jbear Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I am considering trading or selling my SG Std for a semi and these look appealing to me. I'd like a slimmer neck than the neck on my SG (2010), and with this guitar I'd be doing a Pat Metheny clean to Robben Ford moderately overdriven. I've not had experience with the 135/137 and I'm not adverse to swapping PUP's if the feel is there. I'd be grateful for any observations you'd like to share. Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 Pat and Robben have played many different guitars Probably Robben more than Pat(who seemed to favour the beaten up ES 175 and later Ibanez sig archtops) Robben plays Teles, Strats, 335's etc etc... The ES 135 and particularly the more recent ES 137 are IMO terrific versatile guitars Effectively offering a meld of archtop history with LP style PU's ideal for fusion and other jazz styles One cannot go wrong with the ES 137....the earlier ES 135 had P 100 PU's which were not universally loved The ES 137 comes in 'Classic' and 'Custom' specs with different PU's, with or without Varitone switching I have also seen Robben playing something very like the ES 335-S, which is a solid maple bodied 335, currently available with Burstbuckers....a combination which works really well.... Effectively a 'maple' Les Paul with a fat-ish neck.... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbear Posted January 14, 2012 Author Share Posted January 14, 2012 Hi and Thanks for the Reply! How are the neck profiles on these? One thing about this SG is that while it is gorgeous and a great blues machine, the neck is just a bit fat for me for my jazz stuff. I'm wondering if I'll run into that with either the 135 or 137. One more thing...I've never played with a trapeze TP, being a stoptail guy...any thoughts on those? Thanks again! Pat and Robben have played many different guitars Probably Robben more than Pat(who seemed to favour the beaten up ES 175 and later Ibanez sig archtops) Robben plays Teles, Strats, 335's etc etc... The ES 135 and particularly the more recent ES 137 are IMO terrific versatile guitars Effectively offering a meld of archtop history with LP style PU's ideal for fusion and other jazz styles One cannot go wrong with the ES 137....the earlier ES 135 had P 100 PU's which were not universally loved The ES 137 comes in 'Classic' and 'Custom' specs with different PU's, with or without Varitone switching I have also seen Robben playing something very like the ES 335-S, which is a solid maple bodied 335, currently available with Burstbuckers....a combination which works really well.... Effectively a 'maple' Les Paul with a fat-ish neck.... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 I've played them all except the ES 135 So from that group all stop tailpieces The ES 335 has slim neck options And another favourite of mine, the ES 330 has quite a slim neck...and a tailpiece which is comfortable to play IMO slim and fat necks each have their advantages But as always, it is a personal thing Vive la Difference !!... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbear Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 I hear you about it being a personal thing. I hunt high and low for 2002 MIA Strat necks...there's just something about that year that I just love. My preference for a neck profile for something with some beef (more "D" than "C") to it but not a baseball bat...there's a fine line sometimes. I have an Ibanez AS103, which has just about my favorite semi neck to date and the fretwork is impeccable. I don't seem to be nearly as picky about the radius. I have some Teles and Strats w/7.25's and 9.5's, some Ibanez and Gibson with 12's and a Carvin Holdsworth with 20...like them all. Part of the fun is the hunt. I have to look at some Heritage models too. I do appreciate the insight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpruceTop Posted January 15, 2012 Share Posted January 15, 2012 Robben ford has to be my biggest guitar hero. And as mentioned he has played a few different guitars over the years. My favorite tones from him were while playing his signature Fender model which also was called an Esprit. I think most of these he played had spruce tops and alder backs. They are chambered. He seems to favor his ’62 Tele for blues stuff. The last few years, I’ve mostly seen him play the Tele, a humbucker or P-90 Les Paul or a custom made double humbucker guitar. Then recently I saw him with a ‘60’s Riviera. I play some of his tunes in a couple of cover bands. Some of the tones I’m trying to get are the Tele ones. The others I usually use whichever humbucker guitar I brought. For me the best “Ford “humbucker tones I get are with my LP Special SC and Yamaha SA503 (335-style). I converted these guitars from P-90’s to mini humbucker’s. GFS makes mini’s that make a nice conversion. The bridge pu’s in these with some overdrive are just so sweet. However, the necks are them not thin. I'm not sure abou the neck profiles, but maybe you could find a Les Paul Deluxe to try. They have the mini's. Or maybe there’s P-90 guitar you’d like that you could convert to mini’s. My thin neck guitars I might use for RF tone would be my Ibanez 2630 (AS200 predecessor) or my Epi DOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbear Posted January 15, 2012 Author Share Posted January 15, 2012 I have an Esprit...one of my all-time favorite guitars! It's not a woody sounding as the 335's but it's much more 335 sounding than LP sounding. With split PUP's it does just about anything well. I currently have Ibanez Super58's in it. Super comfortable neck! I can't afford a Dumble, but I have a Barber Small Fry that turns my 6L6 Fenders into a very close flavor. I've be using some Tele's for the "Ford tone" and I find that the Duncan Broadcaster PUP through the Barber is pretty special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 The Esprit certainly is a beauty !! Pity they never caught on... to Fender for at least trying... My latest aquisition, an ES 335-S is a classic in waiting IMO Remarkably retaining the 335 mojo in a solid-body format The combination of Burstbuckers in a maple body is interesting And IMO offers a viable alternative to mahogany bodies/centre blocks in particular.... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpruceTop Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 You might want to try a Riviera (or Sheraton w/minis). This format gives a lot of the big, warm 335 tones but with its own voice - maybe a bit more focused, slightly brighter all things equal. I dont know your budget, but I believe the 60s versions have the slimmer necks. You could check with the Epiphone side of the house on that. Heres Mr. Fords Riviera: http://www.vintageguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/ROBBEN-FORD-01.jpg I have a 09 Chinese Riviera that is really sweet. It does have the fatter neck. There are Korean and Japanese (Elitist - great guiatrs) versions as well. I changed the pickups to GFS, added coil cut switches and added a Bigsby B60. The mini neck position has great woody tones. Both pus on have a Tele-like tone but warmer. The bridge pu has great organic biting tones. Coil cutting of course backs off the output. But the minis coil cut are not way brighter like cutting a PAF-type HBs can be. I only recently played guitars with mini HBs after 30+ years of playing electric. I still love the classic tones of PAFs in the Gibson format, Fender singles in Strats Teles… Somehow to me, minis are the missing link. Or you could convert a P-90 ES-137 to mini's... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 You might want to try a Riviera (or Sheraton w/mini’s). This “format” gives a lot of the big, warm 335 tones but with its own voice - maybe a bit more focused, slightly brighter all things equal. I don’t know your budget, but I believe the 60’s versions have the slimmer necks. You could check with the Epiphone side of the house on that. Here’s Mr. Ford’s Riviera: http://www.vintageguitar.com/wp-content/uploads/ROBBEN-FORD-01.jpg I have a ’09 Chinese Riviera that is really sweet. It does have the fatter neck. There are Korean and Japanese (Elitist - great guiatrs) versions as well. I changed the pickups to GFS, added coil cut switches and added a Bigsby B60. The mini neck position has great woody tones. Both pu’s on have a Tele-like tone but warmer. The bridge pu has great organic biting tones. Coil cutting of course backs off the output. But the mini’s coil cut are not way brighter like cutting a PAF-type HB’s can be. I only recently played guitars with mini HB’s after 30+ years of playing electric. I still love the classic tones of PAF’s in the Gibson format, Fender single’s in Strat’s Tele’s… Somehow to me, mini’s are the missing link. Or you could convert a P-90 ES-137 to mini's... Interesting points... For me the Firebird with mini H/B's is something special... V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbear Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Right now trying to decide between a later 135 w/ stop TP and mahog. block or an Ibanez Scofield AS200 Artstar. My other option is to save for another month and go for a 335, 339, or Heritage 535. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpruceTop Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Right now trying to decide between a later 135 w/ stop TP and mahog. block or an Ibanez Scofield AS200 Artstar. My other option is to save for another month and go for a 335, 339, or Heritage 535. I you havent already, check out Gregs Guitars on Youtube. Its a great place to hear and compare different guitars. He mentions all the equipment the guitars are running through. So it makes for good relative comparisons. Hes a dam good player so he makes everything sound good to me. Hes got tons of Gibson vids and many others. I didn't see a AS200 Artstar in there. But there is the earlier version AS200 Artist. Here some samples: Epi Riviera: 1967 http://www.youtube.com/user/GregsGuitars?feature=watch#p/search/4/aMbSd93Dj-A Epi Riviera: 1967 http://www.youtube.com/user/GregsGuitars?feature=watch#p/search/6/W3VRkIH6YeE ES-135: 2000 http://www.youtube.com/user/GregsGuitars?feature=watch#p/search/13/BA68jrE1zTQ AS200: Year? http://www.youtube.com/user/GregsGuitars?feature=watch#p/search/0/et3zrVGVIug ES-137: 2003 http://www.youtube.com/user/GregsGuitars?feature=watch#p/search/1/5Keeb7innzw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbear Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 I have seen Greg's site...it's a great resource. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.