Gibson ES-275

[Robertkoa]

I like that it has a " bigger bottom end" than a 335.

Seems like a lot of Guitar for about $2000.....especially by Gibson pricing .

IF the body was thicker could it approach 175 territory (the warmth and thickness not the exact character ) or does it already ?

[Woody Sound]

Same location as yours. My internet research suggested that the ES-275 does not have a strap button on the neck side, so I asked to have one added... which CME agreed to, even though they warned me that it would delay the shipment by a few days.

Is your strap button stock, or also added? If it is stock, I am confused...

You're mixing me up with someone else. I own a 275 Montreux without the added button, and have been trying to decide where to put it. I know upper button placement is a long-standing debate here.

[339 in june]

I can't seem to find any information on the main dimensions of a Gibson ES 275
Gibson site is well documented on neck thickness, fret height, nut groove dimensions (string by string !), type of glue used, fretboard inlays weight (Sure, you can check if you want !) tilt angle (with 15 seconds tolerance), weight of the body (only the body) .... All valuable information, of course
But nothing I can find on :
-lower bout width
-rim thickness

Can anybody help ?

(I need this information NOT to justify an 11th guitar in these XMas time, with CME silly offers....)

Thanks for understanding

[ptchristopher3]

Rim depth is 52mm, lower bout width is 377mm

So slightly over 2 inches deep and a little over 14 3/4 inches wide

I have looked inside two of them and easily the sloppiest bracing glue work I have ever seen.

[ptchristopher3]

The sound is quite good however. Mahogany neck on a smaller maple box - sounds just as you might expect.

[vinnyv1k]

Kerfed braces too. Sad....

[rpguitar]

You expect carved braces on a guitar with 2" rim depth and a laminated maple top?

[Woody Sound]

You expect carved braces on a guitar with 2" rim depth and a laminated maple top?

And a laminated maple top that's 5mm thick!

[Marty Grass]

From what I can see, the top is parallel braced with straight strips of spruce.

I like the guitar. To me, it fills about the same niche as a 330. The fret access is easier for those high notes. Yes, it is different, and it doesn't have P-90s. But it sounds like a laminated hollowbody and is easy to play.

Sometimes I teeter on getting a second one and putting single coils in it. It's an easy guitar to swap pups on compared to a 335.

[Top of the Arch!]

Is it me or does that bridge look goofy angled like that? You can see from the saddle placement the base could have been fairly straight across and still intonated, it just looks like they said "slap it together and shoot some pics." no one noticed that at the factory?? Maybe Im just being picky. Id be all over it though with the P90s, if I could still play. Bob

[Marty Grass]

Here's a size comparison.

[tonedeaf]

I was pretty leery of purchasing this ES 275 as I had previously ordered a cherry ES 275 that was cosmetically OK but acoustically worthless. After several days of trying to get any decent sound and only getting a KMart guitar sort of sound I sent it back. But, several posters had talked about their success so I decided to have another go and hit a home run. I was quickly able to get close to the tone I wanted and when I put on some TI 11 flats I was 90+% there.

The build is great and the finish is quite nice. The binding looked especially good, very uniform and the joints are all top-notch. The neck joint is about as clean as I have seen. One fret that is a little high is the only thing I could find.

CME was very straight forward and accommodating about the transaction.

[Tommy_G]

Wow... Home run is right! Especially if it sounds as good as it looks.

What year is it?

Are some years more desireable than others? I think the 16s had richlite fretboards and the 18s are rosewood for example.

[jads57]

Try .012 -53 set and I'll bet it will improve the tone as well as playabilty even further!

[johnnyjazz]

Wow, very fancy, i bet it sounds the dog,s. I wish Gibson would age the binding on the finger rest tha same as the rest of the guitar. Congrats.

[TOMMO]

Congrats! Sunburst quite nice? I find it VERY nice! Enjoy her in good health!

[Max405]

Beautiful guitar.
If I was still playing out, I would have bagged one of those myself.
You did good.
Joe D

[Marty Grass]

I put FW 12s on mine. Luscious.

[ptchristopher3]

Wow... Home run is right! Especially if it sounds as good as it looks.

What year is it?

Are some years more desireable than others? I think the 16s had richlite fretboards and the 18s are rosewood for example.

Actually many “16’s” and “18’s” were both made in 2017 - or at least documented as passing inspections in 2017. It is funny to see a 2017 guitar with “2018” stamped under the s/n.

The main differences are the FB and tailpiece. I have tried richlite and it plays great and of course is more stable than ebony. The politics and business aspects may feel different to some than others, but the actual Richlite FB is quite nice.

The FB scraping and finish work is rough compared to the better production guitars out there, but in practice it is OK. It looks much less rough on the Richlite. I suppose only because the grainy rosewood is more forgiving to rough work, so maybe it gets less care? Only a guess.

Both tailpieces are pieces at the tail. Hard to find a non-aesthetic difference.

I suppose that any of these (or Anything at all made in the Memphis facility) deserves a good long look at the bracing.

The PU’s are decidedly microphonic. They sound great, and strike me as one of the best “PAF”s out there. But if you are used to a potted completely un-microphonic PU and tend to strike the PU when playing, you might need to adjust a little.

all in my opinion.

Chris

[ptchristopher3]

Wow, very fancy, i bet it sounds the dog,s. I wish Gibson would age the binding on the finger rest tha same as the rest of the guitar. Congrats.

The binding everywhere is white. The clear top coats are VERY browned/ambered. Arguably about 3 or 4 times more tinted than some might consider pleasant when used next to unfinished binding on the PG, or scraped FB edges.

There is no practical way to age the unfinished white PG binding. I suppose a careful designer could have matched the lacquer tint to an unfinished ivory binding (instead of white) on the PG. But this would have required a level of attention to detail that may be unusual in that organization.

The same issue shows up looking at the FB inlays vs. the headstock decor. An awkward extreme contrast despite identical materials.

But many will love the look just as it is.

in my opinion.

Chris

[Woody Sound]

I wish Gibson would age the binding on the finger rest tha same as the rest of the guitar. Congrats.

If you look at old Gibsons (and other guitars) they all look like that. It's the finish on the guitar that yellows, not the binding.

[Marty Grass]

Partly true.

The lacquer on the binding and nut will yellow over time. If the binding is scraped, the finish is not there and you won't see it.

Some of the nuts I've seen had blotchy yellowing from uneven removal of the finish.

Here are two blondes that started out with white binding that are now starting to yellow. Notice the difference in tint between the white inlays and edge of the pickguard compared to the binding.

Scraping the binding on naturals can be a skipped step because retained finish is not so egregious.

If you look at old Gibsons (and other guitars) they all look like that. It's the finish on the guitar that yellows, not the binding.

[art4$]

Glad you like your ES-275. They appealed to me also, especially the price I got from CME. I ordered a red floor model also. It shipped yesterday. Looking forward to getting it! I have an early 60s ES-175, a 1981 ES-335 and a 2015 LP SP DC. I play mainly jazz. The smaller hollow body design of the ES-275 seems great and I prefer the looks of the cherry with nickel hardware to the sunburst gold hardware more expensive versions. I'm curious what strings you use on it. I had them put on TI 12 BeBop (round wounds) which is what I've been using on the 335.

[tonedeaf]

Wow... Home run is right! Especially if it sounds as good as it looks.

What year is it?

Are some years more desireable than others? I think the 16s had richlite fretboards and the 18s are rosewood for example.

It is a 2017.

[johnnyjazz]

I don,t know but maybe Gibson tint their wood finger rests, i can understand that they would not do it on a plastic one.
Ibanez do it on some models.