Gibson ES-135

Very versatile instrument, good playability, and an excellent value for an American made guitar.

I bought my Gibson ES-135 on a whim, but have ended up playing it more than my more expensive guitars just cause the tone is so sweet . It is important to get a professional set up. Makes the fretboard like butter. Bought it in 02 just before it was discontinued. My only complaint is the amp cable plugs in on the botton right and it makes it uncomfortable to play on a couch or chair as the cable sticks in the cushion. Not much of a complaint. All in all I love the tone quality, playability, looks., and versitility.

Great tone through my IIfender Hotrod amp. I use flatwound's, 11"s on it. This is a very versitile guitar. I use for everything, jazz, rock, rythnm & blues, you name it. Plus, you don't have spend an arm and leg to own one.

ES 135 with the balsa center block are the best Gibson semi-solid guitars ever produced. Great tone and sustain with a timbrel quality more similar to a true hollow body guitar, but also with good sustain. ES 135's rule!

Craftsmanship is excellent, difficult to make transition at first from my Les Paul but after I got used to it I only use the 135.

If there was one thing I didn't care for when I first starting playing it was the wide neck which is getting more and more comfortable the more I play it. Typical of the es's and some LP's.

The general sound is exactly what you want and need from an instrument like this. It is perfect. It nails Jazz, Blues and Rock. The perfect guitar for that type of music. Once you get one of these, I strongly recommend you play the thing through as many little tube amps as you can to get the right sound and vibe you are after. The more types of different amps you play it through, the more it will blow you away!!! A Marshall handwired 1974x if you can afford it or a great Fender 57' twin will blow your mind. The newer amps do the thing just as well, BadCat, Cornford etc. Awesome value for money. Awesome American rock n' roll.

It's a Les Paul in drag. There is large lump of wood inside that semi body that gives good sustain, but subjectively it doesn't feel as heavy as a Les Paul.

The Gibson ES-135 electric guitar offers excellent sound. It is easy to play, and it looks good, with rarity appeal. Can do wide selection of music styles, from early Beatles Gretsch imitation to harsher rock and roll kerrang. Good for Blues and R&B.

I can get some of the best blues tone out of this guitar! Honking harmonic distortion and shimmering high end! It stays in tune like a rock! I play it through an early '59 Bassman reissue that I've tubed down with a 12AT7 in the output stage. Straight through is that killer clean tone, and for just a little crunch I use a Boss Blues Driver, and it's a "stop it, you're killing me" tone!!

Gibson ES-135 - Semi-hollow archtop with two humbuckers (HB model) and a balsa block down the center. B.B. on a budget!

Yes, you can get a lot of cool authentic jazz and blues tones out of this axe. The necks tend to be fat, which adds presence and authority to the sound. They are fat enough that playing this box might take some getting used to -- it is not a shred guitar, but once you get your bearings and start using correct left-handed technique, you can Tal Farlow your brains out.

Simply a great instrument for about a grand. The fact that this instrument was recently discontinued may lead to scarcity and appreciation. As noted above -- watch the quality control. When I got mine, the machine heads were loose, but other than that it was great. DO NOT BUY MAIL ORDER -- GET ONE IN YOUR HANDS AND BETTER YET, PLAY A DOZEN OR SO AND PICK A CHERRY STICK.