Gibson ES-175D Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1959), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck, original brown hard shell case.
A spectacular example of a double-PAF ES-175 from Gibson's finest era, completely original with very little player wear.
This guitar represents the design apex of Gibson's 16" electric jazz guitar perennial, with two "Patent Applied For" humbucking pickups and the four knob/one switch wiring rig that has become the classic electric layout. Many of these fine instruments have been stripped of their electronics over the years (material for all the 'extra' 1950's Les Pauls floating around had to come from something�!), so finding such a fine unaltered one is always a treat.
This guitar features a laminated maple body with triple-bound top and single bound back; mahogany neck with a single bound rosewood fingerboard and double parallelogram inlays. The nickel-plated tailpiece is a special design used only on the ES-175, and the bridge is the standard rosewood adjustable style. Pickguard is multilayer B/W/B plastic with less shrinkage and curl than commonly seen. The unbound headstock features a pearl Gibson logo and crown inlay under particularly attractive and unchecked ambered lacquer. The serial number puts this guitar as shipped in early 1959, the body carrying a 1958 factory order number.
These guitars have always been considered one of Gibson's greatest classic designs, and have traditionally been preferred for straight electric jazz work to many fancier and more expensive guitars. The smaller, 'tighter' sounding maple body creates a more controllable sound, and coupled with the best-sounding humbucking pickups ever produced, makes for a smooth and versatile package.
One would be hard pressed to find a finer sunburst ES-175D today, and although not a rare guitar compared to some Gibsons, this is a particularly nice instrument and a great-playing and well as extremely collectable guitar.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm.) deep. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.).
A very clean and unaltered guitar with minimal playing wear and all original hardware.
The finish is still shiny with virtually no checking and only a few small imperfections: one ding in the top finish under the tailpiece loop by the edge, a couple of tiny headstock edge chips, and a few small dings to the body edges and back. There is one very old chip in the neck finish just behind the first fret. The nickel plating is all intact with light average clouding.
The original single-ring Kluson tuners are not mounted on the guitar, as the keystone buttons have experienced moderate shrinkage; there is a set of exact reproductions currently installed. The originals are included and fully functional, but due to the fragility of the original buttons, they are more suited to display than day-to-day use.
The pink-lined brown case has somewhat more wear than the guitar but is fully original and functional. Excellent + Condition.
