Gibson ES-175T – slim and beautiful
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Gibson ES-175T
Gibson’s ES-175 is an iconic guitar favoured by many famous players ranging from the incredible Joe Pass through to the likes of Steve Howe [of Yes] and jazz virtuoso Pat Metheny. What a lot of followers of this wonderful guitar may not know is that Gibson introduced a slimmed-down version of this guitar in the 1970′s. The ES-175T
These instruments were only manufactured by Gibson for a short time period between 1976 and 1979 and were discontinued thereafter, making this a rare and highly desirable guitar.
Sporting all the high quality craftsmanship that you’d expect from Gibson, but with a much thinner body depth, this twin pickup beauty would be ideal for those players who are migrating from a solid body guitar.
So if you want a more ES-335 style instrument without the larger body depth associated with the regular Gibson ES-175 this could be just right for you. Tonally versatile, this guitar isn’t just for the jazzers either and it comfortably handles overdriven tones as well as more traditional jazz sounds with ease. Jazz rock anybody?
Fender Deluxe Reverb – a compact and classic ‘Tone-King’
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1968 Fender Deluxe Reverb
The Fender Deluxe Reverb is rightly considered one of the companies greatest achievements in amplifier design and has been a popular choice for recording and live performance for decades. Despite its 22 watt output, this amp is more than adequate volume-wise in rehearsals and small club work and via a microphone through a PA, it can take on much larger venues. Its portability and size also make it a firm favourite with many musicians who want to avoid carrying large amps and speaker cabinets around with them.
The real magic with the Deluxe Reverb however is the stellar sound..and what a sound it is! If you back off the volume control you get the most gorgeous clean tones imaginable making it an ideal choice for players who want real presence and articulation in their sound. Country session giant Brent Mason is a long time fan of the Deluxe Reverb and he always gets great tone both live and in the studio.
If you gradually increase the gain on the DR you get into gloriously rich breakup mode, with a fabulous ‘Keef’ inspired tone. Play the riff from ‘Start Me Up’ on a DR set up like this and you’ll immediately see why the amp is so sought after. If you need further sonic possibilities the great news is that the DR is very pedal-friendly and you can easily get into higher gain territory by placing your favourite overdrive unit in front of the Deluxe Reverb.
So can this amplifier really deliver everything for you?…well it comes about a close as you can get in a single combo package and if versatility, great tone and portability are important to you then you can’t go far wrong with a Deluxe Reverb.