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Location: Seoul, Korea | http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-ES175-ES-175-ES-175-ES175D-w-OHSC-1995_W...
Sorry to ask a question on a Gibson, but my experience with OFC has been that there are members who are knowledgeable anything gutiar. I am not too familiar with people custom tuning guitars. If anyone knows anything about what this fellow has done to his guitar, please share your expertise. Thank you.
Simon |
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Posts: 7236
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | While I didn't see any reference to "custom tuning" his guitar and I don't know anything about this specific model, I am familiar with the upgrades he talks about in the ad in a general sense and I'm not sure what more could be added than he gives in the description. I think he's pretty clear on the mods he did and why. Wish all ads were that clear.
Schaller Tuners, Duncan Pickups, Tune-o-matic, Dunlop frets... pretty straight forward, obvious choices.
If you are looking for at this guitar to "play" it seems like good choices. If you're looking at it from a "collector" position, unless the original parts are available, the modifications of the bridge, tuners and pickups will count against its value. |
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Location: Seoul, Korea | Thanks, Miles. I think your last sentence is valuable information since I don't know how long I am going to keep this guitar. Well, I did not even realize that the mods are quite obvious choices because I had never done any mods to my guitar, ever. BTW, the original parts do not exist because he sold them separately. |
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| All of the mods are upgrades though the vast majority of players would wonder if it was necessary - but whatever makes the guy happy. It's probably a fantastic playing guitar.
Don't worry about the original parts not being there - a 1995 175 has no collector interest whatsoever - it's a player not a collectible. It's a full price, but it looks to be in new condition and with the upgrades and set-up a fair price.
Go for it. Just about every great jazz guitarist in history has played one at one time or another and some never played anything else. |
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Posts: 180
Location: michigan | That is not a bad price for a 175. What has been said by others is true. I would consider these improvements, and since it not a collectable guitar (just expensive because of the gibson name) the price seems to be about right. If I wanted this style of guitar, personally, I would look towards a heritage. They make a similar model, built in the original gibson factory, by some of the original gibson workers. They are also solid top guitars vs laminate for less $$$. I attached an ebay auction as an example. The heritage models (have 4 at present) are underrated. Side by side, I would pick my heritage over my gibson
(but these are Les Paul Style guitars). You can save a lot of money and get what I would consider to be a better guitar that are starting to creep up in price as folks discover them.
Good luck with your quest . HERE IS THE LINK
http://cgi.ebay.com/1997-Heritage-H575-Archtop-16-Maple-With-Case_W... |
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Location: Utah | My 2 cents is that the upgrades are good ones. If you want a box this thick you probably won't find another that plays and sounds as nice as his, assuming what he says is all true.
The Seth Lovers are excellent pickups. They are what are on my Hamer and they do sound great. His work on the neck and frets sounds like he had the fretboard sanded straight and true. Over time as the wood cures (e.g. if it wasn't properly dry before assembly) or due to manufacturing variances the fretboard may not be truly flat and straight. It may have humps or twists. Having it properly sanded and then properly fretted means that there are no high frets, no twists, no low spots, etc, so the action can be adjusted quite low without getting fret buzz.
In this price range you might want to check out some of Hamer's offerings. Hamer makes a thinner guitar, in the vein of a Gibson 335 thickness. The quality will be better imho. Used Hamers can be found in the $1000 (on a lucky day) to $1600 range in near-mint condition. Alpep may have access to some new guitars which were being blown out by the factory a few months ago at prices below the auction price on that Gibson. |
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Location: SoCal | You know you can buy a new Epiphone Joe Pass, make the same upgrades and save a grand..... |
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| Agreed. |
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Location: Seoul, Korea | Fellows: Many thanks for the insight. You should all come together and publish a book on guitar. Share your wealth of knowledge! |
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Location: South of most, North of few | Simon, if you want to know about Gibsons, contact Serge, Country Artist. He seems to be very knowledgeable about them. |
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Location: Seoul, Korea | Will do, TJ. I bought a guitar from Serge a few years back during my foray into Ovation guitars. |
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Location: Seoul, Korea | FYI, I finally won a Gibson ES-175 on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160416834095&ssP...
Thank you for all your help in making a decision to buy! |
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Location: Central Oregon | That looks like a very good buy to me. I have an old ES-175 that I like a lot. It only has a single P-90 & it's 50 years older than yours but the neck is smooth as butter.
Btw, I bought a new chair. |
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Location: Cincinnati | Congratulations, Simon! I know you've been looking for a while. |
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Location: Seoul, Korea | Thanks, Jack. My journey has come to an end...maybe until next week when I search for a Collings?! That will really be the end of the journey.
Nils: According to Sergio Lara (better known as Country Artist or Serge), the best ES-175 was made between 1957 and 1966. So you have a very valuable guitar. Not sure about the chair, though. |
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Location: michigan | That is a great price for a Gibson 175. You got a good one. |
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Posts: 161
Location: Seoul, Korea | Well...the price was good but the seller made a mistake. He actually sold me one made in 1977 and thought it was 2003. Did not want to take advantage of an honest mistake by the seller who was willing to let go without charging any more. And Serge advised me "do NOT buy" since Gibson made in 1970s are notorious in terms of quality or lack thereof. So I am sending it back. Back to teh drawingboard. |
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Location: Cincinnati | Too bad, Simon, Yours is out there somewhere. |
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Posts: 161
Location: Seoul, Korea | With the help of Serge (Lara), I purchased a 1968 Gibson ES-175 from Gruhn Guitars. A lot more than the eBay one but hopefully it would turned out to be a good investment for my children when they inherit the guitar. I will pick it up in the beginning of June when I travel to Chicago. |
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OT- Gibson ES-175 jazz guitar