An Exceptionally Fine Natural ES-175 With Two PAF's
 

1963 Gibson ES-175DN.

This super 16 1/4-inch-wide guitar weighs just 6.60 lbs. and has a nice, fat nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Three-ply laminated maple body, one-piece Honduras mahogany neck with a medium profile, and rosewood fretboard with 20 frets and inlaid pearl split-parallelogram position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl crown inlay. Two-layer (black on white) plastic truss-rod cover. The body of the guitar is triple-bound on the top and single-bound on the back. Serial number ("96709") impressed into the back of the headstock. Inside the bass f-hole is an orange label with the style ("ES-175 DN") written in black ink and serial number ("96709") stamped in black. Individual single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with double-ring Keystone plastic buttons. Two original PAF humbucker pickups with black rectangular labels underneath and outputs of 7.22k and 7.50k. Five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard. Four controls (two volume, two tone) on lower treble bout plus three-way selector switch on upper bass bout. Gold plastic bell-shaped knobs with metal tops. Rosewood bridge with pre-set compensating saddle on rosewood base and zig-zag tailpiece with central "T"-shaped design. This guitar is in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition, with a few very small marks on the body and some very fine finish checking. At one time a previous owner had fitted "later" Kluson Deluxe tuners which have now been replaced with the original individual single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with double-ring Keystone plastic buttons, complete with the original bushings. The only evidence of this are the small circular marks on the face of the headstock where the slightly larger diameter bushing rings were pressed against the headstock face. Otherwise this is as close to a near mint example as one could ever wish for. Housed in its original Gibson black hardshell case with orange plush lining (9.25).

This is one of only seventy-four ES-175DNs shipped in 1963, out of a total production run of 687 guitars between 1958 and 1970.

Although the ES-175 was originally introduced in August 1949 (so-called because it initially retailed at $175.00), it only had a single P-90 pickup, and it was not until 1953 that the two pickup version with four controls and a three-way toggle switch was introduced. So successful was this configuration, that Gibson went on to adopt this arrangement for most of its twin pickup guitars.

"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 [now 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 [now 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, p. xi).