Gibson ES-175 Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1951), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck, original brown hard shell case.
A nice example of an early single-pickup ES-175, Gibson's classic "Working Man's" jazz guitar. This guitar was built when the 175 was still a relatively new instrument but already a very successful design, finding immediate acceptance with players for its combination of great sound and playability at a moderate price.
The sunburst laminated body is triple bound on the front and single bound on the back; the neck is single bound with split parallelogram fingerboard inlays. Early "joined dot" Gibson logo and crown inlay on headstock.
Very early Kluson single-ring enclosed tuners with the shaft not anchored on the far side of the coverplate, a short-lived feature. Narrow P-90 pickup cover, rosewood bridge, 5-ply beveled-edge pickguard, and tall "barrel" knobs. White Gibson label with "Artist" serial number dating to around September 1951.
As used by far too many jazz guitar greats to count; Herb Ellis especially is often pictured with a guitar virtually identical to this one.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 1/8 in. (41 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.).
Extremely fine overal; finish shows light dings and scratching with one noticeable chip to headstock. All original, except tailpiece has been replaced (or possibly re-plated�now chrome instead of nickel). Original small frets show light wear.
Brown HSC shows average wear with top hinge pulled thru the rim and a very small sticker applied. Great playing and sounding example of an all-time Gibson classic.
