Nostalgic Distortion
New member
I was looking around for a new/used semi-hollow or possibly a full tilt Jazz Box to replace the 2015 Gibson Midtown Standard that I'd sold a couple months ago last night. I was just about to buy a 02 ES-175 when I came across this little lady....
The original asking price was a couple hundred bucks out of my price range but I figured that the worst thing that could happen if I were to make an offer on it is he'd decline so I took a swing at it. So without further ado Re-introducing the Gibson ES-139...
It's a bit of an odd duck.... Its production run was fairly short lived (I'm guessing it's got something to do with redundancy & the lack of F-holes?) however it sounds/plays beautifully! I've heard a lot of people describe them as semi-hollow L.P.'s but personally I think it's closer to a Marauder's or L6-S's body shape as the body is a bit larger than a L.P.'s...
The guitar is loaded with a set of Burstbuckers (57 Classic's) with just a simple single volume, tone, & switch for a control panel. The neck is quartersawn Maple & it's got a beautiful bound body/neck with perfectly wrapped frets like a Gibson should have. The fact that the 2015 Midtown Standard's binding did not wrap the fret ends always bugged me a little, & I never understood why they didn't do the binding on them the way it's done on almost every other bound Gibson? It was a nice guitar (especially when loaded with a Pearly Gates set) however the binding issue did play a role in my decision to part ways with it. It might be a silly peeve to have but considering what they cost....
Anyway, unfortunately it didn't come with a hard case when Gibson released it so it came in what I think might be the heaviest gig bag I've ever seen! I believe the reason they chose to use the bag instead of a molded case like you'd expect when buying a ES has something to do with the body shape & limited production numbers? That said I am hoping to fit it into something decent even if I've got to modify a acoustic case or something to accomplish it... (Oh, I'd really appreciate any ideas for the case BTW, until then it will have to live in a empty gun cabinet.)
LOL, I just don't have a whole lot of faith in the guitar's life expectancy with my guitar enamored 11 month old running around all over the place. That little bastard is already walking & quite capable of unlatching un-locked guitar cases if you're not watching!!! At this rate I'm pretty sure he'll be building a meth lab in the basement before his second birthday & then, WORLD DOMINATION!!!!
It might not be everyone's cup of tea but I've always loved these kinda oddball Gibson's (excluding the Corvius of course) & it has the tone I was after at a price that I could afford... Best of all it's not just another L.P. or S.G. & it only weighs 6.5 lbs so my back loves it too!!!
The original asking price was a couple hundred bucks out of my price range but I figured that the worst thing that could happen if I were to make an offer on it is he'd decline so I took a swing at it. So without further ado Re-introducing the Gibson ES-139...
It's a bit of an odd duck.... Its production run was fairly short lived (I'm guessing it's got something to do with redundancy & the lack of F-holes?) however it sounds/plays beautifully! I've heard a lot of people describe them as semi-hollow L.P.'s but personally I think it's closer to a Marauder's or L6-S's body shape as the body is a bit larger than a L.P.'s...
The guitar is loaded with a set of Burstbuckers (57 Classic's) with just a simple single volume, tone, & switch for a control panel. The neck is quartersawn Maple & it's got a beautiful bound body/neck with perfectly wrapped frets like a Gibson should have. The fact that the 2015 Midtown Standard's binding did not wrap the fret ends always bugged me a little, & I never understood why they didn't do the binding on them the way it's done on almost every other bound Gibson? It was a nice guitar (especially when loaded with a Pearly Gates set) however the binding issue did play a role in my decision to part ways with it. It might be a silly peeve to have but considering what they cost....
Anyway, unfortunately it didn't come with a hard case when Gibson released it so it came in what I think might be the heaviest gig bag I've ever seen! I believe the reason they chose to use the bag instead of a molded case like you'd expect when buying a ES has something to do with the body shape & limited production numbers? That said I am hoping to fit it into something decent even if I've got to modify a acoustic case or something to accomplish it... (Oh, I'd really appreciate any ideas for the case BTW, until then it will have to live in a empty gun cabinet.)
LOL, I just don't have a whole lot of faith in the guitar's life expectancy with my guitar enamored 11 month old running around all over the place. That little bastard is already walking & quite capable of unlatching un-locked guitar cases if you're not watching!!! At this rate I'm pretty sure he'll be building a meth lab in the basement before his second birthday & then, WORLD DOMINATION!!!!
It might not be everyone's cup of tea but I've always loved these kinda oddball Gibson's (excluding the Corvius of course) & it has the tone I was after at a price that I could afford... Best of all it's not just another L.P. or S.G. & it only weighs 6.5 lbs so my back loves it too!!!
