and i thought it had a laminated top because it was a copy of a Gibson ES175

Keira-WitherKay

this is quite a funny story ....... i recently bought an old 1968 japanese built Aria (Gibson ES175) copy ....... the guitar was in awesome shape for it's age but needed new tuners and some wiring and a descent setup .so i bought the guitar (out of gumtree) and off to my guitar tech ....... this guitar looks fabulous and one can see a good grain through the finish and the guitar tech said he wondered if it was a solid top ?? i had no clue so we founjd a bit of the top that was chipped and the tech held it to the light and announced with some disapproval "oh it's a laminate " so i thought oh well a japanese copy and they just stuck a lamnated top on it .frankly i didn';t care cos i liked the look and the tone....... so a few days or weeks drifted by till i was browsing around "jazz guitar forum" and there was an article where they were discussing how people buy luthier built top end archtops with solid tops of rare woods and then discover that in the studio they work great but expect them to have the classic Gibson ES175 sound whch is the jazz tone which any old standard player looks for .... as recognisable as a tele or strat or les paul ....but they don't they sound more like an acoustic .... but they are also confused why their guitars feedback so quickly when playing live...........

and guess what the "secret" to the ES175 tone.is ?? you guessed it a laminated top........... my jaw dropped when i read this.apparantly Gibson did this to give the ES175 a stiffer top and it actually makes it behave more like a solid body and reduces feedback in that the top did not vibrate as easily . i did not believe what i was reading .then popped off and googled the gibson site and low and behold in the specs they mention the laminated maple top

below is the quote from the gibson site..

Near-perfect Recreation
The modern recreation of this great guitar made by Gibson’s Memphis Custom Shop craftspeople owes its lineage to the ES-175 of ’57. The body is a comfortable 16-inches wide, 20-inches long and 3-inches deep with a curly laminated maple top, back, and rims. There’s multi-ply binding on top and single-ply on the back, with nickel hardware including a ABR-1 bridge and a trapeze tailpiece. Three finishes are available: wine red, antique natural, and vintage sunburst.

well so i was amazed at this.we usually associate laminated tops with cheap guitars but the Gibson ES175 has a list price of $5087 but i found it discounted to $3500 (US dollars) on zz sounds so a guitar with a laminated top for those prices ?

did i just smile when i thought back to how the guitar tech and said so disaprovingly "oh it's a laminated top" i can't wait to tell him, cos obviously he might know les pauls and strats but he didn't know about the ES175 ...... boy am i gonna tease him about that .........jokingly of course cos hey i guess they rare guitars and it's 2011 not 1950 guess not many come across his desk

anyway so i've discovered my copy is indeed that .... now to try identify if the laminated top is curly maple if so i'll be surprised , however i have heard these copies are sought after and come from the original aria factory . although the tailpiece on mine looks different and the pickup switch is on the lower horn and not the upper one so unless thats a copy of some special ES175 model out at that time , then mine is not 100% accurate or maybe moving the switch made it not a direct copy and legal ?

vic

Good observations Keira....the laminated tops of both the ES-175 and ES-335 contribute a lot to their distinctive sounds. You know what...I think you deserve the real thing ?

Keira-WitherKay

vic wrote: Good observations Keira....the laminated tops of both the ES-175 and ES-335 contribute a lot to their distinctive sounds. You know what...I think you deserve the real thing ?

if by saying that you mean owning a "real' 175 , i'd love to......... but thats a bit rich for me....... unless of course someone wants to donate one to a hard working musician , mm but i'm tempted with another gibson jazz guitar ( an original) but 2nd hand and not in great condition which i may buy as soon as tuesday ? and obviously for much much less than the price of the new 175 . but i need to hear it again

but yes a real 175 would be on a wish list for me ...... they are the ultimate jazz guitar in my mind.....

vic

Keira WitherKay wrote:
vic wrote: Good observations Keira....the laminated tops of both the ES-175 and ES-335 contribute a lot to their distinctive sounds. You know what...I think you deserve the real thing ?
if by saying that you mean owning a "real' 175 , i'd love to......... but thats a bit rich for me....... unless of course someone wants to donate one to a hard working musician , mm but i'm tempted with another gibson jazz guitar ( an original) but 2nd hand and not in great condition which i may buy as soon as tuesday ? and obviously for much much less than the price of the new 175 . but i need to hear it again

but yes a real 175 would be on a wish list for me ...... they are the ultimate jazz guitar in my mind.....

Which one is that if I may ask?

Keira-WitherKay

pm'd you details vic

Malkav

For those people still wondering what's going on, this is an ES175.

My favourite player of one of these - Steve Howe of Yes, that man knows his bizniz ?

Sean

Chad Adam Browne wrote: For those people still wondering what's going on, this is an ES175.

Hmm, almost as nice as the one Keira has ?

vic

Keira WitherKay wrote: pm'd you details vic

Thanks Keira...good luck

singemonkey

Sorry guys. Have to do it:

Quite a bit cheaper too ? Lance brought one in as a special order for someone last year.

MikeM

Pity they don't sound as good though :?

singemonkey

MikeM wrote: Pity they don't sound as good though :?

Although I hear they sweeten up when you can't see the name on the headstock ?

MikeM

Only if it magically changes to a non-knockoff without you realising.

I am just pulling your leg man, a shameless Tokai punt deserved it ?

makepeace

tbh, i prefer the tailpiece of the tokai. and the pickguard. that front part is less angular.

back on topic (more or less) is the tokai also a lam top?

singemonkey

makepeace wrote: tbh, i prefer the tailpiece of the tokai. and the pickguard. that front part is less angular.

back on topic (more or less) is the tokai also a lam top?

Yes. As Keira pointed out, because Gibsons 335s and 175s are made with laminated tops, it's very easy to make a guitar with the same characteristics as the '50s Gibsons. Except that I believe you need some kind of industrial steam press or something to make it all come together with archtops.