Which is the largest bodied Gibson Semi-Hollow Body guitar?

[dsmso79]

Hi Guys,

 

I'm interested in buying a Gibson Semi-Hollow body guitar. I like the shape of the ES-137. I haven't had a chance to see/play one in-store yet. What size is the ES-137 compared to a Les Paul? I'd like something bigger.

 

Do the body sizes vary much between the ES guitars? If possible can someone advise smallest to largest please?

 

I'm not overly keen on the trapeze(?) tailpieces - but if it was nice enough I wouldn't let it put me off.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

David

[Mark Lee]

Largest Semi hollow is the 335/345/355 series guitars, which are 16 inch wide guitars. the ES 137 is about one inch larger than a Les Paul. If you're interested in a solidbody that's bigger than a Les Paul, Look at the Gibson L5S (also called the gibson L-5S or L5-S). They were produced in three different scale lengths, 24.75, 25, and 25.5 inch scale lengths. I have a 25.5 inch scale one and it's great. much heavier than a Les Paul though.

[dsmso79]

Hi Mark,

 

Thanks for the info - much appreciated.

 

I'll check out those guitars. I think I'd prefer a semi-hollow rather than solid body though.

 

I like the size/depth of the Epiphone Emporer and Casino guitars too.

 

David

[Mark Lee]

Which Emperor do you like? the JP II and the Swingster are about the size of an ES-175, and the larger Emperor Regent (Which I own) is slightly larger than an L5CES. If you're interested in the ES-137 size guitars, the Epiphone Kat series are semi-hollowbodies. If you like the shape of the ES-137, you might want to check out the Epiphone Sorrento. They were produced in the late 1990's and early 2000's as the Epiphone alternative.

[Mark Lee]

My mistake, the Gibson ES-137 series body sizes is actually the same as the 335/345/355 series guitars, then the ES 175 is 1/4 inch bigger, and the largest is the ES-5

[dsmso79]

I'll have to try a few in-store. It's so difficult to tell online.

 

Thanks for the advice and alternatives - it's really appreciated!

 

I love the size of the Emperor Regent! Many of the pictures online show it in Natural colour - I would prefer a vintage sunburst. Again, the tailpiece isn't something I'm particularly keen on - but I could probably live with it.

 

I hadn't seen an ES-5 before - saw a vid on youtube - and it looks great! Probably VERY pricey though.

 

Thanks again, I'll let you know how I get on (although it might take a while to get the funds together haha!).

 

David

[Mark Lee]

My Emperor regent is in sunburst and I abolutely love it! I just remembered, Epiphone had an ES 5 copy a few years back called the Zephyr Blues Deluxe. Same size as the Emperor Regent, but with a 5 ply maple top (versus the Emperors 3 ply spruce), so it should be about as feedback resistant as a semi hollowbody. They usualy go pretty cheap on eBay. The tailpiece on the Epiphone's can be a bit of hassle when it comes to string selection because it needs an extra long D string. I find that Elixir's work very well. it probably wouldn't be too hard to replace the tailpiece with a stop bar like on many semi-hollow guitars.