When I finally "went electric," my friends were pretty excited. The guitarists I knew who had been begging me to give up my old acoustic threw me a little party, each giving me their favorite effects pedals to get that perfect sound. I still remember the look on their faces, though, when I plugged my guitar straight into my Blues Jr. and started playing. They all took back their pedals. There is simply no way to make this guitar sound better. For blues and country, the tone is creamy and haunting, but still with teeth. And for rock, I was amazed at just how this thing can roar, giving any Les Paul a run for its money. On a tube amp with nothing more than volume and gain knobs, I can get a thousand sounds and moods from this guitar, which seems to never play a wrong note.

And in case that isn't enough to persuade you, just look at the picture. I play the Blues Burst with chrome hardware, and there is quite simply not a prettier guitar on the market. It will take your breath away just opening the case. I have no complaints with quality or manufacturing - it looks as good as it plays.

I've owned one for just short of 3 years. I got it new, it came in beautiful shape, flawless, and it played great out of the box. I didn't get a setup for the first year, but when I did, it was even better. It is a beautiful instrument and I have no issues with Gibson quality. I also have a Gibson CJ-165 acoustic and it too is lovely to look at even an better to play. I own an American Strat as well and this a different sound and feel. I like 'em both but I gravitate towards the Blue beauty.

First let me say that I grew up in the days when made in the USA really meant something. Days when Fender and Gibson turned out the best guitars that most of us could aspire to. Gibson quality is so hit and miss that I have just purchased and returned my last one. The ES 137 is a truly a striking guitar at first blush. When mine arrived, I opened the case to find it filled with not only my new guitar but also a large amount of wood shavings and saw dust. I had to take the guitar outside to remove it so that I didn't make a mess in the living room. The case took nearly 10 minutes to clean and to make it safe for the guitar. The guitar finish was better than average over most of the guitar body with the exception of the headstock which was not buffed out at all. It had heavy lacquer runs covering all but 15% of the headstock. It was so bad that it could be seen across the living room. The guitar sounded good but not great and there was string buzz on the first and second string. The frets did't appear to be level but I decided not to check any further and just return it, after all it was brand new. So here is the issue as I see it. Gibson can build a very nice instrument and some times they do. But not all the time. They are capable of pride in their craftsmanship which happens sometimes too. They are not consistent in their build quality or their presentation and that is really too bad. I have never purchased a foreign made guitar that came with a handful of wood shavings in the case and an unfinished headstock. I think that is over the top. I have been playing the guitar for over 50 years and would have thought that I would never say that my ESP-LTD Asian made guitar had better craftsmanship than a Gibson from the Custom Shop. I am still looking for that special go to guitar and I am sorry to say that it won't be a Gibson. If you get a good ES 137 cherish because it has the potential to be an heirloom.

Purchased mine about three months ago. Setup was just right and there is no buzzing anywhere. Many tones in this beauty. Although the finish is flawless and beautiful I might add again, I do not like the back of the neck's feel. It has a tacky feel to it I cannot seem to get rid of. It gets downright sticky after about a half hour of playing. It sounds so sweeeet though, I'll just have to put up with it until a solution is found.

Of all the guitars I have this one is definately the best playing, sounding and versatile of all. I also have a Les Paul a ES355, both very good playing and sounding guitars, but the 137 is the one I keep going back to. I play through a Victoria Victolux, set at about six aon the volume dial, and the guitar just sounds amazing, especially for blues or country. Anybody who plays guitar, at any level should have one. Carl from Western MA.