Members Elias Graves Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 It's a really cool looking older Gibby archtop with a bakelite pickguard. The volume, tone and input jack are mounted to it. It has one lone single coil pickup at the neck and it plays like buttuh. Sunburst and the finish has a little checkering but not much. The mounting screws are phillips head. $719 at my local GC. Anybody know about em? EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Uncle Nabob Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 I have one I bought new in the early 60's. It got away from me in a trade. Found it later and bought it back. I won't let it go again. Just a wonderful guitar and a joy to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheSkyIsCrying Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 Sounds nice..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members littlemilo Posted April 7, 2009 Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 If you like the 60s Gibson neck and don't need a cutaway, that is a pretty good deal on a vintage gibson. I love the neck on my es-125t. Copied and pasted from another site: Gibson ES-120T Thinline Fully Hollow Electric Archtop. Available: 1962 to 1971 Gibson's most basic and least expensive student model electric thinline archtop. Even cheaper than an ES-125t). The Gibson ES-120t was an inexpensive guitar for Gibson to produce because the pickguard assembly, which holds all the guitar's electronics, can be made away from the guitar. It is then "dropped in" to the body as the last assembly step. The front of the guitar is routed like a small swimming pool to accomodate the pickguard and pickups/electronics. This is why the guitar only has one "f" hole. A common problem with this model is the overly thick pickguard can crack, since the output jack is part of the pickguard, adding lots of pressure to the pickguard upon jack insertion/removal. Gibson ES-120T specs: 16.25" wide, 1 "f" hole, Melody Maker style pickup mounted on the pickguard, knobs and jack also mounted on the pickguard, single bound top and back, dot fingerboard inlays, decal peghead logo, sunburst finish. 1971 Gibson ES-120TD was discontinued. The collectability of this vintage guitar rates low becase of its build. Here is a link to one that Elderly sold. http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/40U-3942.htm If you liked it, go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 7, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 7, 2009 That's the one. I'm on the mobile and searches are a little tough. Seems like the going asking price is around a grand. $700 for a Gibby, though. That's nice. I actually prefer the fatter neck. Got to talk to the wife about it tonight. This won't go well. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 23miles Posted April 8, 2009 Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 I have (or had until I gave it to my son) an Epiphone Granada which I go new in 1964. It is essentially the same guitar. In fact it was made in the same factory. The neck on it is great and as stable as a rock. The pickup is the old GIbson Melody Maker single coil and it sounds pretty good - rich and warm. It is suspended from the pickup assembly by those two screws which are anchored into some type of plastic base beneath the pickup. In mine, two pieces of surge tube were used instead of springs. Check these since they probably are dried out. It would take a bit of modification to swap out the pickup, but interestingly enough the pickup route is quite spacious I think it is the same route as used in the ES-125T - i.e. for a P-90 but don't hold me to that. The guitar itself is very light weight and sounds nice unplugged. You need to be very careful inserting and removing the plug. The plastic pickguard assembly often breaks. Being a full hollow it is prone to feedback. It is worth every penny of the asking price if it isn't beat to hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerry_picker Posted April 8, 2009 Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 Sounds good.Look it over very carefully!(It seems to be priced under market...makes me suspicious.)If intact and VG or better, looks like an opportunity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 8, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 It looks like a closet queen to me. There are no scratches on the pickguard, which is intact. Checkering on the finish but no other marks that I can see at all. In fact the finish is quite striking. The tailpice is even shiny. Neck seems straight, no wear at all on the frets. The tone control seemed to do nothing at all. I couldn't see any evidence of neck repair. It is kind of plain, but I like that. The chunky neck feels good. That pickguard assembly certainly does look delicate. Would not be a good guitar for traveling with. I may go look again today. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 23miles Posted April 8, 2009 Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 Delicat yes, but not necessarily fragile. I had mine for 45 years. Like any quality guitar and all hollowbodies - treat it with respect and it will last. I just mentioned the precautions with the pickguard because you want to avoid yanking on the input jack or roughly plugging or unplugging. With a good HSC it should travel just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 8, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 My guitars don't travel much. I'm not too worried about that. I didn't ask about the case. If there isn't one, that could be part of the lowish price. I'll get there about 5 to look again. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beats Posted April 8, 2009 Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 Can you believe this is from 1965 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 8, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 When I first saw it with that bakelite pickguard I though 1945 for sure. The phillips head screws was a tip, but it sure didn't look like a 60's piece. Very old school. For the same money, though, you could get a brand new Kingpin. Decisions. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Elias Graves Posted April 8, 2009 Author Members Share Posted April 8, 2009 Sounds good.Look it over very carefully!(It seems to be priced under market...makes me suspicious.)If intact and VG or better, looks like an opportunity! Alright, I put it under the lens and checked it out pretty close. Here's what I found.Finish checkering everywhere.According to the handy dandy online Gibson serial number reference guide, it was made in '63. Serial number 63174.The sunburst is very light or faded. I would say it compares closely to a modern honeyburst.One chip on the front below the pickguard about 3/16" square. One chip on the heel about the same size. About a half dozen scratches on the back. None go through the finish.The back is a very nice chocolate color with a lot of figuring. The front is not figured but has a nice grain.Discoloration of the Kluson Deluxe tuners.Tailpiece chrome is nearly perfect. It's not loud acoustically but sounds extremely good.Plugged in the pickup is quiet (as in no noise) but it is really nice and balanced.No scratchiness in the pots. Amber tophat knobs with markers.No scratches or cracks in the pickguard.No case.The neck is very thin. That's my only real problem with it. I like fat necks.Neck is straight and action is low with zero buzz.Hardly any wear at all on the frets. No evidence of refretting.No neck repairs. I'm gonna have to seriously consider this one. I really like the thinline body and I've been wanting an archtop for a while. Even if it is an entry level Gibby, it's a sweet guitar. EG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sdgails Posted April 9, 2009 Members Share Posted April 9, 2009 es120t was a student guitar when it came out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Frank3845 Posted February 20, 2020 Members Share Posted February 20, 2020 I have a lovely 1967 Gibson ES-120t. I bought it on a whim about eight years ago for $600. Probably my favorite guitar and I have 12 other Fender, Gibson and Martins. As others have said it plays great and sounds great. I did not like the sound of the original pickup. It sounds compressed and nasal to me. I am a jazz player and I searched for a pickup that would look exactly like the original but would sound like a vintage humbucker. Seymour Duncan makes an Antiquity series of pickups and they make a pickup that looks exactly like the original pickup and fits in the pick guard perfectly. They also custom wind the pickup to your specs. I chose to have a warm sounding stacked humbucker made for me. I swapped out the original and I keep it in my guitar case in the event I want to sell the guitar. The replacement pickup made my 120T sound better than my ES-165. It sounds open, warm, full and detailed. The guitar is an amazing bargain and there are options to improve the tone. Highly recommended guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 Hi Frank - welcome to Harmony Central. Have you had any issues with the pickguard on your ES-120T? I have heard that since the output jack is mounted to the pickguard, they sometimes suffer from problems with cracking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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