Tablar Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Hi! I am in the market for an ES-135 but want one with P90's. I want a P90's equipped model as opposed to a humbucker-equipped instrument because already have 3 good guitars configured with humbuckers. Well I would actually prefer an ES-175 with P90's but the budget refuses to stretch that far. Anyway, what years were ES-135's equipped with p100's instead of p90's? I want to be sure that I do not accidentally purchase such a guitar. Thanks in advance for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brundaddy Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 That's a good question. Specs were so, so loose-y goose-y on the most recent 135 model that I doubt very seriously you'd get any answers you can count on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Up until the end of it's production run, figure it'll be P100s in almost any recent ES-135. There are a couple of ways to go if you find a good deal on an ES-135. Try the P100s first & see if you like them (I happen to think they have a very nice jazz sound through the right amp). If you don't like them, it would be easy enough to pop P90s into it. Another option would be to buy the humbucker version & put P94s in it (or SD Phat Cats, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tablar Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Thank you for the replies! Well, somehow I came across a mint Epiphone Casino 1961 50th Anniversary Reissue, with original hardshell case, all paperwork, etc, and which comes equipped not only with TremoTone, but also with real Gibson USA P90's, and I decided to get around the "what kind of pickups are those soapbar things on that ES-135, Mister?" problem by buying that Casino. Although I have never actually played a Casino, I do have Joe Pass Emperor II which I love, although I have to add that is has been plekked, which might account for some of the pleasure I get from playing it. Hopefully the Casino will work out as well as the Emperor. An additional consideration is that the Casino '61 Reissue seems to be a collectible guitar, so there is the possibility that it will appreciate in value. I actually did consider getting an ES-135 and replacing the pickups if it had humbuckers or P100's, but for what a Gibson would cost, and what my budget is, I would be very hesitant to debase the value of a Gibson by doing things like that. And really, I do want P90's: I had, briefly, a P90-equipped ES-137 Premier here, and I loved the sound, and so I have my heart set on that. So the easiest thing was, it seemed, to get a well-regarded guitar that has that very feature that I want most. Of course I understand that the Casino is a thin-line full hollowbody, and the ES-137P is not, but I would expect that the guitar construction is far less important than the pickups, as far as sound is concerned. I still want, and eventually will get, an ES-135 although at this moment the pickup configuration I would want is up in the air. (I could even replace the stock pickups with the pair of Blues-90's I have here, if I am feeling prodigal!) Or even look into an ES-175 equivalent to be reloaded with first-class pickups. But for the moment, the Casino should take care of my craving for a P90's instrument. Thank you again for the replies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.