Gibson ES-125

Mine is a 1952, Serial Number begins with Z as in Zebra. Guitar has a single P-90, deep body, no cutaway, 2 knobs and a fairly thick neck, about the same if not thicker than my les paul's 50's neck. Feature wise its got what it needs.

Has a great sound, I use it for jazz and blues type music. Is a great compliment to my solid body electrics. Has a very mellow tone, with a little overdrive it'll sound amazing. The pickup can be noisy and it will feedback if you use too much overdrive, you must use a guitar like this for lower overdrive music.

Action needed some work at first, it was my Grandfathers and spent a good 25 years in a closet before I got it. About 300 bucks to get new tuning pegs (the old ones broke) a setup, the binding on the body reglued, and the electronics cleaned up. Very worth the money to get it functioning again, it sound amazing now.

This guitar is 56 years old and still plays as good as any new guitar I have, including my Les Paul.

I have contacted Gibson a couple times and they are very easy to deal with. They helped me figure out some info about the guitar and where to get it fixed locally.

Overall this guitar is up there with anything I've ever played. Been at it for 14 years now and this guitar has sounded amazing. My dad says he remember hearing this guitar growing up and he said he recognized that unique sound when I started playing it again. As far as vintage Gibson's go this one is a good deal, I lucked out and got mine free with only a few bucks for repairs, for about 1000 dollars its a great buy for a 50's Gibson. Still have the original price tag and care kit for mine...$125!

My ES125 Gibson Electric was purchased by me when I was 14 years old, carrying papers, and I have had it since 1953.
It is a standard ES125 with full body.
The neck is still very staight and I have not had any of the problems that are shown in many of the comments in remarks made by others. It still plays like it did in 1953 and shows very little use. I have always kept in a case so that has probably helped in keeping everything working. Nothing on my ES125 has ever had to be fixed or changed except for strings.
I am not a musician but love music. This guitar has been played at many family functions.
I would like to give it one of my grandchildren but they have not shown any interest, so I just keep it and play it once in a while.
For sentimental reasons, I will always appreciate and keep my Gibson Electric.
The mellow sound is outstanding.

I have never found a flaw in my ES125

Reliability has been outstanding and has been played since 1953

Never had to have any repairs

I am not a musician so this guitar has not been played hard over the years, so cannot comment on many of the questions asked.

Just purchased this guitar less than a week ago and I love it! I've been looking for an older, hollow body and I lucked out with this find. Not a super collector's item becuase I belive it was a "student"level guitar for $75 back in 1959.

One P-90 pickup and two knobs. John at Minstrel Music in Niles, IL through in some new tuning keys. He let me keep the originals but told me they would crumble.

Not a lot of features, it is the simplicity that counts here.

I use this guitar through a 1955 Gretsch Electromatic. Maybe the electronics are made for each other! Very quiet, no hum or buzz at all. Rich sound, but not a lot of sustain. Every string rings true. Would not make a good rock guitar, but blues and jazz are great.

Fantatic neck. A basic model in 1959-60 but made with tender loving care. SOLID!


Beautiful neck, rock solid feel. Stays in tune forever. No need for the amp when you are alone.

Lasted this long, can't see why it can't go another 45 years. Beautiful finish. A few dings on the neck, but what the heck, I hope somebody enjoyed it before me.

I havbe been writing and playing for 30 years. Not much for leads, just rythym. I have owned quite a few guitars. My other current axe is a Burns Steer. Wide variety of sounds for one guitar. I have a Crate 212 that will endure anything and an old gretsch '55 Electromactic amp for home use.
This guitar with that amp is a matchmade in heaven.

1952 arch-top, dark sunburst, maple front & back with mahogany sides and neck with rosewood fingerboard. Equipped with single P-90 pickup at neck position with volume and tone potentiometer. It has the original thin frets and height adjustable compensated rosewood bridge.

Good for blues, jazz, rockabilly, rock and in low gain settings could be used for country and folk. I play jazz & blues (hack level).

I just purchased this guitar and have only played it through a Fender Blues Jr. & Vox Valvetronix. With some fiddling I got good sounds through both amps (the Vox makes practically anything sound good). The single coil is noisy around the computer and close to the amp but no worse than my single coil Fenders.

I am astonished by the P-90 pickup on this guitar. The extremely primitive tone and volume controls yield a wide range of great tone. This ranges from deep sea jazz tone to clear bell like midrange in full treble position. The volume pot has more effect on tone on this guitar than I have noted in my other electrics. The pickup output appears to be extremely high. 7 on the volume pot seems comparable to slightly hot Strat pickups. On 10 the guitar is out of control with raging, good sounding distortion enhanced by string feedback. Turn volume down and it cleans up nicely and becomes very articulate. Sound when damping with the heel of your hand is simply awesome. Huge dynamic range is available. A good part of the sound/tone available is archtop effect. Very nice!

Pickguard sucks and has been removed. Tuners may be stock Klusons or may have been replaced and are barely adequate just like the originals. For a 52 year old instrument that has not had perfect care it is holding up very well. Neck is solid, no binding separation noted, fingerboard and frets worn but still serviceable. Finish is heavily checked on top but not on sides and back. Action is medium low with good intonation. I replaced the pots, tone cap and jack. All electrics except the pickup were shot. Pickup is in great shape.

Very solid, dependable guitar.

Good historical information is available on the Gibson web site. No other contact.

I have been playing for donkey's years. Own Martin, Tacoma acoustics, misc. Warmoth Strat project guitars, many others over the years.

The ES-125s are semi-affordable low end arch-top guitars which play and sound great. It is remarkable that such versatile, good sounding electrics were produced in large numbers by Gibson in the 50s/60s. If you lean towards jazz and blues these are a great choice.

1964 Gibson ES-125 Archtop non-cutaway, cherry sunbrust, rosewood fretboard, rosewood cut bridge, single P-90 dogear screw mounted on body, volume and tone control, I was told that it has a rare spruce top , most models have maple top since this guitar was the lowest in the ES Gibson line

Great for Jazz and some low volume blues, very nice dark tone from the single P-90 with lots of sustain

this was considered to be a "student" level guitar, sometime I miss a cutaway for highs on the neck , but students weren't supposed to get that high I guess...Jimmy Raney used this type of gibson on many recordings

Nice balance on sound great respose, very dynamic , there is no substitue for the original Gibson P-90 pick up

Nice finish, classic cherry sunburst, I had to move the action up in the winter ; the top goes down, and in the summer I can take it back down low....the top is kinda sensative , but still very stable, action is like butter very silky for a rosewood fingerboard!

Very stable , this guitar hold tune very well , it had a strap button placed on the neck joint , but it has no consequence ; it's placement is off center , it prefers a stretched old strings , it seems not to make a difference in the sound at all

I did call Gibson about this guitar for the original string specs; they didn't have them on hand , but after consulting the archtop dept. they advised a Gibson L-5 set with .11's, sounds good to me.

they were prompt in giving a answere to my question ...

not bad...I'm sure others have horror stories...

I've been playing for 15 years + , in the AFM and use this guitar for most jazz gigs and recordings , very good guitar ; that doesn't lure thieves and the like...just enough to do a great gig

I got my ES125 used as a Christmas present in '63 (It was 10 years old at the time). We were very poor but my mother found $90.00 to purchase it for me. It came without a case and was left behind when I served 4 years in the military, three of those in Germany. It is in excellent shape considering....and now has a very good case to protect it. One special note: I checked on it once and nothing but dust was left from the tuning keys. A repairman told me the plastic of the fifties just went "poof" after that many years. I had new tuning machines installed with volume and bass but still need a new tail piece. It is playable and sounds great. I seldom play it but the music of bygone years still whispers from it.

Gibson, made 1956, 16" archtop no cutaway, decal Gibson logo on headstock, one P-90 pickup, gold top hat volume and tone, I believe the nut is plastic 1 11/16", rosewood adjustable floating brige, rosewood dot fingerboard, original frets were thin-ish wire. On my ES-125 the tuners have been replaced as the original buttons disintegrated long ago, otherwise all parts are original including the pickguard. Body is bound, neck, head and F-holes are not. The binding has turned a strong yellow color. The top edge of the neck has small marker dots which have also yellowed. Unfortunately the binding is beginning to come apart very very slightly and there are some minor surface cracks in the finish. Original finish almost completely covered with fine hairline checking. I just had it refretted it for me and it plays beautifully - I was able to "lower the action" quite a lot; the frets are now thicker wire than the originals, which were lightweight, it plays very consistently from end to end top to bottom. As you know, the ES-125 was a low end guitar with only basic features. Nothing about it, including price, was supposed to be fancy.

The sound is the best part of this guitar, which seems to have two personalities, each very different. It sounds great acoustically, bright projecting voice, but not too loud, medium sustain, rings with beautiful overtones. It's personality does not come out until you put heavier strings on it, I now have .013-.056 , it sounds really good playing 4's Freddie Green style, and single notes project very nicely.

Plugged in, the P90 sounds great. The P90 gets a little muddy at the very low end but that is the nature of this thing. The low E and A strings will feed back if you let them. Right now I play it through stereo fender champs, no effects. It also sounds very good in a quiet setting with the amp volume set low enough to hear the acoutic qualities come through. I play in a jazz/bop style... I don't think this guitar would be too good for rock.

The action was always decent but I had to keep the strings up high. After the fret job I must say the action is superb. I am surprised that the nut was cut so well. It's a non-adjustable compensated bridge - the intonation is good and the thing stays in tune. Since this was not a "fine" instrument I am surprised at how good the action and setup are. The only flaw I can see anywhere is the G string sits a touch lower than it should. The body is sunburst with the original Gibson finish. The fingerboard is fitted perfectly and the nut is seated without gaps.. The neck is dead straight, I've never had to mess with the truss rod adjustment. In my opinion this instrument has both a hard to describe spartan utilitarian feel to it, which is very appealing in an Americana sort of way. The only negative, and this is minor, is sometime I get a little buzzing off the tailpiece. Again, this is minor, and I appreciate it more every day because it's got a real personality and a unique voice.

It's a very strong looking instrument, however since it's 49 years old I treat it gently:) I don't play professionally so can't comment on gigging.

I've been playing on and off for 10 years, jazz, blues. Losing this guitar would be like losing a friend. I recommend it highly if you are looking for a low-end vintage guitar to actually play. They all seem to be priced around US$1000. these days. If you are a real musician you'll probably want "finer" instruments although I must mention Eric Clapton was playing an ES-125 in the Motherless Child video .. I think it wasn't plugged in.

Mine was made in 1954, has a P90 pickup and sunburst colour. I bought it for E650,- about seven years ago.
Nice simple body with the original celuloid lacker. Neck has been reglued, it was coming loose (I though I was dying), after the job the sound became even better.

Sounds good on every amp.
It cuts through a big band with the amplifyer off. I like the fat mahony neck, I have been prevering bick necks as I first played on this guitar. It can be very noisy in places with a bad light system, there is nothing I can do about that without changing the character of the guitar. If I have to play in a theather where I didn't play before, I take a Howard Roberts along just to be prepared.
With a guitar with good accoustics you can make lots of sound varieties with your fingers and the volume knob. You only need one pickup.
This guitar does what I ask it to do.

The neck has new tiny frets, to get a better accoustic sound. The frets were completely worn. The Neck has been straightened, the wood near the body came up due to oldness and regued when it came loose.
The guitar was made 50 years ago, with a lot of care.

I have been playing on it less lately since a became more carefull.
The finish is coming of now, that is why nobody is allowed to play on it. The lack is full of cracks. I also stopt taking it to shabby cafe's. It is no use risking it to be stolen or fallen over by some drunk guy.
I give the reliability a 8 anyway, since I know what it will do when I play it.

Never dealt with the company, only with a repairman educated by Gibson. Had some neck-glue problems and new frets put on, aswell a neck redo.

I have been playing 22 years now. I have pretty many guitars, Strats, Gibson Melody maker, Gibson 135, Ibanez Howard Robarts copy and loads of amps and devices. The 125 is kind of my main guitar, will never split with it, but will only use it for certain gigs in small restaurants and "old style" jazz -gigs. This guitar means a lot to me, I found it in a shop when I was hoping to find an other guitar back which had been stolen, I feel that it was kind of destiny.
When playing with Toots Thielemans he used to borrow it from me (and made a big scratch on it!) The only problem might be that I know the guitar to well, sometimes I want something more challanging.
A cello player once said that a good instrument teaches you how to play, how to make a note sound at his best, that is what this guitar does for me.

(ASIDE: I am delighted to have found harmony-central.com, and admit that I am spending wayyyy too much time here.)

No idea what the composition if the woods are, it's a standard sunburst finish ("standard" being what I have seen of ES125 photos on the web).

Most everything appears to be stock (although there is a second identical P90 pickup at the bridge ...not sure if this is stock or not... Gibson is looking into it, see below), with the exception of replacement Grovers (silver).

I purchased a new case from Gibson (their brown, hard-shell, locked "coffin" with the silky purple drape that goes over the body of the guitar, and what appears to be a leather handle).

I am rating features at "10" because it has everything I want/need.

All the sound I want. Occasionally I will sit-in with bands but I am primarily a soloist who plays pop, blues, ballads, sings and entertains. My main guitars had been a 1970 Martin D-28, and an Ovation Balladeer (circa 1975). I use a Mesa Boogie 50 Caliber+ primarily in the clean channel mode (lots of headroom). The guitar is not noisy unless I run into ground problems, or step near my computer. The sound is incredibly "round" and full, yet can be exceptionally bright with the bridge pickup. It's a very versitile instrument, and I am delighted with it.

Plays wonderfully, like an acoustic... see below. Mahogony finish looks beautiful as well: I had someone walk up to me as I was getting set to perform ... she raved to me about the way it looked. Poor dear didn't realize she was holding things up until I mentioned that "I'll play it for you now, if you'll allow me to," and everyone in the place laughed. She jumped, found her seat, and I got started.

When changing strings, I had found it difficult to place the bridge exactly where it should be for intonation purposes (the bridge is meant to be removable) but I had my dealer put two very small dabs of glue at either end... not enough to ruin the necessary bridge-to-top contact, but just enough to keep it in place.

I use this instrument for live gigs, but also have my acoustics as I alternate between them, depending upon what selection I am doing. If I had to take one guitar, this would be it: it's well constructed and appears to have made it through the last 30 to 40 years just fine: the instrument was clearly used (has some wear indentations on the first three frets) but seems to have been well taken care of. Everything is solid.

Interesting story: At first the dealer thought it was a 1968 issue, then we looked at the serial numbers, located a "FON" number ("Factory Order Number") which, after research, seemed to indicate 1957. I sent an e-mail to the Gibson folks inquiring as to the age (mentioning the second pickup), and *got a response on Thanksgiving Day,* (which stunned me) asking for pictures and asking me to look further for a serial number, suggesting after-market companies (if I wanted to replace the pickguard), and also mentioning that "my data show the first ES-125 with 2 pick-up was put out starting in 1966 to 1970. " .... so, I could not be happier with the attentive customer support.

I have been playing for ... ever (*laughs*) See above for other gear. There was nothing I would have asked before purchasing: playing it un-amplified sold me.

My reason for purchasing: For years I had played the above solid body guitars in bands using a Fender 75 with no problems. Then I took some time off, went back to the electric rig and the sound just wasn't the same as I had in the past... very thin. I then started a solo career and as a soloist, people would see me playing an acoustic guitar and even though it may have been *cranked* through a PA, they never seemed to feel it was "loud." If I would plug in an electric solidbody, played at HALF the volume, people would complain that it was too loud. Essentially, people "saw" a loud guitar (because it was a solidbody). Even though I was displeased with my present rig, I knew that I wanted the option of an electric sound because I knew I could adjust it tonally (at the guitar) more than I could with my acoustics in their present format. I was thinking about a 335, went to my local store, played a 335 (was sorta' ho-hum about that) saw the 125 (it *looked* more like an acoustic), and played it un-amplified. It just felt good right off the bat ... more natural, like an acoustic guitar. The dealer let me take it home and I ran it through my then-amplifier (Fender 75). I didn't care for the sound, but recognized that I didn't care for the sound of my other electrics either. I decided to take a chance and get the 125. I worked at it, but was never happy with the sound, was starting to feel I had made a bad decision, trading two guitars for one. I put it away for a time, and in time, purchased a used Mesa Boogie. *That* made all the difference in the world. I now have an electric rig that is exceptionally flexible, with strong bass and treble response: I use a finger-picking style and can punch out the bass while strumming or filling in lead notes. I play this rig every day now, and won't go to "acoustic jams" unless I can bring it.

ONE LAST COMMENT: I took this rig to a local club with a very good sound system and sound man. He and I took a few minutes, miked the amp properly (miked the speaker as well as taking a direct-send from the amp) and the results were stunning... full, "fat" with lots of range and (the way I play) just a hint of distortion to give it some of that blusey edge.

I like this guitar so much that I am geting spoiled: the strings on the acoustic are a slightly heavier gauge, making the acoustic slightly harder to use. I had started out as an acoustic 12-string player (in the 1960's British-invasion and then folk-music days) and never ever thought I would prefer an electric guitar. This ES 125 has changed my mind. I can not recommend it highly enough. If you have a chance to score one for a reasonable price, do so!

made in 1962. P90. very simple hardware.
no cutaway.

very nice - nearly accoustic - sound with character!! Perfect for jazz!
Not so rich as a realy archtop-guitar, but a little bit more aggressive than a bigger one.
The pickup is sometimes noisy but allways percussive. I like it!!

Very handsome fingerboard!!!
Very simple tuners...
Very nice colour

worked for 40 years. Will work next 40 years, too.

I play for 17 years. I play jazz for about 7 years. After a 335, the 125 is my first real jazzguitar with the percussive, fat sound, I search for. I don't need a cutaway for playing (of course, the 175 looks 100% cooler with it. But who one plays a 125?!).
Now I play her for 2 years. And the love grows every day...