The ES-135 can sound as poppin' as a jazz box and as twangy as a Fender Telecaster. As such, the Es-135 works well for jazz, rock, or rock-a-billy. With it's fixed bridge, setting intonation is as easy as it would be on, say, a Fender Stratocaster.
I used to own an ES-135 strung with Dean Markley Jazz strings which are 12's at the top and 56's at the bottom. For my tastes, the ES-135 was a little to twangy and bright due to the P-100 stacked humbuckers and the trapeze tailpiece. Now that my ES-135 is gone and I have recently gotten back into R&R, I wish I had her back. And when you consider what I paid for the VSB version ($950), I really wish I had her back.
The ES-135 retails for $1995 (sunburst finish) or $1500 (black finish). The street price is considerably less - well under a thousand for the black finish model. The ES-135 comes with a gig bag, but a hardshell Gibson deluxe case of ran additional $125 is well worth the price.