1959 Gibson ES-125

**whippersnapper** · 10-14-2009, 09:06 AM

Man, is she a beauty!

I couldn't resist, I got a stunning deal on her off a good friend and it seems like everyone round here is buying archtops recantly! I was generally a Telecaster-a-holic, and always used my 2 Tele's for playing Jazz and found em to really be what I thought was the holy grail of Jazz guitar tone. I still love 'em now, but there just no substitute for an archtop.

The pure vibe of an old Gibson archtop alone is great, but the sound and feel are something else. This one is totally clean and 100% original. '59 was a good year for Gibson and the old P-90 sounds so very warm and transparent. She also has a huge neck which is perfect for me and really agrees with the Johnny Smith voicings.

Unplugged it's very acoustic and livley (I have 12-52 rounds on her) great for big band and Herb Ellis style comping. I had mostly played modern archtops and wasnt particuarly into the brighter sound I got from those, but this one can do the woody archtop tone as well as a thick mellow warm sound. The sound is very classic Jazz Guitar - older Kenny Burrell, Barney Kessel, etc.

The only a little issue there seems to be a little rattling from the bridge, it's not very noticable and you can't hear it plugged in, but I don't know what it could be.

Definatley not bad for a first archtop... I have tried old L-5's, L-4's, Guild's, and I honestly believe this is on power with them and costs half as much. I've always wanted an old Gibson archtop since I started out and this really compliments the Tele's. Pics to come!

**gary mitchell** · 10-14-2009, 09:14 AM

Thats Great,Iam glad for you. I hope it works out to be a great guitar for you.

**Bill C** · 10-14-2009, 09:21 AM

Originally Posted by whippersnapper

The only a little issue there seems to be a little rattling from the bridge, it's not very noticable and you can't hear it plugged in, but I don't knoe what it could be....

I had a '57 125 where "the Bb rattle" came from the barrel capacitor on the tone control ...

**dh82c** · 10-14-2009, 10:30 AM

Pics !

(ok ok ok.. pics pleeeeaze.)

**Little Jay** · 10-14-2009, 10:38 AM

Pics indeed!

And soundsamples!

Congratulations, an ES125 is definately on my wishlist!

And an ES125 is all you need, listen to the Dutch guitarist Martijn van Iterson and the beautiful tone he gets out of his!

**whippersnapper** · 10-14-2009, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Bill C

I had a '57 125 where "the Bb rattle" came from the barrel capacitor on the tone control ...

Hmm, mabye it's to do with the volume control because last night the sound kept going off, and I when I rolled the volume down then up again it worked...

**whippersnapper** · 10-14-2009, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by Little Jay

Pics indeed!

And soundsamples!

Congratulations, an ES125 is definately on my wishlist!

And an ES125 is all you need, listen to the Dutch guitarist Martijn van Iterson and the beautiful tone he gets out of his!

Thanks... does he play with the Peter Beets Trio? Great player! Lenny Breau, Ed Bickert and Wes Montgomery used to play one, too...

**derek** · 10-14-2009, 11:53 AM

I played an old 125 several years back at Gruhn's in Nashville, along with an ES 225. Very cool guitars. My understanding is that Heritage is now making a version of the ES125, though I don't see it on their website.

**randyc** · 10-14-2009, 12:42 PM

That would be the year and model on which I struggled to fret my first chord, what a beauty of a guitar ! And as you suggest, despite being the bottom of the line guitar in '59, that thing had a BIG voice.

I've thought several times about replacing that instrument - maybe I will if the right one ever comes along.

Congratulations,
randyc

**whippersnapper** · 10-14-2009, 12:42 PM

Hope you guys enjoy... the video was recorded early to test the new camera...one take with a few slip ups...but it's a chord melody I am doing as a solo guitar performance for an audition.... so feedback would be most appreciated.

**derek** · 10-14-2009, 03:16 PM

Guitar looks and sounds great. Nice playing.

**Funkwire** · 10-14-2009, 04:31 PM

Congratulations! I had a 1954 ES-125 when I was 17...long gone now. Since I traded it in on my 1961 Les Paul, which I still have, I don't regret it TOO much...

**rabbit** · 10-14-2009, 04:33 PM

She is a beauty, congratulations!

I've an even older, homelier one.
I love her to death.
Long life & good fortune to you both.

**Anandbhat** · 10-14-2009, 05:11 PM

Beautiful Guitar and great tone! Great chord melody too.
Enjoy!

**msr13** · 10-14-2009, 09:00 PM

Beautiful guitar and great playing!

**whippersnapper** · 10-15-2009, 05:43 AM

Thanks for all the nice comments... that's the first chord melody I've done.

Archie · 10-15-2009, 07:37 AM

That's a really nice looking and sounding guitar, and I enjoyed your playing too.

Here's my 1959 Gretsch Clipper that I bought last year:

and a sound clip: http://student.pfmb.uni-mb.si/~times/OvertheRainbow.mp3

**Anandbhat** · 10-15-2009, 11:15 AM

Great guitar Archie,and great rendition of over the Rainbow! You might want to roll back the base a bit.It overwhelms the melody IMHO.

Archie · 10-15-2009, 11:51 AM

Yes, I'm new to recording, and that was one of the first things I tried when I bought the recorder. The input settings were too high and I got a lot of distortion. I'll try it again sometime, but work and other commitments get in the way.

**Anandbhat** · 10-15-2009, 03:25 PM

The recording is really good till the first base note.You probably need to just turn the base control back.The hollowbodies probably resonate more on the low strings.It's still great playing!

**whippersnapper** · 10-15-2009, 04:27 PM

Originally Posted by Bill C

I had a '57 125 where "the Bb rattle" came from the barrel capacitor on the tone control ...

How did you fix it?

**mr. beaumont** · 10-16-2009, 09:46 PM

nice playin' man...what's the amp?

and what's the body depth on the 125?

**randyc** · 10-16-2009, 10:59 PM

Quality in a musical instrument, most especially a wooden one, is something that is apparent if one takes the trouble to make an unbiased comparison. Even a bottom of the line instrument, like the subject ES-125 (about $60 new in 1959) is just getting "warmed up" some sixty years later

My Uncle's ES-125, the first guitar that I "played", sounded pretty fine through his tweed Champ with the itty-bitty speaker, even back in '59. My stupid-looking/sounding Danelectro even cost more than the Gibson !!!

It took me a L-O-N-G time to get from that ES-125 to an L-5CES but I knew the sound that I wanted. That 125 imprinted me, I guess.

Nice score, whippersnapper, may you never part with that treasure and may it give you the same pleasure that my guitars have given me.

randy

PS: I'm sure that I would get along just FINE with that sweet looking Gretsch too. They are far, far different than the new ones !

**whippersnapper** · 10-17-2009, 06:34 AM

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

nice playin' man...what's the amp?

and what's the body depth on the 125?

Thanks! It's a modded Fender Pro Junior with an Celestion Vintage speaker and JJ Telsa tubes. This guitar is a lot more picky about amps than my teles. I think the body depth is about 3-3/8''.

Being a Tele guy, I am sure you'll dig these "no thrills" style archtops! I can't wait to see some pics and hear your new Jazz box.

**Bill C** · 10-18-2009, 04:09 AM

Originally Posted by whippersnapper

How did you fix it?

... well I never did fix it properly! The most effective solution seemed to be to wedge a piece of foam washing up scourer/pad between the capacitor and the top of the guitar