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Well, the NGD was yesterday but due to the cold weather the case was not opened until today.
UPS left the package with no signature and a puncture in the box. Thankfully the puncture missed the case completely.
The guitar is pretty:
Cosmetically, the only strange bits are this dark banding visible on the back only at certain angles and a leas than perfect section of binding at the horn:
In terms of playability, the action is superb and quite fast. This is a shame as it needs a new nut out of the box; the high E is too close to the edge:
I also think the bridge needs to be sanded and I need to adjust the intonation on the A string.
Overall, the QC is decent but with a few minor issues. If I decide to keep it, I will raise the nut issue with CME. But I still haven’t plugged it in! This will need to wait until later, so my NGD is to be continued....
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12-07-2017 11:08 AM
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The High E on my CME 175 is also cut fairly close to the edge, but I find that it plays just fine. Yours looks just like mine with the same mild figure. If we had paid $4799 (the MAP for these), I would say they were overpriced and we would have paid too much, but at the price we paid (mine was $2290.75 on the Cyber Monday sale), I would say we got a bargain.
Congrats. I think you will be well pleased when you plug her in. The Round wound 11's that these ship with are quite "reverby". I found that it took a couple hours of play for some of the chime to wear off and get to a more "jazz guitar" sound. Classic 175 tone awaits you.
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Oh man that's Beautiful!
Blond 175's are special. I like them myself because the tops are maple and they wont darken up as much over time, like Spruce does.
It seems like you did real good on that one!
Enjoy it and congratulations.
Joe D
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By the way, I think Gibsons nut filing jig is off because this is not the 1st time we've seen the high E being too close to the edge.
JD
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Is it just me? I feel like we are all sitting around the Christmas tree watching each other open their presents. Not "just" a typical NGD.
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Gorgeous find !! I was looking at a figured 175 nt last week, it might have been the one you ordered.
Yours is quite nice. It arrived safe, give it time to acclimate and then plug her in and play her. You might be ok with it as is... Play it in good health.
Big
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Nice one! I also got one of the natural figured 175s from CME. My luthier was able to buff out the red stripes left on the binding of the cutaway. He also sanded down and recut the nut. Not because the e string was too close but to lower the overall string height.
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Originally Posted by Max405
Quite right. My 71 Artist Award had a much darker top than back and sides from aging laquer. My 97 ES-175 is darkening very evenly.
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Nice one! Happy New guitar Day!
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The one Joe got has the same nut issue. If everything else is cool it is worth keeping and getting a new $100 bone nut.
People are forgetting the 70’s. You bought a new Gibson and the next day your luthier was doing a re fret on it.
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Congratulations Skittles! She's a beauty!
I got my sunburst model a couple of days ago and I love the heck out of it. (I'm working on a NGD post too
)
I have also noticed the high E string being closer to the edge of the fretboard than I typically prefer.
But I'm OK with it and expect I'll get used to that feel over time.
Chicago Music Exchange is sure putting a lot of nice guitars in players hands this holiday season! Merry Christmas to us!
Heck, if I had more money and space, and was on a guitar collecting rampage, I'd probably grab up a 335 and a 275 too.
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Beatiful natural finishing. Congratulations. I would keep it if i were you.
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A lovely example of the ES-175. I think you will find that the more you play it, the better you will like it. They're like that. Congratulations, and play it in good health!
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Looks just like the one I got a few weeks ago! It's a joy to behold--especially at the price.
Good luck and good playing. BTW, my e string is in the same position on the nut as yours.
Tony D.
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Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
I did my share of Gibson warranty repairs in the very late 70’s. It was not as bad as many think. There were quite a few great guitars.
Having been there then, I would say that the ratio of dogs is a bit worse now actually. Also, the lacquer was not at all sticky then.
On thing that was very true then was that sending a guitar back to them for work was worse than driving over it with an Delta 88. Truly horrific work for customer complaints. The owner where I worked was skilled at getting them to authorize payment to us for the warranty work.
Considering the new Gibson guitars I have seen over the past 8 to 10 years or so, I would say that anyone who remembers the Norlin era as some sort or darker day vs. recent years was not there paying attention.
The nut on the 175 in this thread can easily be filled and re-cut for the high E. This is a very quick thing to do, and absolutely as good as new. This assumes the lateral high E position is the only nut issue.
Looks like a great guitar, so would be a shame to reject for just the nut slot.
All in my opinion.
Now where did I leave my “Firebrand” silly solid body mini “335” shaped hunk of mahogany from 1979?
Just kidding.
EDIT: I just checked and the Firebrand “335” came it in 1980, not 79.Last edited by ptchristopher3; 12-07-2017 at 05:19 PM.
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Nice. Congrats. I'll see if the nut on mine looks the same. I didn't notice anything strange with it or the way it plays.
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Beautiful Guitar! Have to disagree with above post about Norlin being better quality. Not only that but the proportions from aesthetics to actual weight and feel of the necks were awful! Once in awhile there was an occasional gem, but not very often.
There is no comparison at all to Gibsons of the Golden Era late 1940's to early 1960's. These Memphis instruments are based on the originals.
I say this being 60 years of age and playing professionally as well as owning way too many Gibsons over those years, including many of the originals.
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I have owned 8 ES-175's. Two were pre Norlin, three were Norlin years and three were post Norlin (I still own one Pre Norlin example and two post Norlin examples) I think the Norlin 175's were on a par, quality wise with both pre and post Norlin, but had construction changes that I did not like (Volutes, maple necks, T-top Pups, thick finishes, witch hat knobs, plastic headstock overlays) that affected both tone and looks. And the slim taper neck that they used from late 69 into the late 90's is one I like quite a bit. I wish the new ones had that neck profile. Originally Posted by jads57
Beautiful Guitar! Have to disagree with above post about Norlin being better quality. Not only that but the proportions from aesthetics to actual weight and feel of the necks were awful! Once in awhile there was an occasional gem, but not very often.
There is no comparison at all to Gibsons of the Golden Era late 1940's to early 1960's. These Memphis instruments are based on the originals.
I say this being 60 years of age and playing professionally as well as owning way too many Gibsons over those years, including many of the originals.
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Well yes the whole standard thing is to dislike the Norlin guitars. I definitely understand it is a widely held view.
No fun if we all agree.
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My 1970 ES-175 and my 1982 ES-175 (both Norlin) were superb guitars (I wish I had been able to keep them). My 1977 ES-175 had some Norlin construction differences that I did not like, but was still a great guitar. So I guess I am a bit bi-polar when it comes to Norlin Gibsons. Originally Posted by ptchristopher3
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The best guitar I ever owned was a 1978 Norlin Super 400. I am not bashing Norlin at all. My stance is Gibson has had QC issues my whole guitar playing life. 1972 to present. I wasn’t buying Gibson’s in the 50’s and 60’s which I have been told was the golden era. 1970’s to present golden showers era IMO with periods of greatness.
When the get it right no one can touch them. Nobody !
I just bought 8 Gibson’s. 1 was great 4 were good and 3 far beyond bad. Presently 60/40 ? Used to be 70/30 with periods of 90/10. They never could cut a nut correctly. They can still screw that up even with a plek machine doing it.
I do have some fantastic Gibson’s. A very long hard road getting there. Actually a lifetime.
Was a double edge sword. Great rewards and joy and great disappointments.
My stance has always been I love/hate Gibson. All I will play though. No other guitar can get my sound.
I am either praising or cursing them.
1989-2006 was a very good period IMO and of course the Triggs, Hutch, Culberson archtops are quite stellar.
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For me the nut would be annoying but not a deal breaker. I suppose if you want to change the nut there is always a risk of damaging the finish a bit. With the cutaway binding I can see the mitre is a little off, and is there a bit of colour on the front cutaway binding? That is a bit of a shame, but I've seen the slightly off mitre quite a bit. To put things in perspective, in the UK, a used non vintage 175 (ie the cheapest used model) will cost around £2000 if you shop about, so I'm pretty jealous of you guys in the USA.
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Frank Ford has done a lot of nut replacements for me over the years. He has never chipped the lacquer. It just takes a little extra time and precautions and a brand new Exacto knife blade. A perfect nut makes a big difference. Gibson tends to cut them too high and at the wrong angle.
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I think of the nut as a set up issue more than a QC issue ... but that's me ...
That's the kind of thing I expect a good tech to fix up for me with a thorough setup
That guitar is gorgeous
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The luthier filed down and recut the nut on my recent CME 175 as part of the initial post-factory setup. Said Gibson is known for setting their new nuts a little “proud.” I do not think of that as a QC issue.
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