ES-137 Classic a good jazz guitar?

[JJK]

So this guy I work with has a cherry sunburst ES-137 he wants to sell. I am almost positive I am going to buy it, I just have to try it out. I am heavily into jazz and blues, and these are good jazz guitars right? I know the pickups are pretty hot but are still good. I guess they're the same pickups in LP Studios.

Good for jazz, or not so much?

[ssss]

The few I've checked out in some music stores were very "hard" and trebly sounding. For my taste the ES-137 is a model that's better suited for Country/Rockabilly type of stuff than for jazz. But that's me....

[JJK]

Do you think if I put in a '57 Classic in the neck it would give it a jazzier tone?

[MikeB_18]

The majority of neck pickups that I've played in hollowbody Gibson's, whether humbuckers or P-90's, have had a nice thick, smooth tone that could very well be suited for jazz.

The '57 Classic is one of the best in this regard in my opinion.

[BigPapiFan]

Originally Posted by JJK

Do you think if I put in a '57 Classic in the neck it would give it a jazzier tone?

I am betting that would help. The ES-137 Custom has a pair of '57s and a varitone and it sounds great for jazz. A string change would also help since the stock Gibson BriteWire strings are quite a bit brighter than Gibson Vintage Reissue (for instance) or other pure nickel wound strings. I wouldn't necessarily jump to change the pickups. I suggest that you change the strings and see if you could dial in the tone you want - you might be surprised.

[kram21]

you can get great jazz tones with your ES137,as you can with any guitar--strat ,tele,LP etc. Use heavy guage strings[11 or 12's], wound g string,neck pu with tone control rolled off completely or nearly completely. Go low on the mids on your amp and add extra base as desired. Hope that helps

[kram21]

by the way GHs nickel rocker strings are not as bright as most stings and have that worn in tone from the getgo

[gitman]

when the particular guitar has no dead spots, no weak e-string and plays balanced across the neck you can get a decent "jazz" tone out of it. much more important : who are your idols, which tone do you want to emulate ? an archtop with flatwound strings will have much less sustain than this 137 or any other semi-hollowbody, for instance. the attack wil be not quite as quick on the 137 but you'll be able to play it at higher volumes before feedback becomes an issue. and on and on. the sound begins in your head and has to travel through fingers.

[JJK]

Originally Posted by kram21

by the way GHs nickel rocker strings are not as bright as most stings and have that worn in tone from the getgo

I use Nickel Rockers on my Strat and AS73. I think when I get the ES-137 I'll put GHS Compound Wound's on it.

[Funkwire]

Ted Greene played jazz on a Tele, I saw Ulf Wakenius play on a LP with Oscar Peterson, SRV did a bang-up job on 'Chitlins Con Carne' on a Strat...find the guitar that works for you and allows you to express your music. Whatever model it is, THAT'S a good jazz guitar!

[BadAssBill]

My 137 has great cleans. My only challange with it is access to the upper frets is not so good because of the heel. Up above 15 it starts to get hairy. Bang for the buck...it's a great guitar that is very versital.

[bluegrif]

Kind of depends on what sort of jazz tone you're after. Like most genres, jazz is all over the map. If you're a jazz purist, and like to hear extremely traditional timbres, then probably only a full depth archtop is going to do it. On the other hand, if you're more into bluesy jazz or jazzy blues, but still old school, a 137 should do it quite well.

[Guitartim]

Gibson Classic 57 in the neck will enhance the jazz warmth in that guitar. An even cheaper adjustment is to lower the 490 neck p'up and raise the individual screws a bit. I did this with my Howard Roberts Fusion (similar design as a 137 but with a huge cutaway and finger style tailpiece) and love the 'new' tone from the old p'up. I still may swap in a 57 later.

[m@2]

hi, I've had my es137 for a few years. I do find it's pretty diverse in tone, from straight up les paul thick tones, to decent rythmn cleans. I don't play much jazz, but I've had friends able to coax a nice jazz tone out of her.

[Leonc]

Would it be far off the mark to say that a es137 "does jazz" about like a es335 "does jazz"?