View other reviews for this product:
MGR/Kenny B « Gibson ES-137 »
Published on 03/13/03 at 15:00Bought new from Gibson dealer for $1800.00 Canadian, about $1200 USD.
I love the classic Les Paul style neck contour and oversized frets. Very positive feel, great bendability with the short LP scale. The finish (translucent deep blue) is to die for and the tones are warm and rich. Great blues sound that I fell in love with at first listen.
Unfortunately, this turns out to be a very tempermental guitar that travels poorly. The three-way pickup selector started to buzz audibly and lose contact within a few days and had to be replaced. That cured the first rattle but soon there were several more: Open G string non-harmonic tones, multiple specific note positions that produced audible rattles from the bridge and pickup areas that could not be suppressed by pressing on any accessible structure. These were never the classic fret buzz caused by low action or poor fret leveling as action height adjustment never helped. Each day I pick it up it seems slightly different and often the previous days rattles have gone or changed their trigger frequencies only to be replaced by a new noise. Ocassionaly it plays noise free and I cheer until it goes out of the house to a practise and the rattles take over again. Most of the rattles don't come through the amp but a few, like the open G sting noise do. It's going back to the dealer for a long visit to see if these problems can be fixed
The strap anchor at the neck also came loose after only 6 weeks.
Beautiful finish and neck. Mediocre pickup switch construction. Plagued with mysterious rattles that make me suspect the integrity of the design and/or construction.
This guitar was awesome in the store but acts possessed with demons in real use. If it would stop rattling, I would give it a 4/5. Unfortunately , after 8 weeks of use I have quit playing it because of the unacceptable noises. I will stick with my indestructible Epiphone Les Paul for now!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com
I love the classic Les Paul style neck contour and oversized frets. Very positive feel, great bendability with the short LP scale. The finish (translucent deep blue) is to die for and the tones are warm and rich. Great blues sound that I fell in love with at first listen.
Unfortunately, this turns out to be a very tempermental guitar that travels poorly. The three-way pickup selector started to buzz audibly and lose contact within a few days and had to be replaced. That cured the first rattle but soon there were several more: Open G string non-harmonic tones, multiple specific note positions that produced audible rattles from the bridge and pickup areas that could not be suppressed by pressing on any accessible structure. These were never the classic fret buzz caused by low action or poor fret leveling as action height adjustment never helped. Each day I pick it up it seems slightly different and often the previous days rattles have gone or changed their trigger frequencies only to be replaced by a new noise. Ocassionaly it plays noise free and I cheer until it goes out of the house to a practise and the rattles take over again. Most of the rattles don't come through the amp but a few, like the open G sting noise do. It's going back to the dealer for a long visit to see if these problems can be fixed
The strap anchor at the neck also came loose after only 6 weeks.
Beautiful finish and neck. Mediocre pickup switch construction. Plagued with mysterious rattles that make me suspect the integrity of the design and/or construction.
This guitar was awesome in the store but acts possessed with demons in real use. If it would stop rattling, I would give it a 4/5. Unfortunately , after 8 weeks of use I have quit playing it because of the unacceptable noises. I will stick with my indestructible Epiphone Les Paul for now!
This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com