# Gibson ES-135 > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gibson_ES-135 > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Gibson_ES-135.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_ES-135 > Source revision: 1270576120 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Semi-hollow body electric guitar This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs more citations. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Gibson ES-135" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (December 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message) **Gibson ES-135** with [Roland JC-120](/source/Roland_Jazz_Chorus) The **Gibson ES-135** is a [semi-hollow body electric guitar](/source/Electric_guitar#Hollow_body) made by the [Gibson Guitar Corporation](/source/Gibson_Guitar_Corporation). Originally introduced in 1956, it was discontinued in 1958.[1] Some guitars were stamped with and marketed as an **ES-130**.[1] The original run amounted to 556 instruments produced.[2] The model, with some modifications, was reintroduced in 1991 and remained in production until 2004.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The Gibson ES-135 has a Florentine cutaway, a trapeze tailpiece, two P-100 pickups (stacked [humbuckers](/source/Humbucker) with [P-90](/source/P-90) covers) with two tone and volume controls and a three-way switch. It had looks and tone reminiscent of the old [ES-125 TDC](/source/Gibson_ES-125), but was not a fully hollow thinline guitar, having a feedback-suppressing sustain block running under the pickups and bridge from the neck/body joint to the base of the body like the [ES-335](/source/Gibson_ES-335). Unlike the ES-335, the sustain block in the ES-135 was made of [balsa](/source/Balsa) wood rather than maple. The body itself and neck were again of similar construction to the ES-335, being built from laminated maple but with an unbound rosewood [fingerboard](/source/Fingerboard) with dot-style fret position markers. The metal fittings were chrome-plated, and the P-100s had black plastic "soapbar" style covers. The guitar, when launched, was the most basic and lowest-priced in the Gibson ES range, but had the same fittings, wiring and construction quality as more expensive models. At launch, Gibson claimed it was the first semi-solid electric guitar with a Florentine-style single cutaway in the world.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The ES-135 went through several changes during its production life. The P-100 pickups, intended to have the tone and output of the [P-90](/source/P-90) but without the single-coil P-90's tendency to hum, did not meet with universal approval, having a slightly less biting tone and at times an equal tendency to squeal at high volumes. The use of P-100s was therefore discontinued and conventional Gibson covered humbuckers substituted. The original trapeze tailpiece gave the guitar a distinctive tone and an aggressive "bark" when played with vigor, but, as was stated before, was not entirely popular. The trapeze makes re-stringing a slow operation and the very long string length needed to reach from the tailpiece to the tuners meant some brands of strings did not fit.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The ES-135 Studio featured no f-holes, a stop tailpiece and [Tune-O-Matic](/source/Tune-O-Matic) bridge, and humbuckers.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] The 1991 reissue was similarly constructed with a balsa block, Tune-O-Matic, and P-100's.[3] The Gibson Guitar Corporation released a similar model with more up-market appointments (neck binding and inlays) and two classic humbucking pickups, the [Gibson ES-137](/source/Gibson_ES-137), in 2002. ## See also - [Gibson ES Series](/source/Gibson_ES_Series) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-GruhnCarter_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-GruhnCarter_1-1) Gruhn, George; Carter, Walter (2010). *Electric Guitars and Basses*. Backbeat Books. p. 70. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780879309749](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780879309749). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Duchossoir, A.R. (1998). *Gibson Electrics - The Classic Years*. Hal Leonard. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781476851266](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781476851266).[*[page needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_sources)*] 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Bacon, Tony (2012). *The Ultimate Guitar Sourcebook*. Race Point Publishing. p. 195. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781610588423](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781610588423). - [Gear Vault Review](https://gear-vault.com/gibson-es-135-limited-edition-guitar-review/), Gear Vault Review. v t e Gibson ES Series ES-5 ES-100 ES-125 ES-130 ES-135 ES-137 ES-140 ES-150 ES-165 ES-175 ES-225 ES-250 ES-295 ES-300 ES-325 ES-330 ES-333 ES-335 ES-336 ES-339 ES-345 ES-350 ES-355 ES-359 ES-369 Other ES-Les Paul Commons --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gibson ES-135](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_ES-135) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_ES-135?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.