're both great and it's comparing apples to oranges, different tones, different animals. I'm just glad I have both!

Try as I may, I just can't seem to upload a photo. Oh, well.

[cosmic gumbo]

As treasurer of the Epiphone ES-175 Owners Club, I need to remind you that your $20 April monthly dues are now past due.

You can pay them online using your credit or debit card at: www.gumbofund.com

Just a reminder that some of you are seriously behind in your dues.

[Naquat]

Not funny.

[christianm77]

What makes you think it was intended as a joke?

[DMgolf66]

Someone had posed a question a while ago that was never answered: is the neck on the Zephyr Regent the same/similar slim type that's on the ES-175 Premium?

[lawson-stone]

Someone had posed a question a while ago that was never answered: is the neck on the Zephyr Regent the same/similar slim type that's on the ES-175 Premium?

I have both guitars and I know the ZR has a slim neck, but I don't know if they are identical. Tomorrow I can check when I am where those guitars are kept. The ZR definitely has a slimmer neck than the Gibson 16" laminated archtops typically do.

[andyb]

Could you 175 experts take a look at this one on eBay UK please, it has some “superficial damage where the neck joins the body” the seller tells us. I would think that would put most people off, I notice there have been no bids on it yet, it could be a good buy if the damage is not a problem?


Epiphone ES-175 Premium Limited Edition Matt Sunburst | eBay

[lawson-stone]

Someone had posed a question a while ago that was never answered: is the neck on the Zephyr Regent the same/similar slim type that's on the ES-175 Premium?

I wasn't able to check that Thursday, but Friday morning (US Eastern) I'll pull those and measure the necks. I am almost certain the ES175 Premium neck is "feel-ably" thinner than the EZR but I need to measure.

[lawson-stone]

So I measured the front-to-back thickness of the neck on the ES175 Premium and the Zephyr Regent, and while I'd thought the ZR was slightly thicker, both came out the same, allowing my my unsteady hand on the old micrometer. Both appear to be about 0.87" in the center at the nut, and 0.88 in the center at the 7th fret.

Somehow the ES175 neck still feels "faster" to me. Maybe it's the finish? I was impressed, once again, at how splendid each of these guitars is. Anyone looking for a solid, good playing, good sounding instrument would enjoy owning and playing one of these.

[Brian B]

A bit off topic, but wondering idly aloud if the Epi ES295 is the same as well...it’s basically the 175 with P90’s, no?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[2bornot2bop]

It's astounding how good an Epi ES175 Premium sounds compared to a Gibson ES175.

[sgosnell]

Andyb, the damage on the Epi looks superficial, but the resolution of the photo is so low it's hard to be sure. A picture of the other side of the heel would be helpful. Having a finish crack there isn't really unusual, but I wouldn't put my money either way without clearer pictures.

[andyb]

Andyb, the damage on the Epi looks superficial, but the resolution of the photo is so low it's hard to be sure. A picture of the other side of the heel would be helpful. Having a finish crack there isn't really unusual, but I wouldn't put my money either way without clearer pictures.

Thanks sgosnell, It would be a risk for anyone interested in buying it. Here are the photos if anyone else wants to comment. I may contact the seller for a photo of the other side.


The seller said there is no damage to the other side, and sent these photos, not great quality.

[sgosnell]

Well, I'd guess it's just a finish issue, but it's just a guess, I really couldn't say anything for sure without actually seeing the guitar. If the price is low enough, it may be worth taking a risk. I won't recommend one way or the other.

[DMgolf66]

So I measured the front-to-back thickness of the neck on the ES175 Premium and the Zephyr Regent, and while I'd thought the ZR was slightly thicker, both came out the same, allowing my my unsteady hand on the old micrometer. Both appear to be about 0.87" in the center at the nut, and 0.88 in the center at the 7th fret.

Somehow the ES175 neck still feels "faster" to me. Maybe it's the finish? I was impressed, once again, at how splendid each of these guitars is. Anyone looking for a solid, good playing, good sounding instrument would enjoy owning and playing one of these.

That is interesting and helpful, Lawson. I have yet to get my hands on a Epi Prem 175 to try, but if I do and don't like the neck cuz its too skinny then it's nice to know the Zephyr won't be any better, unfortunately.

Do you still have the Broadway Elitist? How does that neck compare to other Epi necks in particular the 175?

[lawson-stone]

That is interesting and helpful, Lawson. I have yet to get my hands on a Epi Prem 175 to try, but if I do and don't like the neck cuz its too skinny then it's nice to know the Zephyr won't be any better, unfortunately.

Do you still have the Broadway Elitist? How does that neck compare to other Epi necks in particular the 175?

Sorry for the delay... work, you know? I hate it when employment gets in the way of what really matters! ;-)

I mic'ed the Elitist Broadway neck and came up with 0.88" at the nut and Fret 5. It was 0.90" at Fret 7, and 0.93" at Fret 9.

So it's virtually identical to the other two Epiphones, maybe a slight bit thicker. It is the 25.5" scale, though, and to me it actually makes the neck feel just a tad more hefty somehow. I must say I do like the neck on this guitar, as I do on all the other Epiphones, but then I've never been one to have trouble with variations in neck thickness. I suck equally on the them all!

[advid]

..just as an experiment I took off the rosewood bridge from my Epiphone 175 (older version that I normally use for 'jazzing') and put on a Bigsby aluminium bridge and then a Tuneomeatic. The differences in all of them was very siginificent. Rosewood - a nice earthy acoustic 'jazzy' sound(with not too much sustain). The Bigsby - a much brighter more toppy sound with far more sustain. The Tuneomatic - somewhere between the two ..a bit 'duller' but not too bad....
Try it - you'be surprised.... Probably going back to my old rosewood soon....

[Esport]

Wanted a Gibby or even a Premium but picked up this reissue for a steal yesterday. Needs a new selector switch and amber knobs but loving the feel, look and price!

[lawson-stone]

Wanted a Gibby or even a Premium but picked up this reissue for a steal yesterday. Needs a new selector switch and amber knobs but loving the feel, look and price!

If you decide to upgrade your neck pickup (many of these older epiphones gain a lot from that) before you spring for an expensive Seymour Duncan Seth Lover or some other $100+ (which are great pickups!) I suggest the StewMac Golden Age Parson Street PAF clone. It's less expensive and I cannot distinguish it from the more expensive PAF clones on my Epiphone Broadway.

[Esport]

If you decide to upgrade your neck pickup (many of these older epiphones gain a lot from that) before you spring for an expensive Seymour Duncan Seth Lover or some other $100+ (which are great pickups!) I suggest the StewMac Golden Age Parson Street PAF clone. It's less expensive and I cannot distinguish it from the more expensive PAF clones on my Epiphone Broadway.

Nice! Thanks for the recommendation.

[blujazman]

Hi everyone... I've been following threads on this forum related to ES-175s for a couple of years, but registered just now to share some of my experience with it and maybe get some feedback on other’s experiences with the Premium...

I grabbed this Epi 175 Premium off Best-Buy, about a year ago (late 2017), one of the last ones they had in online stock. It came ok, obviously re-packaged, most likely reason was the "dead" bridge pickup I discovered after plugging it in... Looking inside with all the connectors, etc, after deciding that I would keep it, I removed and resoldered all the wires directly in the old-fashioned way (the pickup was fine, it was a connector causing the problem).

In this year of playing with it on and off, I tried different nuts (original plastic nut, TUSQ-XL, bone) and bridges (its original TOM + nylon saddles, a Gibby original ABR-1 saddle (on a rosewood base), and Ebony/Rosewood compensated bridges). The problem with this guitar for me is the lack of sustain on a few notes around C# at the 11th fret (and also, but less noticeable on other C#s on lower frets). I think I am aware that these guitars were designed to not be too resonant, to reduce feedback, etc., but this got me into investigating bracing materials used, luthier techniques related to braces, "sound-boards",... more on this later.

I ended with a bone nut blank I carved and an compensated ebony bridge (oh, and all the different strings I tried - TI, Pyramid, GHS, D'A Chromes and gauges: 011s, 012s 013s...) - to keep this short, for this guitar, maybe surprisingly, D'A Chromes and not more than 011s feel best (for me).

I didn't like the satin finish, so after some researching on the web (including a thread where people were suggesting it might, or not, be nitro) and observing the finish cracks (under pickguard and pickup cover screws) and finish thickness and playing with acetone/lacquer thinner (tiny bits around under covers) to me it seems probably an acrylic lacquer, similar to nitro, a bit "crumbly" and dissolvable by thinner… so it could be washed down, sanded and refinished with nitro… (keeping it as a future option)...

Using the 3M flex polishing cloth set from StewMac I was able to polish the entire guitar to high gloss in about 3-4 hours with lots of elbow grease, polishing compound and polishing discs from StewMac - which I ended up rubbing by hand and I have to give it to StewMac that it worked really well (for me).

Some time ago I decided to refret my 2009 Mexican maple neck strat myself with vintage sized frets and this is where I realised why I don't like jumbos even if medium - I couldn't believe the sound difference - and it has some possible physical "explanations" - the thinner, vintage sized frets give a somewhat weaker, but much clearer, bell-like tone, where as the jumbo frets had more "grit" in their sound (re-stringed using the same strings taken off before the re-fret). The only guitar where I like the jumbo frets is my Les Paul reissue… that one needs them for its “The Sound”.

So, given my preference and being used to vintage sized frets, coupled with the Gibby '59 ES-175 reissue having vintage sized frets (I gleaned that from specs and photos), I refretted the 175 Premium using leftover radiused 6230 fretwire and Stewmac's drill-press caul set and some hot hide glue. I had to resand the fingerboard to 12” radius as a test-swipe with a 12” radius block showed unevenness along the neck - this could have been the result of wood drying since 2014 when these (including mine) were built. I am very happy with the resulting sound quality improvement.

While I was at it, actually even before I refretted it, I didn’t like the wide feel of the neck, which otherwise, in my opinion is the perfect shape, and looking at it I realised that I can easily round-off along the binding, there was quite a bit of material there - so I did that and now that neck is perfect (for me). Doesn’t feel wide anymore, a good soft feel when you grip it, even though I don’t normally use my thumb for chords as some do, but trying that is also nice and natural now.

One more bit of experience I’d like to mention is that maybe due to the warehouses this guitar had been in since 2014 until late 2017 when it was bought by me (though it was in an Epiphone-cardboard, wrapped in a protective foil with desiccants, etc), I was able to change and improve its sound resonance by aggressively drying it out over a couple of months recently when the heating season here began… I kept it near/over a heating vent with about a foot of distance using a stand laid on a floor, small foot-stool etc so that the dry warm air warmed up its body just slightly… After just a week when I picked it up again it was almost like a different guitar, and much more responsive sound, and I kept that going for a month and a half before I turned the furnace humidifier on… (air in the room was at 37% RH before that :-). Now, your mileage may vary as they say…

So now I am left with the bracing issue: after researching more on forums and consulting a luthier book, reading on spruce brace grain densities and resulting sound properties, I looked and discovered that the bass side brace in my Premium has only a few, very widely spaced grains and feels velvety, soft to the touch, whereas the treble side brace has a solid dense grain, though with some "run-out” (i.e some of the grain running not parallel to the soundboard plywood.) The guitar has a very nice, strong clear treble sound, and with 011 gauge strings the C# dead tone “effect” is also reduced compared to 012 and 013 gauges. This leads me to believe that the bass-side brace is somewhat weak and cannot take the load of heavier gauge wires and this contributes to the dead C# frequency (where the wood absorbs most of the string energy, as opposed to propagating it across the soundboard). I also see a yellow glue bead left along the braces which may indicate a trainee builder or just rushing to finish… If someone were interested, I could post photos of the two brace grains taken with a light and mirror… Suggestions are most welcome. Since I’ve made this my “project and learning” guitar, I’ve also toyed with the idea of separating the back and redoing the braces with “European spruce” or “adirondack” (or just some 20year old, well-dried nicely grained spruce plank spares from my basement workshop :-) whichever turns out best under the chisel…


It would nice to hear if other Epi 175 Premium owners have observed any such dead tone (shorter sustain and quick switch to the overtone, one octave above) effects and if they could maybe examine their braces visible through the F-holes to see if the grains are similarly different or the same on the two sides… I am also interested to find out from Gibson 175 owners about the approximate width of the braces in their guitars. From some photos on the web, I might think that they are 1/2 - 3/4” in width and maybe a similar 3/4” in height. In the Epi, they seem fairly thin, maybe 3/8” (I’ll try and measure accurately next time I lift a pickup out for some reason).

Anyhow, for whatever it’s worth, these are my experiences with the Epi ES-175 Premium - it is a very nice guitar indeed and I think the reason for all the possible improvements and “satin aged finish” (oh sure) is that the builder just rushed the production through the available machines with minimal man-hours and left all the finishing touches such as polishing, rounding the binding on the neck, proper nuts, bridges etc to the end-owners, should they desire them. The electronics is great (if you rewire the internals without connectors), the only thing I’ll change is the Epi switch which tends to crackle (as in the 339, a proper Switchcraft one solves that problem)… The price of this guitar was certainly worth it.

I hope this will be of some value to some owners in the same way as other's experiences were of value to me...

Best regards...

[Epicrazy]

Hey all ! We can put a dog tag on SI 08010861 ES-175/VS
Wasn’t looking for a 175 but it showed up on kijiji for such a low price I took the chance on the 2 hr drive.
Man it was worth it! I love it. I’m not a jazzer but rather a thief of jazz. I’m more into the jump blues, swing and rockabilly side and this box fits the bill no problem. This guitar’s sunburst is ugly though... but in a beautiful sort of way. The sides are very yellow lol.

[Little Jay]

Hi everyone....

Haha, wow.... that’s a post!

Great experiment to enhance and improve a lower budget guitar, I successfully did that with my Ibanez AF55. First time I read about drying out a guitar this way for better tone but I can imagine it works: dry wood sounds different for sure.

Did you reshape the headstock to the open book shape?

You could try a small sound post under the bridge at the bass side if the brace there really is significantly weaker. You could always remove it if you don’t like it but it works very well in my ES-125.