alphasports

Quite late to this party, maybe a few peeps are still up haha! Next round is on me 😉 I have the same issue with my '04 ES137 Classic but this thread has thankfully alleviated my (albeit minor) stress. Quite awhile after buying the guitar used (2004 bought in exc+ condition in late 2019) I only recently noticed that my saddle slots were all notched to the north (bass side) . The guitar's intonation is fine, the string alignment down the neck is fine on both sides and everywhere in between, plus they more or less line up with the pole pieces... BUT to accommodate all this generally good alignment joy the saddle slots are all equally off center by a pretty good margin, suggesting the actual bridge was drilled slightly south (treble side), meaning all the strings take a distinct left turn downstream of the saddles towards the tailpiece, like very obvious. Despite this I figured I'd be best to leave well enough alone since there are no tone issues. As a bit of a fix I did a top-wrap (wraparound) on the tailpiece to increase the bridge-to-saddle distance of the actual strings and that has held just fine, plus I prefer the slinkier feel of the strings with a top wrap anyway. All this to say all is well in ES land despite this issue, guitar sounds great, I'll sleep fine tonight. Cheers

So did you buy it? I must have been in a pissy mood when I wrote the cranky comment about the truss rod cover...guitar looks really nice. I have a 137 which has a hardwood center block as opposed to balsa in the 135 but is otherwise very similar (other than the PAFs, tailpiece, etc haha), love it. Cheers

Apparently debatable, given that most of the time even Gibson doesn't know which hand is doing what. If they spent more time on production and QC issues and less time suing other builders they might build a cohesive operation. But I digress. https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/dumb-gibson-question-is-there-a-custom-shop-in-memphis.1845654/

The truss rod cover, non-standard as it is, is so badly misaligned I'd bee wondering what else is wrong, if not a fake?

137's in any of their limited flavors (Classic, Custom, BJA...) are great guitars. That BJA is fairly rare I think, never heard one but with those soapies and controls it must rock. Kool to be such a hoarder...every day is Christmas 😉 Rock on

Like @Eades said, in the 137 the C stands for Classic and there's even a big "C" inlaid at the 12th fret, but of course Gibson being Gibson they also made the Custom version (which in case you didn't notice also starts with "C" haha!). Both models were built at the Memphis "C"ustom Shop so there's rumor it also stands for that... Sigh.

That price makes more sense, that's a pretty good price for CAN (I'm in Montreal). I don't know a ton about 339's but stringing the tailpiece wrap-style is personal choice and is fine either way. Wrapped that way with the tailpiece right down on the deck tends to reduce the string break angle over the saddle, making the strings more slinky/bendable due to decreased tension. Personally I prefer this method. A little bit odd that your tailpiece doesn't have recessed holes for the string anchors to fit inside, but again I know sh1t about 339's, I have a 137 Classic. Cheers and good luck in your search. FWIW here's a 339 Studio in Manitoba...https://guitarscanada.com/index.php?threads/gibson-memphis-es339-studio.252776/

I just bought a 2004 ES137 Classic a few months back. There are 2 models: Classic and Custom. Custom has the 6-way Varitone switch next to the Vol/Tone pots. Mine's a Classic and frankly I love it (first Gibson, always been a PRS/Collings/Fender guy). It has 490R and 498T pickups so it's quite hot out of the box; it has a simplified reputation as a semi-hollow Les Paul Traditional, sound is very similar except it's a BIG guitar! Fit n finish is the typical Gibson garbage but I cleaned it up and it grew on me warts and all. FWIW I paid 2k Canadian (approx $1350 US), and after I scraped all the dust and grunge off it I'd call it "near mint" so the price was pretty good as far as Canada goes. Good luck!

FWIW I put Elixir Nano 9-42's on my ES137, ok not the same guitar, but I like the tone. It is a bit dark but I like it as it offsets my various PRS. When I crave Bright I switch on my MXR EQ pedal!

Hell just froze over so I bought my first Gibson, an 04 ES137 Classic, to go with my numerous PRS and a Collings City Limits Deluxe, so comparison in terms of fit n finish is pointless. That said, my ES demonstrates pretty much all of OP's issues. I bought mine sight-unseen from 12th Fret in Toronto, a great shop. I was pretty disappointed with the fit and finish to the point of returning the guitar, but a strange thing happened between sleeps...I actually started liking the ES warts and all. Despite its imperfections it plays great. So after a few days' contemplation I wrangled a discount on the price and kept the guitar (this was just last week). Yesterday I disassembled everything that had a screw and gave the guitar a massive de-grunging and cleaning/polishing and today it looks almost like the ad described! I really do like its playability too, tone is funky and versatile. So at the end of the day I got exactly what I expected: a typically shoddy modern Gibson with great playability and tone. Love it!