Did Gibson recently re-issue the ES-125?

[mr. beaumont]

Yes, I've read your reviews here. Everywhere else, the reviews seem to be more good than bad. I wonder if maybe the ones you got were early in their development, before the manufacturing kinks had been worked out? Either that or just shoddy QC, because I've read plenty of good reviews on the 309s as well.

The Godin reviews are definitely more consistent, but Godin has been around a long time and has a rep for good, consistent instruments, so no surprise there.

At the time I played these, I owned a 600, which I thought was MUCH higher quality.

I sold that guitar because I couldn't get along with the hard V shaped neck. Was a bummer, I really liked the sound.

Only a few instruments to base it on, but I feel like the jump from the 300 series Loars to the 600 was pretty steep. It is very possible that they've gotten the quality up on the lower priced ones, though.

[garybaldy]

yeah... those are the 2 I've been considering for awhile... but I've been through enough gear over the decades to know, when you want SOMETHING, it's generally only that very something that will cure the GAS; imitators are just a delay and a way to lose money.

BUT... the cheapest current ES-125s on reverb are 1800+... many are much more than that. Just not sure I can drop that much coin on a guitar that is not my primary instrument. So I guess I'll go back to considering the Loar and Godin. I've read all about them; reviews are mixed on the Loar, but I've seen plenty of good ones. I'd have to purchase both to know if one of them has what I am after. I have played a Godin- but it was years ago. Too long ago to use memory as a guide.

That Eastman certainly looks interesting!

Currently I've seen 3 es125s for sale ranging from 2500 to 3000 GBP. I wish they were around 2000 GBP!

[John A.]

Yes, I see there are currently 3 on reverb. Trying to find the specs of this model now, primarily nut width and fingerboard radius...

Damn... Cream City Music sold a BRAND NEW one only 3 months ago. At least they posted the specs: 12" neck radius (yay!!) and 1-3/4" nut width.

Are you just trying to find the specs of an ES-125, or are you looking for a lower cost equivalent to one?

To the spec question, I'm far from knowledgeable about this (so grains of salt), but from what I've gleaned over the years of guitar hunting, the nut width follows the rest of the Gibson herd -- for some period of time in the mid-'60s, they went to the skinny 1-9/16" or 10/16 nut, but outside of that all are 1-11/16". Radius is nominally 12", but between inconsistencies in manufacture and boards being re-radiused via re-fretting (on purpose or otherwise), you'll likely stumble on plenty that aren't that. I've never heard of any Gibson electrics that have v-necks like the pre-truss-rod acoustics as a matter of spec, but there might be some out there due to the same vagaries as other dimensions on old guitars.

In terms of equivalents, it comes down to how exact a copy you want. There's something very particular about the sound of Gibson laminated electric archtops that has proven very difficult for others to clone perfectly. If you truly want that and only that, and you want a guitar that looks like an ES-125, I don't think there is anything that will get you there other than an ES-125. But you can get some percent of the way in terms of sound, play-feel, and appearance, via many options. My experience and opinion FWIW is that the Godin Kingpin comes a little closer than the Eastman ar405 in sound and feel, but the Eastman is a nicer guitar overall.

In my (again, limited) experience, the closest thing to the Gibson laminated vibe is the Epi ES-175 Premium that was made for a few years (which to my ears nails it). I bet if you put humbucker-sized P-90's into one of them that'll get you the 125 sound, but with a cutaway. There's also the ES-295 premium (with P90s and a Bigbsy), and I bet that nails the sound, too, but that's only a guess. I've never tried one, but I suspect a vintage Guild X-50 is also in the ballpark, and these still can be had for a lot less than a 125.

[wzpgsr]

This might be what OP was thinking of:

Epiphone Presents Ltd. Ed. George Thorogood White Fang ES-125TDC Outfit - Premier Guitar

[oldHaus]

For anyone looking for a Gibson clone, especially for models that Gibson doesn't make anymore, I would look no further than here:

ノンカッタウェイ ＆ P-90タイプ！ | WALKiN'

My experience is with their AT101, which is essentially an ES-125C. In other words, a full body, laminate, P-90 unit.

Compared to a Gibson ES-175 1959 reissue, and compared to an actual 1957 ES-125, the Archtop Tribute holds up very well, and in fact compared to the old ES-125 I'm thinking of, I prefer the Archtop Tribute.

Some things are different for sure, you could say they do thing the "Japanese way", and it just so happens I think I prefer that personally.

There are far more "mistakes" on my Gibson from the Memphis factory than on my Archtop Tribute.

[ThatRhythmMan]

A friend has recently gotten a couple of the MIJ Kingsnake archtops and been really happy with the quality.


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[ruger9]

For anyone looking for a Gibson clone, especially for models that Gibson doesn't make anymore, I would look no further than here:

???????? ? P-90???? | WALKiN'

My experience is with their AT101, which is essentially an ES-125C. In other words, a full body, laminate, P-90 unit.

Compared to a Gibson ES-175 1959 reissue, and compared to an actual 1957 ES-125, the Archtop Tribute holds up very well, and in fact compared to the old ES-125 I'm thinking of, I prefer the Archtop Tribute.

Some things are different for sure, you could say they do thing the "Japanese way", and it just so happens I think I prefer that personally.

There are far more "mistakes" on my Gibson from the Memphis factory than on my Archtop Tribute.

That's interesting. Do they have an English portal, so I could read about them in English?

[oldHaus]

I'm using Chrome as a browser and it automatically does a thing where I can translate the site to English. The translation to English reads well and is quite clear.

I also ended up emailing back and forth with the fellow who runs the show there, and his written English was great and he was able to clarify many aspects of the specifications.

For example, the top on my Archtop Tribute is a 5-ply, which is different than the Gibson approach, but for all intents and purposes it seems to me that it works as well or even better than my 3-ply Gibson.

Also the sides on my Gibson are solid, which I believe is a match to the actual 1959 specs. The sides on my Archtop Tribute are laminate.

[ruger9]

I'm using Chrome as a browser and it automatically does a thing where I can translate the site to English. The translation to English reads well and is quite clear.

I also ended up emailing back and forth with the fellow who runs the show there, and his written English was great and he was able to clarify many aspects of the specifications.

For example, the top on my Archtop Tribute is a 5-ply, which is different than the Gibson approach, but for all intents and purposes it seems to me that it works as well or even better than my 3-ply Gibson.

Also the sides on my Gibson are solid, which I believe is a match to the actual 1959 specs. The sides on my Archtop Tribute are laminate.

Thanks! I will definitely be looking into this further.

[ruger9]

Currently unavailable/sold out. I'll keep my eye on it...