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Gibson ES-139


kayd_mon

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I got my GC mailer today, and I saw this in there.

 

http://static.musiciansfriend.com/derivates/18/999/263/879/DV016\_Jpg\_Large\_1367516483363\_A.jpg

A semi-hollow design, but without F-holes.  Also, they removed the additional volume/tone set.  At $1599, it's not that expensive considering the headstock.  This reminds me of their most recent 339, which doesn't have F-holes, either. 

 

Well, weigh in!  What do you think?

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I went down to my local GC here in Seattle and they had one of these 139's hanging on the wall.  My first reaction was: that's a nice looking guitar. I picked it up, and was surprised and pleased by how light it was.  Very unlike most Gibsons.  I grabbed a seat, plugged into a Bad Cat amp, and for 15 minutes had a very enjoyable time with this new guitar.  Aside from the much more managable weight, this axe has a couple of other features I liked; the neck shape was wonderful (a bit on the chunky side), the frets dressed pretty well, intonation spot on. Also, it seemed to me that the neck angle was a little shallower than on a typical Gibson, as the bridge seemed lower.  (If this is the case (and I could be mistaken), kudos for Gibson.  (I've long felt that the TuneoMatic bridge placed the strings far too high off the body, necessary due to the severe angle of the neck mounting arrangement. Just my own opinion here.) The other thing I liked was the 2-knob controls.  This is far more logical to me than having 4 knobs, much simpler to adjust.

I haven't owned a Gibson since I sold my Howard Roberts Fusion II 20 years ago.  My Teles are my primary guitars-I can get any sound out of my Teles.  But I am seriously considering buying one of these new Gibsons.  Not so much for the sound (they sound very nice) but for the way they feel.  It was a very comfortable guitar in my hands. Plus, they have a nice 335-ish tone, but without the odd and ungainly body shape of 335-style guitars.  F-holes would be a plus, but it's not a deal killer for me.

All in all, a very nice new model from Gibson.

 

 

 

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I agree with seattlemartin.  I thought this was a strange guitar at first, especially since it looked like an inferior Les Paul-style and semi-hollowbody guitar, with two less knobs.  However, when I tried it, I was very pleasantly surprised...  I didn't feel that I had any less control over the variety of achievable tone and volume with two less knobs, even though conceptually, we lose the ability to dial in each pickup's sound (tone & volume) and then blend both of them using the middle selector position.  

It also has an arched, carved top (to answer a poster's question above), and most important, a WONDERFUL and full, airy tone!  Add on top of that a nice traditional sunburst finish (it is avaiable in black too) and both top and bottom bindings, and now, I seriously am considering buying one!  

I have played a total of four different ones (three bursts, one black), and although the factory "setup" varied quite a lot in each guitar, all of them had the same full and airy full tone that I liked (due to the chambers in the body, of course).  I hope this info helps!

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