Crestline ES-175 Copy

From what little i can find about Crestline, this guitar was probably made in the late '70s in Japan. It is a near-exact copy of a Gibson ES 175 (single cutaway f-hole archtop, 22 fret neck, 2"--3" deep body, two humbuckers with separate tone/volume and a 3-way switch). Like the Gibson it has a laminated top, but what the outer veneer is i am not sure. It is finished in a red-brown stain with a clear finish, and the neck (set neck, not bolt-on) appears to be mahogany with a rosewood fretboard. Unlike any ES 175 i have seen, it has a Tune-O-Matic style bridge and stop tailpiece instead of a trapeze. The tuners are sealed, but not marked with a brand, and the neck is thick enough to feel substantial but not too big. Then again, i have hands like daddylonglegs, so it might feel big to some.

This style of guitar is popular mainly with jazz players, but i bought it to add some electric twang to my folk/country/old-timey/roots noise. After all, Scotty Moore played a tarted-up version of the ES 175! After beating it into submission (see Action, Fit, and Finish) i plugged it into my Fender Princeton Reverb II. I started out with no effects, the better to evaluate it, and HOLY CRAP! Does that amp ever love this guitar! The humbuckers put out a good strong signal, and the speaker gets sent straight to Memphis! The sound of the neck pickup alone doesn't drive me wild, but both together or the bridge pickup alone are great. All the twang a boy could ever want!

While i bought this guitar over 20 years after it was made, i suspect i can evaluate the factory set-up because it appears to have been played rarely if ever. And no wonder, considering the the fact that it was almost unplayable! The nut was cheap plastic and way too tall, and it seems the bridge was install just a tiny bit too close to the neck, since it runs out of string-legth adjustment on some strings. It took me a lot of fiddling and fussing and a bone nut to fix the intonation. Also, the pickups were nowhere near the strings. There are two flaws in the wood, one on the back next to the binding at the waist of the guitar, and one on the back of the neck. Both are small and cosmetic only; they can't be felt through the finish. Other than that, the guitar is quite attractive. The hardware feels sturdy, and the neck is nicely finished.

I have no doubt that this guitar would survive live playing. It seems to be extremely well put together. The only things that concern me are the electronics (they seem fine, but they are difficult to inspect) and the odd-looking strap buttons which don't look big enough to stay put. I will be replacing those next week. Mostly, i wouldn't want this thing to fall on my foot.......it's really freakin' heavy! the only reason i wouldn't use it on a gig without a backup is because i never go anywhere with only one guitar, even if i only need one.

I have been playing for 30+ years, and i own numerous other instruments including a Deering Banjo, and Takamine and Danelectro guitars. If it were stole or lost today, i would want something like it just because i love that sound and i don't have another guitar like it. Maybe down the road i'd look for something else, who knows? I love THAT SOUND, but i hate the weight. I wish it had more switching options for the pickups, but i can fix that myself. If nothing else, it is a beatiful chunk o' lumber. For right now, i'm enjoying just lookin' at it. Think i'll log off and go play it!