|
Price Paid: US $480 used
Purchased from: N/A
Features: 9
Got mine used but minty, no Maestro, ebony with cream pickups, gold hardware and that silly logo. The case is nice and I think the ebony/gold combo works from a fashion perspective. Same specs. as all the other reviews, semi-hollow with the varitone, two P-100s(P-90s superwound?) pick-ups. Just about the right amount of stuff, the tone knob pull-up bypass for the varitone is a nice feature, as is the varitone. It has a nice weight and balance, very easy to play standing up or sitting down, can play for hours. Maybe some find the body small, I think the whole deal balances out very well.
Sound: 10
I disagree somewhat with the others in the respect I don't think the semi-acoustic body adds as much as you'd think. The hollowed chambers are small. Unplugged, it sounds slightly better than a solid body, plugged I'm not sure your hearing more than the Ps and varitone.
But, I like the variety of sounds, it's a good reference guitar. If you have several different electrics I think you'll put this is the middle of the collection and use it the most. It pushes pedals very well and sounds good on all my amps, (Fender, Vox, Peavey). Strung with 9s you can bend, hammer, false harmonic and pull-off all day long with a ideal neck for multi-styles and accurate sound pick-up. Neck is not-to-thin, not-to-fat.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 2
Once adjusted the actions is great, though not as low as a Strat without enduring some fret buzz.
Here's the core of my review: The Action, Fit and Finish from our friends at Gibson is just about the absolute worst I've seen in a guitar made by a better manufacturer. Absolute crap. Everything was misadjusted; neck, bridge, pick-ups, strings. Knobs were falling apart, loose, pick-ups were rattling around - and I said this one was minty - it's not the fault of the original owner. I can find lots of little defects in the finish - defects that would have caused the guitar to be a second if manufactured by Gibson pre-90s. Extremely discouraging - get ready to spend a week reworking this guitar until you can start enjoying it. And oh yeah, the frets are nicely crowned, but undressed and the ends they tear at your hands when you run up and down the neck - charming. I guess when Gibson gets another 50 years of experience they'll figure this problem out.
Reliability/Durability: N/A
Time will tell - I'm hoping the foundation of this guitar is solid but I expect to have problems with the cheap electronics - pots, and the hardware is nothing to rave about. As it sits now, I will not hesitate to gig with it - probably without a backup.
Customer Support: N/A
N/A - Based on how they assemble this guitar these are the last people I want advise from.
Overall Rating: 9
Overall, don't let the non-quality issues turn you off completely. I own wonderful E.B.s, Fenders, Ricks and have had a half a dozen nice Gibsons over my lifetime. IMHO, at the end of the day it's the playability and sound that matter most, you can get past initial quality problems. For example, the quality of my Rick is simply the best I've seen in a production guitar - but I play it least often.
I'm glad I have this and if lost I'd get another. It fits very well as an all purpose axe that you can get pretty aggressive on - or back off into some pretty mellow sounds. Best of all, I find it very comfortable to play and the neck/action is perfect middle of the road. (But, watch out for those nasty fret ends.) With my quality grips aside, I fully recommend it.
Submitted by Anonymous at 03/11/2001 10:04
Price Paid: US $450Purchased from: N/A
Features: 9
Ditto on the other reviews. The varitone appealed to me in the store, and was one of the considerations in buying it. One reason I'm submitting this review is that I just discovered (after owning it 3 months) that the Tone knob pulls out to disable the varitone switch. In my opinion, the guitar sounds best with the varitone turned off, the pickup switch in the middle, and the tone and volume cranked. After that, it seems the varitone only takes away from the guitar's sound, and I haven't used it since!
Sound: 9
I play all kinds of stuff, from bluegrass and country to jazz to rock. It handles all of them well. It's not real loud (i.e., hot pickups), but I don't do metal, so it suits me fine. It is capable of a very warm and full tone, evenly spread across bass and treble. Very nice. It's also very capable of doing a super bassy sound, which is great those who like to solo in the lower realms. The strings on the lower frets have the perfect mix of thump and twang.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 7
I haven't been hugely impressed in this department. The varitone knob was falling off in the store and I had to have them tighten it. As other reviewers have noted, the finish scratches easily (although relatively superficially), but this doesn't bother me too much. The plastic tuner knobs seem cheap to me; I'll probably replace these with good ones at some point. Finally, the pickups are very loose. I don't know if they're like this for a reason, but tightening the screws doesn't seem to help much. They bob up and down if you hit them with your hand while playing. Again, not something that impedes playing or sound (that I've noticed), but annoying nonetheless. As for playability, the guitar is excellent. It is very small and very light, which was important to me, and the action is perfect, with just the right amount of buzz (I like to go after that Jerry Garcia brand of fret buzz on the lower notes). It's also quite pretty (although the vanilla covered pickups don't help any). All said and done, this wasn't an expensive guitar to say the least, so I don't expect it to be one. It's a great deal.
Reliability/Durability: 8
Mostly issues with what I wrote above. I worry about the loose pickups, although they haven't caused any problem yet. If you need to keep a scratchless guitar, don't buy this one. Otherwise, seems sturdy and well built.
Customer Support: N/A
Never dealt with them, but you can't argue with the Gibson lifetime warrantee.
Overall Rating: 9
I'm very happy with this guitar, and think I'll own it for a long time. I play mostly acoustic, so I didn't want to invest loads of money into an electric, so this is perfect. It's an excellent bargain, sounds great, and plays great.
Submitted by Matt at 09/20/2000 21:54
Price Paid: US $469.00Purchased from: N/A
Features: 9
OK, you guys know what it is. I really can't add anything that hasn't
already been said. Based on some of the prices I have seen listed here, it looks as if I got the best deal of all at $469.00. I bought it brand new in 1998 at the Guitar Center in Towson Maryland. It was special ordered for someone who never picked it up. It was priced at $499.00 but when I pointed out some very light scratches on the back, they knocked the price down even lower. The scratches are hardly noticeable and are not all the way through the finish. These only come in black and red, and I got a black one. I noticed that the "Gibson" logo on the headstock is a decal and not an inlay. What the heck, it still looks good.
Sound: 10
This guitar is very universal, and can produce a wide variety of sounds
ranging from an ES335 to a Strat. It suits any style of music I choose to play. Rockabilly is my first love, and Blues are my second. It can handle either one with no sweat.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
This guitar was ready to play when I walked out of the store with it. No adjustments of any kind were needed. It has nice low action and plays like butter in your hands. Aside from the very light scratches on the back, this guitar is perfect.
Reliability/Durability: 9
This guitar seems very solid and should be able to withstand any kind of playing. Nothing against this guitar, but I wouldn't play any gig without a backup, anymore than I would drive across country without a spare tire. It's not often that I break a string, but it happens. I don't want to have to restring in the middle of a gig. I would just grab another guitar and keep on rockin'
Customer Support: N/A
Never had the occasion to deal with them. Don't know.
Overall Rating: 10
I have been playing a long time and own quite a collection of guitars and amps. I bought this one because I like the way it plays and sounds. The price was an offer I couldn't refuse. I've never had a problem with losing guitars. I usually remember where I put them, but if it were stolen, I would probably hunt down the thief and cut all the fingers off his left hand, and tell him not to do that again.
Submitted by Glenn Bouler at 08/31/2000 13:04
Price Paid: US $699.00Purchased from: N/A
Features: 9
The features on this guitar were fairly nice. The varitone and bridge pickup create a warm 335 sound, but you can also get many other great tones. The gig bag it comes with was ok, although it has a tendency to slip out of tune while in there. The Gibson life time warranty is a feature that makes me feel safe while I sleep.
Sound: 10
The sound is beautifully clear, but you can also get some of the richest tones I have heard from a guitar in this price range. The same day I played a Gibson 335 ES and a 175 Es and this little hum-dinger sounded remarkably close. It also swings the other direction playing amazing clear strat-like tones, great for playing acoustic stuff.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 6
My only real complaints are in this area as many others have been. My bridge was smooth and checked out ok, but my pickups were screwed on very loose and needed to be tightened immediately. Also the finish scratches very easily and needs a pick guard which Gibson does not offer. Although they directed me to a custom pickguard maker it can run upwards of 50$.
Reliability/Durability: 9
Aside from minor flaws in the finish and poorly tightened pickups it's a sturdy guitar from what I can tell. I recently took it to music camp with me and it held up fine. Gold hardware on this puppy adds to it's sleek beauty. It does seem to slip out of tune more frequently than other guitars I've used but I think it's cause of all the bending it beckons you to do.
Customer Support: 7
The life time warranty and help was exceptional, but nothing I wouldn't expect from a top notch company like Gibson.
Overall Rating: 9
For the price this guitar is a damn good deal. I looked and many other guitars in much higher price ranges and found this to be the most versatile and have excellent sound quality. It reminds me of so many different great guitars that I have heard. The uniqueness of this guitar is also a great thing. So many times we have relied on things we have use for ages and this is something new that is great.
Submitted by Greg Manning at 07/12/2000 08:30
Price Paid: US $515.00Purchased from: N/A
Local shop that is no longer selling Gibson!
Features: 9
This Blueshawk was made in 1998, Chicago Blue finish (which I was really attracted to), gold hardware and all the usual features, tap and selector.
Sound: 9
What can I say about the sound that hasn't already been said, these are marvellous sounding guitars. The ability to control the sound has been maximized quite nicely.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 1
The factory set up was not bad, the action was too high for me, but the intonation was on. Here's the rub! The finish is horrid, micro scratches in the finish abound. Inside the f-holes were splattered with rubbing compound, left there from the factory. I removed the access plate from the neck pick up and the inside was filled with compound. There was some form of red tint on the binding strip? The clear coat was obviously put on too thick, as there were raised mounds around the edges of the f-holes. I got a deal on the guitar because of this, but the more I thought about it, I decided to give Gibson a call. They advised that I sent it to them for inspection, which I decided to do. Three weeks later, the guitar came back virtually untouched. A complete waste of time! Well, I guess did get the elusive Gibson box out of it!
Reliability/Durability: N/A
These guitars are small in stature, but built very well. As for reliability, time will tell.
Customer Support: 1
Unbelievably poor! Apparently Gibson has let there finishing standards slip. With a suggested retail price of $1200+, it's no wonder dealers are embarrassed to ask more than $500! I would have thought that Gibson would have taken the opportunity to refinish my guitar, not just look at it and send it back.
Overall Rating: 7
I haven't been playing long, a few months. I love the sound and the playability of the guitar is great. I knew when I bought this guitar that the finish was not perfect, after all I only paid $515 for the thing new. I have looked at a lot of these guitars since buying mine and have seen many with finishes worse than mine. In spite of the finish, I am still giving this guitar a good rating because of the sound quality. My advise, buy it for the sound, not the finish!
Submitted by Jim Dailey at 04/05/2000 03:41
Price Paid: N/AFeatures: 7
Features have been covered but there's one thing I must mention. This is NOT a hollowbody! I got tricked into thinking it was...just a word of caution for those of you out there who are as naive as I was. The f holes are merely decorative.
Sound: 8
Been trying to play blues for about 2 yrs now...this one fits very nicely. It has some warm hollowbody-LIKE tones and can even do clucky strat or tele sounds, but I'd stick to a strat or tele if I wanted that kinda tone. This guitar does best in that mild overdrive favoured by BB King...even though I play through a peavey rage 158 it still sounds pretty good. I'll consider getting another amp but that'll be a lot later. It's also pretty versatile...I played Chet Atkins and whatever smatterings of jazz I know on it and it sounds great too. I don't use the varitone much in overdrive but it can help give you a range of clean tones. Kudos to Gibson for this one. There is hum sometimes but I'd attribute it more to my surroundings and amp.
Action, Fit, & Finish: 6
Worksmanship was passable but had a few flaws...a lot of wood filler in the inlays and fret slots and buffing scratches on the finish. Not something I'd expect for Gibson. I know they can do a lot better. Then again for a low-end model, guess I can hardly complain...it was like the cheapest Gibson in the whole shop.
Reliability/Durability: 8
I don't play live much (at all actually). Hardware's pretty ok but my sweats got a lotta weird stuff in it, don't think the gold colour will last very long. Don't play with straps much. Since this is a solid body I'd expect that it can take a beating but it looks too pretty to be bashed up. At least strats and teles can still look great bashed up. I think could use this guitar without backup if I didn't need much in the way of strat tones. That's if I ever get a gig in my life.
Overall Rating: 8
all in all this guitar will keep me satisfied for a long time...I actually got to choose between an ES335 or this but seriously speaking I think the 335 is WAY overpriced. I would have loved to get it but I guess I can't accept the idea that I'm paying more for reputation and prestige than playability and tone. Well I settled for this baby and I'm not regretting it anytime soon.
Submitted by victor at 01/08/2000 10:09
Price Paid: US $645
Purchased from: N/A
Gordon/Lasalle Music, Agawam, MA
Features: 8
See the other reviews. This one's the typical non-tremelo model. Semi-transparent Chicago Blue. 2 Blues 90 pick ups, truss rod wrench and gig bag. Gibson should allow a credit for the bag for those people wanting a hard case instead. Another minor gripe is that they should provide more documentation for the varitone selector, but at least that was available online at www.gibson.com.
Sound: 10
Very nice variety of sounds for classic rock and blues of course). With the gain turned down and the neck pick up only, it even gets some warm, jazzy, almost acoustic tones. Plenty of sustain. I just play at home through a small Marshall with a little reverb and chorus. I was struck by the dynamic range of the guitar compared to others I have tried. It actually has a nice sound unplugged!
Action, Fit, & Finish: 7
Action was perfect for me) right out of the box. This guitar just begs you to bend notes. No fret buzz. Silent pickups at any selector setting. If you look at the Blueshawk, check the finishing of the frets carefully. Some I looked at were quite sharp as you run your hand along the neck, but mine is nice and smooth. Hey Gibson, if your reading this, please drug test the person adjusting the pick ups because mine were quite loose. Another reviewer had the same problem. Eventually I'll have this fixed but it doesn't affect the sound. Near perfect finish. Mine was ordered for me so it didn't get abused on display.
Reliability/Durability: N/A
I've only had this 2 weeks.
Customer Support: N/A
Gibson responded to my email question about the loose pickups within 24 hours. I haven't had a chance to get them adjusted yet. Life time warranty for original purchaser.
Overall Rating: 10
I haven't been playing a year yet, so this is my second guitar after moving up from a Squier Strat. I'm no expert, but I tried a lot of different guitars before getting this. I am very impressed with how much more musically complex the sound is. The other appealing feature is how light and comfortable it is to play. It just felt right when I picked one up. Very subjective of course) Its no museum piece, but overall nicely made. The key word here is value. Seemed like a good deal for the sound and features and quality.
Submitted by Anonymous at 04/28/1999 20:47
