Gibson 125T 1959

[Heritage525]

I have a chance to pick up a 1959 Gibson 125T, with a single P90 pickup in the neck. It looks like it is in great shape for a 50 year old guitar. Opinons on these?

[totonka]

I had a 53 125 but I sold it. I miss it.

 

[FredZepp]

Shouldn't this topic be in the The Family Tree section.... or maybe for sale, trade wanted ?

[Heritage525]

Sorry, I figured I'd get the most responces here, besides, it was made in K-Zoo!!

[barrymclark]

I had a 53 125 but I sold it. I miss it.

 

Dude... that is seriously sick! Awesome guitar!

[chico]

I call it a "heritage" guitar. No flag for posting over here IMO..

 

Yes, it's a purchase q, but it is broader than that.

[LH575]

I have '68 thick bodied ES-125. Love it.

 

I'd probably go with a new H525 rather than the thin '59 ES-125. Probably pretty damn similar and you'd get a new guitar rather than an old one!

 

Both ply bodied. right?

 

I think the ES125 might be mahogany, with a maple top, rather than all maple, like the H525.

 

One of these days, I'll be getting a H525. From what I've seen, they are the sh*t. JazzPunk's is a beauty.

[Kuz]

NO PROBLEM posting K-zoo made guitars here.

 

That said I had one.... typical old guitar (bad frets, wouldn't stay in tune, neck twisting). I am sure it was the bomb in it's day, but now I 'd rather have a 530 or my 525.

 

Just my opinion, yours may very.

[Bluzman54]

I have a 1963 ES 125-TDC.......Thin body, Dual P90's, single Cutaway........all original except tuners- this is what the H525 was modeled after. It is a very cool guitar and a killer blues weapon. I have owned it almost 20 years.....no way would I part with it.

 

I am going to buy an H-525 so I can have the "old" and the "new".

 

Jim C

[smurph1]

Is there a chance you could play it before purchase? That would probably help a lot..But I gotta tell ya, an old Gibbon with a p-90, I would be real tempted..

[Scooter]

I had a '54 ES-125 that I just sold less than two weeks ago. I did like it a lot, but I've just got an eye on some other things I'd personally spend more time with, guitar-wise. Nice acoustically, and sounded exceptionally sweet through an amp. I miss it, but don't regret it. Nice guitar.

 

Scott

[Crow]

My opinion on the ES-125

I have Pop's old 125. No cutaway, one pickup. Its a plywood guitar, don't know when it was made, one guy said the 40's. It is lightweight compared to the Heritage eagle. The pickup is so low output that it does not register on a plug in tuner. Sounds good though, when plugged in it sounds nearly the same as acoustically. It may be the guitar I touch the most cause I leave it hanging on the living room wall, plywood is not so sensitive to the weather. The Heritage stays in its case.

[Scooter]

I had a '54 ES-125 that I just sold less than two weeks ago. I did like it a lot, but I've just got an eye on some other things I'd personally spend more time with, guitar-wise. Nice acoustically, and sounded exceptionally sweet through an amp. I miss it, but don't regret it. Nice guitar.

 

Scott

[Tried to edit to finish the thought. So here's the rest of what I waz gunna' say. ] Mine had an old DiMarzio humbucker in it. Neck stayed nice and straight. Hadn't had a truss-rod adjustment in decades, either; crazy. I've seen a few in shops over the last year that were in amazing shape. Nice guitar.

 

Scott

[111518]

I've never owned a 125, but these were very popular guitars in their day and a lot of them use to come through the shop where I worked and I spent many hours playing them. I think these, and their Epi Sorrento siblings, have always been great "bang for the buck" guitars, and I really regret not hanging on to one. (I picked up a Korean Epi Sorrento with P-90s as a substitute, but I'm still looking.)

 

The cutaway models bring much better prices than the noncuts, so if you check price guides make sure you compare cuts to cuts. Crow makes a good point too about pickup output. Sometimes old P-90's have this problem. I think they can now be restored (remagnetized?), but if you are buying it as a vintage piece, that can be an issue. Since these guitars were so widely available, alot of them were modified by original owners, then, with the vintage craze, "restored" to original appearance. If you are paying a vintage price, make sure that there are not telltail signs of modification (filled screw holes, barely covered enlarged routes, etc.)

 

Great working man's guitar --no frills, everything you need.

[mark555]

Well, it's always nice to say you own a 59 Gibson, not a les paul but a piece of history none the less. I have heard Jools Holland use one live, perhaps in America he is not so well known, he is a piano player after all. And, who knows if one of the Heritage guys had a hand in it at some point?

[erplander]

This thread comes at the right time for me. I'm taking a look tomorrow at a 1950s ES125. The owner does not know the exact year. I'll check the serial number when I look at it. It's a nocut. It has had a Bigsby added, along with new tuners and a humbucker (will have to see what kind, not sure if it had P90 or humbucker originally). Otherwise it's is supposedly in very good shape. Owner wants $650. Is that as good deal as it sounds to me, assuming everything checks out okay?

[111518]

Sounds like it's worth $650 if you like the way it plays and sounds and the lack of a cutaway is really not going to prevent you from playing and enjoying the guitar. With that level of mods, esp. a humbucker route, it probably has little or no "vintage" value --its value is what its coolness and playability will lead the next potential buyer to give.

(All IMHO, from someone years away from day-to-day dealing with the world of collectible guitars.)