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1951 Gibson ES-175

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Serial #: A-9284 white oval label.

Body size at lower bout: 16". Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut Width: 1 11/16"

Materials: Solid mahogany neck; solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard; arched maple top and back; dual-parallelogram mother of pearl fingerboard inlay and thistle peghead inlay; triple bound top, bound back.

Hardware: Original hardware includes Gibson P-90 single coil pickup, beveled b/w/b/w/b pickguard, and compensated Brazilian rosewood bridge. Correct antiqued nickel Kluson Deluxe 16x1 tuners, chrome trapeze tailpiece with raised-parallelogram crossbar; deep amber barrel tone and volume knobs.

Notes: One pickup. Two knobs. The rest is up to you.

Introduced in 1949, the Gibson ES-175 quickly became the most popular jazz guitar ever made. Fast, clean and road-ready, the 175 has been the workhorse of the touring player and studio ace ever since, from Joe Pass to Pat Metheny. The legendary P-90 pickup of the early 50's provides a bright, rich sound unduplicated before or since, but was available on this model only until 1957. And since 1971, Gibson has not produced the 175 in the classic one-pickup configuration shown here.

This example is elegance itself, with a gleaming formal dark sunburst, amber barrel knobs and tuner buttons, and rich Brazilian fingerboard and bridge. An exceptionally lightweight example, this guitar tips the scale at a mere 5 lb 4 oz. The resonant 16" body sits easily in the lap, and the 24 3/4" scale is a joy to play, with fine original frets and smooth low action. The instrument is in stunningly clean condition, without body or neck cracks or repairs, no pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, and only some light finish cracks near the waists on the back. The original P-90 pickup is clear, open and strong, with the original wide-bevel pickguard is preserved in factory condition. An exceptionally handsome example of the box that launched a thousand solos.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel wound strings (.012-.054). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.

Case: Black plush hardshell case.

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