Gibson ES-175T

Gibson’s ES-175 is an iconic guitar favoured by many famous players ranging from the incredible Joe Pass through to the likes of Steve Howe [of Yes] and jazz virtuoso Pat Metheny. What a lot of followers of this wonderful guitar may not know is that Gibson introduced a slimmed-down version of this guitar in the 1970′s. The ES-175T

These instruments were only manufactured by Gibson for a short time period between 1976 and 1979 and were discontinued thereafter, making this a rare and highly desirable guitar.

Sporting all the high quality craftsmanship that you’d expect from Gibson, but with a much thinner body depth, this twin pickup beauty would be ideal for those players who are migrating from a solid body guitar.

So if you want a more ES-335 style instrument without the larger body depth associated with the regular Gibson ES-175 this could be just right for you. Tonally versatile, this guitar isn’t just for the jazzers either and it comfortably handles overdriven tones as well as more traditional jazz sounds with ease. Jazz rock anybody?

1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Fender Deluxe Reverb is rightly considered one of the companies greatest achievements in amplifier design and has been a popular choice for recording and live performance for decades. Despite its 22 watt output, this amp is more than adequate volume-wise in rehearsals and small club work and via a microphone through a PA, it can take on much larger venues. Its portability and size also make it a firm favourite with many musicians who want to avoid carrying large amps and speaker cabinets around with them.

The real magic with the Deluxe Reverb however is the stellar sound..and what a sound it is! If you back off the volume control you get the most gorgeous clean tones imaginable making it an ideal choice for players who want real presence and articulation in their sound. Country session giant Brent Mason is a long time fan of the Deluxe Reverb and he always gets great tone both live and in the studio.

If you gradually increase the gain on the DR you get into gloriously rich breakup mode, with a fabulous ‘Keef’ inspired tone. Play the riff from ‘Start Me Up’ on a DR set up like this and you’ll immediately see why the amp is so sought after. If you need further sonic possibilities the great news is that the DR is very pedal-friendly and you can easily get into higher gain territory by placing your favourite overdrive unit in front of the Deluxe Reverb.

So can this amplifier really deliver everything for you?…well it comes about a close as you can get in a single combo package and if versatility, great tone and portability are important to you then you can’t go far wrong with a Deluxe Reverb.

In the hands of LA session guitarists like the legendary Larry Carlton and Lee Ritenour, the Gibson ES-335 took on a new lease of life in the 1970′s as an instrument of choice for jazz rock players seeking to combine the vocabulary of rock with the intricate harmonies of jazz.

The ES-335 was a perfect choice for recording musicians like Carlton and Ritenour as it gave them a rock/blues tone but with the articulation and feel of more traditional jazz guitars. It recorded beautifully and virtually became the ‘LA guitar sound’ of the 1970′s.

Clean or overdriven, the ES-335 delivers in all tonal respects, making it an ever popular choice for guitarists who have to cover a lot of tonal ground in their playing. Equally, if classic rock/blues tones are your chosen sonic territory, then you won’t be disappointed with a 335 either. Eric Clapton certainly proved this with his ground-breaking guitar work with Cream and current virtuosos like Eric Johnson still turn to their 335′s when they want ‘that sound’.

Other famous ES-335 players include: Otis Rush, Alvin Lee, Chuck Berry, B.B.King, Roy Orbison, and many other guitar legends.

Interesting facts about the ES-335:

Gibson design legend Ted McCarty felt the ES-335 was right behind the Les Paul solid body as his most important body design. “I came up with the idea of putting a solid block of maple in an acoustic model. It would get some of the same tone as a regular solidbody, plus the instrument’s hollow wings would vibrate and we’d get a combination of an electric solidbody and a hollowbody guitar.”

The most expensive Gibson ES-335 ever sold remains the one auctioned by Eric Clapton in 2004. His Cherry Red 1964 Gibson ES-335 TDC (bought by EC in that very same year) sold for $847,500 at Christie’s.

Alvin Lee of Ten Years After played one of the most iconic ES-335s. Daubed in stickers and with an added single-coil between the humbuckers, Lee made his “Big Red” famous at the 1969 Woodstock festival.

The ES-335 was fitted with the famous Gibson PAF Humbucking pickups or PAF (“Patent Applied For”) 54s – they were used on the guitars until 1962

The Princeton Reverb is the smallest of the blackface/silverface Fender amps with both tremolo and reverb effects added (distinguishing it from the regular Princeton model). It’s a firm favourite with both studio musicians and club players worldwide due to its warm tone and great ‘break-up’ at reasonable volume levels. With a 10 inch 8 Ohm Jenson or Oxford speaker, the amp runs at around 12-15 watts, making it perfect for small to medium sized club work.

Classic Fender tones with punchy responsive lows and wonderful ‘chiming’ clean sounds are simple to dial-in with this amp. The spring reverb and vibrato effects are foot-switcheable and both add real body and depth to the amplifier’s natural tone without masking your guitar’s own sonic characteristics.

In our opinion, the vibrato effect matches anything that is available in pedal form and the reverb is classic 60’s Fender tone-heaven from subtle ambience to full-on surf ‘twang’. Adding your favourite overdrive pedal between your guitar and the amp is super-easy too and enables you to really push the front-end of the amp with some classic rock tones which you can additionally control via your guitar’s volume knob. So is this really the ultimate club amp?…we’ll you’ll have to decide of course, but there are a lot of players out there who think it is.

For any jazz guitarist, a Gibson ‘Johnny Smith’ is always a thrill to play and this fine twin pickup example from 1964 is no exception. The craftsmanship is simply wonderful to behold and with a tone that evokes many a landmark jazz recording.

The ever-humble guitarist Smith once said of himself that he wasn’t really a jazz guitarist, but nothing could be further from the truth as he helped redefine the ‘cool’ school of jazz through his sheer virtuosity on the instrument, combining an almost classical approach to chord-melody playing and his second to none articulation of single line phrases.

Johnny Smith has a very important place in guitar history from his legendary small group recording of ‘Moonlight In Vermont’ with Stan Getz in 1952 to his composition ‘Walk Don’t Run’ which later became a pop hit for The Ventures.

Arguably the finest instrument to bear his name, (Smith also played a signature Guild and a D’Angelico) the Gibson Johnny Smith is highly sought after and is a worthy match for its namesake, with a number of unique construction features such as the 25 inch scale length and pickguard mounted electronics designed to maintain the integrity of the guitar’s natural resonance, which indeed it does.

This very fine 1964 double pickup instrument (pictured here) is new in stock here at JGG and is a real beauty. A legendary instrument from an equally legendary player.

60′s Latin pop star Trini Lopez was at the height of his popularity in the early part of that decade and this brought him to the attention of Gibson guitars who released their ‘Trini Lopez Signature Model’ in 1964.

In recent years, the guitar has found new favour with artists such as Dave Grohl of The Foo Fighters (who has a signature Gibson Custom Shop model of his own modelled after the Trini Lopez) and Noel Gallagher of Oasis who used a TL fitted with a Bigsby Vibrato. Exactly like the one we have here at JGG.

The original Gibson Trini Lopez was a full depth hollow body electric guitar with some unique cosmetic features including a double cutaway body, pointed horns and diamond shaped f-holes and pick guard. It also had a trapeze tailpiece and a sunburst finish.

The neck was similar to the “reverse” style Gibson Firebird with split diamond inlays and with all 6 tuners in line on the lower edge of the headstock. The later version of the Trini Lopez (the model actually played by Lopez) was only produced for a very short period of time and is extremely rare. The original guitar also had ‘patent number’ humbucking pickups – an earlier incarnation of the legendary PAF pickups.

If you remember Trini playing one, or have simply come to seek out one of the highly distinctive guitars that you’ve seen Noel Gallagher. or Dave Grohl playing, then do get in touch and who knows you could be playing one yourself very soon!

It’s no secret that we have a particular fondness for Fender Champs and Vibro Champs here at JGG and these three amps are fresh in stock. Leo Fender knew a thing or two about what musicians wanted tone-wise from an amp and the sound of a cranked Fender Champ has graced many a famous recording over the years.

The ‘Blackface’ era Vibro-Champs (made between 1964 and 1967)  are especially noted for their ‘sparkle’ in clean tones but also with the capability to get pretty raunchy when pushed in terms of volume. As a recording amp, they excel in producing great classic guitar tones and work equally well when miked in a live setting. Vintage tone just doesn’t get much better than this.

The ‘Silverface’ period (between 1967 – 81) saw little or no modification in terms of circuit design until the 1970′s and the same great tones evident in the ‘Blackface’ period can be found in 1960′s ‘Silverface’ amps such as the one pictured here.

So, whatever your tone requirements, if you are looking for great vintage tone in a small (and highly portable) format you just can’t go wrong with a Vibro Champ (or three!)

Vintage Fender Amps! – With the holiday season fast approaching, there’s simply no better time to think about finally getting one of those vintage Fender amps you’ve always wanted and we have some new ‘in stock’ beauties ready and waiting to rock here at JGG!

From the small but mighty tone machine that is the Fender Champ right up to the majestic Bandmaster and glorious Vibrolux amps we’ll have something that is just perfect for your vintage tone cravings!

Check out all our wonderful vintage Fender amps at JGG.  Visit us online at: www.justgreatguitars.com

Competition was very strong to buy anything and everything from the Les Paul estate sale in Los Angeles yesterday and today.

Of course Les Paul’s Gibson Les Paul Recording model guitars were the stars, but even this pair of worklamps generously estimated to bring $100 to $150, sold for an amazing $2,750 hammer price!

Prices consistently exceed the estimates, with Les Paul modified or biography-featured  items proving to be keenly sought-after. This was one auction where originality and playabililty seemed to count less than quirky and identifiably Les. This was an estate sale of a man who didn’t part with much, and everything went under the hammer from his old army boots, living room furniture, spectacles and national insurance card through to 70s studio equipment, rolls of copper wire, boxes of electronics, upright basses, mandolins and of course lots of guitars.

Les Paul was a natural curator and many of his guitars include his hand-written notes about the item and how he came by it. Some were presentation instruments, and many were signed on the back of the headstock or elsewhere. Les loved to sign guitars even in the early days, as seen on a $200 Kay which fetched $5,500 for it’s “Rhubarb Red” headstock signature and “To Tony, if you cant tune this, call me, Les” inscription on the front.

Bidders were keen to own a guitar, any guitar, owned by Les Paul. An unmodified ES-125 in poor condition brought $3,750 under the hammer, that’s $4687.50 in all.

Other notable prices included:

• $70,000 for a 1927 Gibson L-5 (that’s $87,500 including the buyer’s premium),
• $50,000 for a 1952 (first year) gold top, signed Les Paul, no serial number but with changed tuners
• $150,000 for the (first ever?) Recording model prototype serial number 001, complete with a “Paulverizer” attached to the Bigsby
• $120,000 was paid for an iconic Epiphone Zephyr with Gibson headstock decal, labelled “Klunker #3 – stays at home”
• Star lot was a 1951 Fender no-caster gifted and signed by Leo Fender and counter-signed by Les which closed out at $216,000

Oh yes, and $1,300 for a copy of Linda McCartney’s vegetarian cookbook!

Les Paul was a guitarist, innovator, legend in his own lifetime and a thoroughly charming person. It’s totally fitting that his artefacts are so treasured.