The first incarnation of Gibson’s famous ES-175 came in 1949, as a single pickup version, (P-90s). In 1952 the twin pickup version appeared – the ES-175D – also originally fitted with P-90s, then, from early 1957, the guitars began to be fitted with Seth Lover’s newly invented hum-cancelling pickups, which would forever change the world of electric guitars, under the name bestowed on them by Gibson: “humbuckers”.
Blue Oyster Cult
Such is the versatility of the dual humbucker powered ES-175 that the list of its famous players covers every genre of music imaginable. Jazz legends, seminal blues acts, rockabilly pioneers, your early rock’n’rollers, country greats, sixties psychedelic rockers, prog-rock mainstays, fusion experimentalists… there’s clearly not much the 175 can’t handle! (To hear an ES-175 in full-on rock splendour, check out Blue Oyster Cult’s massive 1976 hit, ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’)
Patent No. pickups
Maple front, Maple back & sides, three-piece Maple neck, (modern-C profile), Rosewood fingerboard with split parallelogram MOP inlays, Rosewood-mounted tune-o-matic bridge, trapeze tailpiece, original Gibson-stamped keystone tuners… and a fabulous set of Patent No. pickups, (dated January, 1979). As mentioned above, the humbucker revolutionised the electric guitar, and this original Pat. No. pair rip it up every way to Sunday! The ES-175’s default reputation is jazz, but they’ll handle anything you chuck at ’em – Wes Montgomery to Grateful Dead licks, BB King to Izzy Stradlin, Doc Watson to the Stones.
Cream of the crop!
Making this particular ES-175 stand apart from most others out there is something that was revealed in a chance conversation a few years back, at one of the big NAMM music trade shows in California. A former Gibson person of some note, by then with another major manufacturer, happened to mention that some of the very best production models were those with a SECOND stamp on the back of the headstock. “They’re the ones I always look for in the vintage stores. We used to do that stamp on all the guitars that would go out on the road with the sales reps, and also freebies that went to any big name players. These were the pick of the runs, the very best, that the reps could show off to the stores. But we put that second stamp on there to discourage the ones that went to name acts being sold off. So, far from being seconds, those were actually the cream of the crop!”
Condition
In almost unbelievably fine condition for almost 45 years, this could pass for a museum exhibit. The guitar has been played, and on close examination you’ll find a small scuff, or a pinhead little dinglet here and there, but overall, amazing condition! Frets are the mid-seventies onwards successors to the famous “fretless wonders” of just a few years earlier – almost as low, but noticeably wider, making any style of playing an absolute breeze.
Free courier delivery
Complete with its original Gibson hard shell case and original hang tag, (pics 7 & 8), this fabulous piece of history is 100% ready to plug in and play, and our famous FREE COURIER DELIVERY is included to any address in Australia. ($100 shipping to New Zealand, $175 to the US, Canada, UK and mainstream European countries)
Weight: 7lb 5oz / 3.32kg
Just Guitars
