The Year of the River
Gibson ES-135 Semi-Acoustic Guitar

Gibson ES-135

Enlarge Image

Hollowbody with special P-100 pickups that deliver an authentic "patent applied for" (P.A.F.) sound

Review:

Gibson reissued these guitars for a short time in the 90's. They originally are a design that was first sold in the late '50's. The '50s version had the original P-90 pick-ups. This version has the improved P-100's which are actually stacked humbuckers to fatten up the sound and cancel out the buzz thats usually associated with single coil pick-ups. This guitar is very versatile.

Performance Notes:

I bought this guitar for it's authentic vintage bluezy sound, but it can also sound like a Les Paul when played through my Marshall AVT50 using the overdrive channel. For slide guitar, this thing is incredible. The sustain is endless! For a true bluesy sound or a jingle jangle rythmn sound, I prefer to play this guitar through my Fender Blues Junior tube amp.

Video:

  This is a demo of me playing Freddy King's Hideaway on a Gibson ES-135 (with P-100 pickups). I'm using the bridge pickup position and playing through a Marshall AVT50 ValveState amp, Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive and an MXR Super Comp Compressor. The backing track was created in ProTools using the Xpand Plugin.

Key Features:

  • P-100 Pickups
  •   (Stacked humbuckers in a "Soapbar" style pickup cover)
  • Grover Tuners
  • 59 Gibson Les Paul Style Neck
  • Tune-o-matic bridge w/trapeeze style tail
  • Semi-hollow maple body
  • 3-piece maple neck
  • 22-fret rosewood fingerboard
  • Made in Nashville, USA


Audio Samples:

You can hear this guitar on the song "Just a Few More Minutes" in the Music section.