rct Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Anybody seen one in the wild? Tried it, walked past it, whatever? Wondering what all you acoustic players think of any you've come across. Thanks. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Not that I'm aware of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly campbell Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I have and played one foor a short while , just have not warmed up to the new line a whole lot. I don't dislike them but have not had on jump out at me. I am not big on the Richlite fretboards the lower model has walnut I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I played a few in the new series, and I believe the HP635W was one of them. So far, the ones I've played have had a rather average tone - nothing that made me perk up & think "nice." But still, the build quality was high, and most likely there will be some very good examples of the breed out there. Visually, I find the traditional models more appealing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 Me too on the traditional thing. I dislike cutaways. But a neck I can get along with and decent wood like walnut would make me think about it as a gigger if it sounds good. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw171 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I've actually played the 415W, 635W, 665SB and the 735R. Out of them all I liked the 665W the best. Quality wise for fit and finish was as good as any of the regular production Gibsons I have played. The sound of the 665W was the best too and I personally think it looked the best. If I were in the market for a cutaway around that price bracket I'd pick it over a Taylor I think. My local store actually has one at the moment in Sunburst. Looks nice. Odd though I've searched around online and found no one else with a Sunburst version. (He also has a Sunburst J15 with looks fantastic). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Played several of the new line at NAMM. Beautiful guitars and sounded amazing. JC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I've only played one, and that was at GC. To me it sounded okay, but looked like all the "plain Jane" guitars that Martin has been putting-out the last several years. No doubt Gibson is trying to appeal to a younger generation. This HP has nothing I'm interested in. They are likely very nice guitars, but there's nothing in them that says "Gibson" to me. Just not what I typically look and listen for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I've only played one, and that was at GC. To me it sounded okay, but looked like all the "plain Jane" guitars that Martin has been putting-out the last several years. No doubt Gibson is trying to appeal to a younger generation. This HP has nothing I'm interested in. They are likely very nice guitars, but there's nothing in them that says "Gibson" to me. Just not what I typically look and listen for. Larry, Exactly these are for the modern player or for the studio guy who needs a certain sound. The 3 or 4 I played sounded as good as the J 200 Vintage they had at the show.So they still have the gibson tone just the look and feel are different. JC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickthemiller Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 Even though the pound had fallen against the dollar these HP series are dropping in price and dealers like Andertons seem to have a lot in stock. Maybe they will turn out to be a bargain in the summer sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw171 Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 The price Andertons has the 635W on for at the moment is very good(and it includes taxes). With current exchange rates that comes in 1534US$. That's close to $300 cheaper than Sweetwater are selling it for. https://www.andertons.co.uk/P/HPSS635NH/electro-acoustic-guitars/gibson-hp635-w-electro-acoustic-guitar-in-antique-natural-2017 https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HPSS635NH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Thanks for the insight folks. I'd be bashing at it out for a few songs a set. I regularly rely on my Gibsons, always have, so I figure a Gibson acoustic will have to hold up just as well. I'm going to be out trading in a few months, interestingly enough, an SG I don't get along with anymore, so this might be something for me to have a look at. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinder Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I've played a couple of the HP line. They sounded and looked very plain to me. I wouldn't say soulless, but nowhere near as much spirit to my ears and eyes. In terms of comparisons to recent Gibsons I have, I didn't hear the stoic thunder of the '41 SJ100 Reissue, the perky, big articulation of my SJ200 or the lambent, fluid prettiness of my Dove. I felt they were very transparent and the neck felt good, overall they reminded me of the short lived Gibson branded Songmaker series that came out of the old Garrison factory ten years or so back. A practical gigging instrument and studio workhorse that doesn't impart a lot of character and sounds like Acoustic Guitar™. Similar to a Taylor or one of those modern Martins with hundreds of letters in its name, like a GCLPCNCPDFJPG5 or whatever they're called. I quite like the fact that's gibson futureproofed the HP line by not putting a barn door preamp in it which will be outdated in 5yrs but won't be able to be easily replaced. The Element pickup is a good unobtrusive choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djw171 Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Local store has a 415W in Sunburst as well as a 415CEX in Natural. Both play and sound nice, the CEX a little better to my ears. No reference on Gibson's site to the CEX differences against W. Both Walnut and look the same. Turns out it is the internal bracing. The W has X bracing AJ style (forward shifted like J35 I would assume) where as the CEX has J45 style bracing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pesh Posted May 3, 2017 Share Posted May 3, 2017 Saw one at the Guitar Show we had in Birmingham back in February, but I didn't linger around it for long. Only one I've seen of the HP's so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhythm player Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 I own a used 415 w. I play it twice a week in church (once unplugged, once amplified). I am very happy with the build and the sound. The neck is a joy to play and it is very light. For looks, I would have picked the burst, but the natural is fine with me. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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