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Hi everyone,
I got my '68 ES175D a while back and while it's not a terribly valuable instrument and insured, I do really love it and would be devastated to have anything happen to it.
It seems that whatever amp I plug it into, it has a lovely mellow, yet punchy mid range sound. I guess that's Gibson for you.
As a result I would like to get a touring guitar that'll get me in the ball park tonally. that I can check and not be too worried about getting smashed up should that be unlucky enough to happen.
I gather the pickups are probably T-types and not that highly thought of... However I like them!
This guitar is RESONANT - if anything halfway towards a Godin Kingpin as opposed a modern Gibson 175. I also like this and would like to have that quality if possible.
A few options:
Buy a new/used cheapish guitar
Buy a new/used cheapish guitar and swap the pickup
Fit a new pickup into the Samick built Ibanez AF-85 I have collecting dust.
What do you think? Budget would probably be around 1000USD which translates to around 1000GBP it seems in UK prices. Cheap and cheerful is best. 3 is obviously the cheap sensible option, but hey where's the fun in that?
PS - the used market is a lot smaller in the UK than the states, but I'm open to used, probably sensible in fact.
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08-22-2018 04:38 PM
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HI Christian
I have a mint Godin Composer GT that I am thinking of putting on eBay in the next week or so. Certainly within your price range, and also very resonant - pickup ? - you would need to hear it to decide. If you are interested, PM me.
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Yes I know this guitar, I like. So I won't waste your time, I'm just reviewing options for the minute, so not ready to make a purchase just yet. Good shout tho.
Originally Posted by newsense
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I have the Epiphone ES175 "Premium" and I think it sounds very much like my VOS 1959 ES175. It has the lighter weight body, but I can't say whether it is what you'd be looking for. Also the Aria Pro II has an ES175 copy that is reputed to be very good, from the old "lawsuit" days.
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Oh really? I didn't know that about the build re: Epiphoner. I think there might be one in London still. It has Gibson pickups, right? Originally Posted by lawson-stone
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What if I get the Epi and prefer it? :-)
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The Epi ES175 Premium has Gibson pickups, and mine is as good as a Gibson, IMO. I really can't imagine it being much better, or sounding better. The only reason I don't play mine all the time is that I've reached the point where a full-depth guitar is just too uncomfortable for me. I guess I could sell it, but I won't. It was a present from my children, so it will stay until the end, whether or not I play it every day. If I were in the market for an ES175 type guitar, that's the first model I would look at. And if you get the Epi and prefer it, profit! Gibsons have a market.
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High praise indeed.
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Disclaimer: Epis, like Gibsons, are not all the same. Some are great, some are duds, just like with all guitars.
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I'll take my own advice and play them. :-) Originally Posted by sgosnell
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I don’t like center block of wood in them. That’s why I recommend highly the Casino Coupe by Epi, got it for $420 new. It’s a 339 with a 330 design. 5 lbs 12oz. P90 jazz pickups, great sound. I have a 335 with Pro Humbuckers but they are boomy and mudier, imo. I removed the white pickguard, I like it that way. I have ordered black SD P90 Antiquity pickups for the best warm jazz sound but with clarity.
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That won't likely happen, but none the less, that Epi is a great choice for your quest. Originally Posted by christianm77
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I gave you GAS !!! sorry, it happens.... I didnt read anything other than your question, and I would definitely look used for a
comins gcs 1... I played one today, and holy smokes its a beast... especially when you put some overdrive in front of it, but it does take a lot away from the es175, its a magnificent execution of a highly qc'd single cutaway thinline that comes out of korea, theres definitely people on this forum that have one. ask around and try to play one if you can, good luck!
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Say what, now? Originally Posted by rintincop
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Center block of wood in what?I don’t like center block of wood in them.
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OK... That does look like a hip guitar. It may be in fact too hip for me. I think maybe the thinline thing is not quite what I want, but I'd give it a go if I could try one. Originally Posted by Thelonious1
For many of the gigs I do it needs to have a bit of acoustic quality in the sense that I roll off the volume and get a very old school straight four/trad rhythm sound. The old 175 does this pretty bloody well, IMO, for instance:
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(As well as more Blue Notey tones.)
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T-Tops are great! The pickups on my ‘70 L5 convinced me that the earlier ones (maybe the later ones - I haven’t had a guitar with them) are up there with the best humbuckers around. Originally Posted by christianm77
Maybe a Peerless? Ibanez around 1000 bucks is very good and approaching MiJ quality but I just mention Peerless because they sound great andid love to try one at some point. Alternatively you could get a lawsuit 175 - I got my ‘77 D’Agostino for 600 bucks and while it has some physical differences from an actual 175 it nails the sound.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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finding a lively acoustic laminate archtop with good pickups is the trick!!....many of the budget and lower range archtops have thick ply laminates and thick coats of poly..so there's not much acoustic tone left...
if you look at the epi 175's be aware that theres a difference between the older 175's and the newer epi premiums...same applies to the epi joe pass model..which is now offered as a premium
also check more offbeat archtops...one of the most acoustic sounding archtops i've played recently was a cheapo gretsch 2420..had outstanding acoustic volume
also look at some of the new guild models
of course most prudent bet would be to just tour the real thing...or slap new pickup in the ibanez you have already
luck
cheers
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I play very similar stuff, though without a drummer. I like to be pretty bright cause that's what the dancers cue off of. I find I get a bit more "crack" out of a p90 for rhythm and gain a more solid feel on the bass strings when soloing. Originally Posted by christianm77
So I'd recommend maybe an Epi and swap out the neck pup with a humbucker size p90. I like Fralin, but I'm sure there are excellent winders in the UK. Or, if noisy electricity is a concern, you could try a Duncan pRail with a push-pull switch to go between p90 and parallel humbucker.
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One thing that seems to turn some people off the Epi is the thin matte finish. It's not shiny, so it can't be good. But it does allow what little acoustic tone you get from a laminate two-pickup guitar to get through. Shiny isn't everything, at least for me, but there are lots of posts across the internet from people concerned that their Epi isn't shiny enough, and asking how to shine it up. So if you really like shiny, and that's important to you, don't bother with the Epi. Another brand I like is Eastman. They provide excellent quality at reasonable prices. My Eastman T145 is what I'm mostly playing, because I like its thinness and its tone, and my Benedettos mostly just hang around. I'm seriously considering selling them. Eastman makes a 175 knockoff, which many people seem to like, but I've never tried one, I don't need another.
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HUH? What planet or websites have you been cruising lately? :-) Have you seen prices on T-tops pulled from GREAT gits? They certainly (in general) get a great deal of respect from many more players than those who dis them. Originally Posted by christianm77
At any rate, the Aria HE is a very good choice. They're far easier to get GR8 sound out of than gits costing two to three times as much that don't sound or play half as good... IMO that is.
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I’m a huge fan of T-tops. It may be because I cut my teeth on a 1980 Les Paul, but I like them for everything. Originally Posted by GNAPPI
I haven’t found that myself able to get the Aria Herb Ellis to sound quite like a 175. It’s a very articulate guitar, but always sounds a little more one dimensional and not as warm. Great quality guitars though.
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the 175 is harder to beat than really anything for me. You sound really great man, ill keep my eyes open for cool gear but i think between this site, reverb, and g-base, we all float the same sources. also, if that were too much on the modern side, the likes of an epi 175 sound really great, also eastmans that are used sound really good, someone got a really good deal off me early this year with a 1300 dollar solid top 810? I think it was an 810 i forget, but it was really loud too. it was also a p.i.t.a. to deal with feedback. i hear good things about aria... maybe even ibanez lawsuit if you can find a cheap one?
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Dude. Just get an ES 125 already.
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