Gibson ES-225 Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1955)
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Gibson ES-225 Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1955), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # W2880-35, sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
This is an clean, original and very early example of the ES-225, Gibson's first "popular price" thinline electric. A cool and often overlooked Gibson guitar, this model features a thin single cutaway fully hollow body with a single P-90 pickup in the center body position. Although common now, when this guitar was introduced the thin-hollowbody electric guitar was a brand new idea, a genuine Gibson innovation.
Besides the unconventional pickup placement the 225's other distinctive feature is the patented Les Paul metal tailpiece/bridge unit. This gives the guitar a noticeably sharper, more ringing tone than the traditional wooden bridge/tailpiece setup. The body is single bound, with a sunburst top and uniform brown back and sides. The medium/chunky round-profile neck has a bound rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlay. The unbound headstock sports a pearl Gibson logo and individual enclosed Kluson tuners with plastic buttons.
This ES-225 is one of 467 produced during 1955, the model's first production year. At that time this single-pickup guitar was the only version of the ES-225 design offered, but in 1956 it was joined by double pickup and natural finish variations. The combination of the thin body, metal bridge and mid-body P-90 pickup results in a different tone than most other '50's hollowbody guitars, with an airy midrange character but plenty of P-90 "meat" and growl if cranked up. The center-mounted pickup proved unpopular in the long run, but does result in a unique sound with a more "acoustic-y" character than many fully electric guitars, at least at lower volume. The fully hollow body also provides a pleasing if not overly loud acoustic sound; this is an excellent "couch" guitar. Over the last decade or so we have found some singer/songwriters have favored this model as a practical stage guitar for primarily acoustic players seeking an amplified instrument.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a nice clean, original guitar showing some light wear but with no real negatives to report. The sunburst top has hardly any fade, showing some light checking and just a few very small dings. There is some deeper checking with minor flaking to the upper back at the waist and some small dings, dents and scrapes to the back and sides overall but no heavy wear. The back of the neck has a few dings and dents with one larger chipped spot above the nut; the headstock shows some small dinks and scratches to the face and edges.
Everything on this guitar is original except for new buttons on the original Kluson tuners. and there are no alterations except a Gibson strap button added at the heel. There is a small lamination check through the jack, but the area is solid. The original small narrow frets have only some very light wear, and the guitar plays and sounds fantastic; a beautiful survivor from the mid-'50s. The original brown HSC has heavier external wear and a few ancient stickers but is generally in very good shape as well. Overall Excellent Condition.
This is an clean, original and very early example of the ES-225, Gibson's first "popular price" thinline electric. A cool and often overlooked Gibson guitar, this model features a thin single cutaway fully hollow body with a single P-90 pickup in the center body position. Although common now, when this guitar was introduced the thin-hollowbody electric guitar was a brand new idea, a genuine Gibson innovation.
Besides the unconventional pickup placement the 225's other distinctive feature is the patented Les Paul metal tailpiece/bridge unit. This gives the guitar a noticeably sharper, more ringing tone than the traditional wooden bridge/tailpiece setup. The body is single bound, with a sunburst top and uniform brown back and sides. The medium/chunky round-profile neck has a bound rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlay. The unbound headstock sports a pearl Gibson logo and individual enclosed Kluson tuners with plastic buttons.
This ES-225 is one of 467 produced during 1955, the model's first production year. At that time this single-pickup guitar was the only version of the ES-225 design offered, but in 1956 it was joined by double pickup and natural finish variations. The combination of the thin body, metal bridge and mid-body P-90 pickup results in a different tone than most other '50's hollowbody guitars, with an airy midrange character but plenty of P-90 "meat" and growl if cranked up. The center-mounted pickup proved unpopular in the long run, but does result in a unique sound with a more "acoustic-y" character than many fully electric guitars, at least at lower volume. The fully hollow body also provides a pleasing if not overly loud acoustic sound; this is an excellent "couch" guitar. Over the last decade or so we have found some singer/songwriters have favored this model as a practical stage guitar for primarily acoustic players seeking an amplified instrument.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a nice clean, original guitar showing some light wear but with no real negatives to report. The sunburst top has hardly any fade, showing some light checking and just a few very small dings. There is some deeper checking with minor flaking to the upper back at the waist and some small dings, dents and scrapes to the back and sides overall but no heavy wear. The back of the neck has a few dings and dents with one larger chipped spot above the nut; the headstock shows some small dinks and scratches to the face and edges.
Everything on this guitar is original except for new buttons on the original Kluson tuners. and there are no alterations except a Gibson strap button added at the heel. There is a small lamination check through the jack, but the area is solid. The original small narrow frets have only some very light wear, and the guitar plays and sounds fantastic; a beautiful survivor from the mid-'50s. The original brown HSC has heavier external wear and a few ancient stickers but is generally in very good shape as well. Overall Excellent Condition.