A Mid-Fifties Blond ES-175.
 

1956 Gibson ES-175 N.

This super mid-fifties blond ES-175 weighs just 5.60 lbs. and has a nice, fat nut width of just over 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Three and a half inch deep three-ply laminated maple body, triple-bound on the top and single-bound on the bottom. Honduras mahogany neck with a wonderful really thick profile. Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 20 original small frets and inlaid pearl split-parallelogram position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl crown inlay. Individual Kluson Deluxe 'single-line' 'no-name' tuners with single-ring Keystone plastic buttons, all stamped on the underside "2356766 / PAT. APPLD. Single P-90 pickup with an output of 7.90k. Single -layer black plastic truss-rod cover with two screws. The black plastic pickup cover is stamped on the underside "UC-450-1 / 2". Two controls (one volume, one tone) on lower treble bout. Gold plastic bell-shape "Bell" conrol knobs. Rosewood bridge with pre-set compensating saddle and trapeze tailpiece with pointed ends and three small raised parallelograms. Inside the bass 'f' hole is an oval orange label with the model number "ES-175" written in black ink and the serial number "A-22487" stamped in black. Inside the treble 'f' hole stamped in black is the FON (factory order number) "V 1419 7".

This guitar is totally original, with no additional strap button. The original pickguard has been removed (the original metal bracket is in the case). The blond finish has mellowed beautifully from years of playing and there is a tiny amount of surface only belt-buckle rash on the back. There is some checking to the finish and a few marks on the back of the neck and the edges of the headstock, also some finish (playing) wear to the back of the neck. Overall this example is in excellent plus (8.75) condition. Housed in its original Gibson four-latch brown hardshell case with pink plush lining (9.00).

One of just 146 natural ES-175s shipped in 1956.

"At the time the ES-295 was introduced in 1952, the ES-175 was available only as a single pickup model even though a very few models had been custom-ordered with two pickups since its inception in 1949. But it did not take long to realize that a 175 with two pickups would be a neat proposal to consolidate the lower end of the electric range. In early 1953, a 295 was thus converted into a two-pickup 175 and by April the first production ES-175D (D stands for dual pickups) were shipped from the factory. Ted McCarty and Clarence Havenga probably did not fully appreciate it at the time but one of the all-time Gibson classics was born. The affordable 175 and 175D proved immensely popular during the 50s and became the workhorse of many fine jazz guitarists such as Kenny BURRELL, Jim HALL or Herb ELLIS to name just a few" (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 55).

The ES175 is Gibson's most successful electro-acoustic guitar. An estimated 37,000 were sold between 1949 and 1990 and it continues to sell in healthy numbers, despite unprecedented Japanese competition. Dozens of look-alikes and near copies provide testimony to the instrument's dependability, tonal responsiveness and aesthetic quality. From the hundreds of electric guitars which have come and gone over the last fifty years, only a handful have survived with little deviation from their original form...Steve Howe, King Sunny Ade, B.B. King, Mel Brown and Derek Bailey have used the 175 to good effect in other genres. However, it is jazz guitarists who have been seen using the 175 consistently for more than four decades and it is they who provide the instrument's strongest cultural association. Forty [fifty] years of record sleeves, magazine articles, TV appearances and gigs by eminent jazz guitarists have established the 175 as the pre-eminent jazz guitar. The shape, design and construction of the 175 have changed little in more than forty [fifty] years of continuous production, affirming its tradition of dependability whilst reaffirming its status as a design classic" (Adrian Ingram, The Gibson ES175: Its History and Players).