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[[Image:Gibson ES-135 + Roland JC-120.jpg|thumb|'''Gibson ES-135''' with [[Roland Jazz Chorus|Roland JC-120]]]]

The '''Gibson ES-135''' is a [[Electric guitar#Hollow body|semi-hollow body electric guitar]] made by the [[Gibson Guitar Corporation]]. Originally introduced in 1956, it was discontinued in 1958.<ref name=GruhnCarter>{{cite book |last1=Gruhn |first1=George |last2=Carter |first2=Walter |title=Electric Guitars and Basses |date=2010 |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=9780879309749 |page=70}}</ref> Some guitars were stamped with and marketed as an '''ES-130'''.<ref name=GruhnCarter /> The original run amounted to 556 instruments produced.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Duchossoir |first1=A.R. |title=Gibson Electrics - The Classic Years |date=1998 |publisher=Hal Leonard |isbn=9781476851266}}{{page needed|date=October 2022}}</ref> The model, with some modifications, was reintroduced in 1991 and remained in production until 2004.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

The Gibson ES-135 has a Florentine cutaway, a trapeze tailpiece, two P-100 pickups (stacked [[humbucker]]s with [[P-90]] covers) with two tone and volume controls and a three-way switch. It had looks and tone reminiscent of the old [[Gibson ES-125|ES-125 TDC]], 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 [[Gibson ES-335|ES-335]]. Unlike the ES-335, the sustain block in the ES-135 was made of [[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]] 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.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

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]] 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.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

The ES-135 Studio featured no f-holes, a stop tailpiece and [[Tune-O-Matic]] bridge, and humbuckers.{{cn|date=May 2023}}

The 1991 reissue was similarly constructed with a balsa block, Tune-O-Matic, and P-100's.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bacon |first1=Tony |title=The Ultimate Guitar Sourcebook |date=2012 |publisher=Race Point Publishing |isbn=9781610588423 |page=195}}</ref>

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]], in 2002. 

==See also==
*[[Gibson ES Series]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [https://gear-vault.com/gibson-es-135-limited-edition-guitar-review/ Gear Vault Review], Gear Vault Review.

{{Gibson ES Series}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson Es-135}}
[[Category:Semi-acoustic guitars]]
[[Category:Gibson electric guitars|ES-135]]