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The ES-175 has long been the world's most popular jazz guitar, and the 2016 1959 ES-175D from Gibson Memphis captures the most desirable incarnation in its truest form. We use cookies to understand how you use our site, give you an awesome experience, and deliver our services. By using our. The Gibson ES series of semi-acoustic guitar (hollow body electric guitar) are manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The letters ES stand for Electric Spanish, to distinguish them from Hawaiian-style guitars which were played flat on the lap. Many of the original numbers referred to the price, in dollars, of the model.
This 1962 ES-175D shows its distinctive zigzag tailpiece while reclining against a Fender Vibrasonic amp from the same year. The amp was Fender’s first Tolex model.The Gibson ES-175 debuted in 1949 as an affordable, yet high-quality professional alternative to the existing 17' wide ES-300 and ES-350 models.
The same 16 1/4' body size of the cheaper ES-125 was used, but with an arched laminated maple back. A deep Florentine cutaway was introduced for a trouble-free reach to the high registers. A double-pickup version known as the ES-175D was eventually launched in 1953. Both models were available simultaneously until the single-pickup guitar was dropped in 1972.
The ES-175 remains a top choice today for serious jazz musicians. Dual humbuckers—in this case, a set of original Gibson PAFs—earned this model of ES-175 its “D” designation.The 1962 ES-175D pictured has the features most often associated with the classic incarnation of the model. These include PAF humbucking pickups (1957-1964), a zigzag tailpiece (1957-1970), double-ring Kluson tuners (replacing single-ring tuners in 1960), a rubber grommet under the selector switch (by 1958), and a laminated truss rod cover with a beveled white boarder (replacing the one-ply plain black cover in 1958).
While the ES-175D was only officially offered in either sunburst or natural, this example is finished in cherry (a standard color for guitars in the ES-335 family). The 1962 list price was $340. The current value for this one is $10,000.Though this instrument has a cherry finish, officially the ES-175 was only offered in natural or sunburst. Subtle checks in the lacquer near the Florentine cutaway reveal this guitar’s age.The amp behind the guitar is a 1962 Fender Vibrasonic. It was introduced in the summer of 1959 as the first of Fender’s new brown Tolex amp series. These amps replaced the previous tweed covered models and had some practical modifications including a control panel in the front, rather than on the top, and built in tremolo. The Vibrasonic was equipped with two 6L6 power tubes pushing 40 watts through a 15' JBL speaker.
The 1962 list price was $479.50. The current value for the amp is $2,500.Sources for this article include The Gibson ES-175: Its History and Players by Adrian Ingram, Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years by A.R. Duchossoir, and Fender Amps: The First Fifty Years by John Teagle and John Sprung.
With a fully hollow body and sharp Florentine cutaway, the Gibson ES-175 stands out as an all-time iconic jazz guitar. The ES-175 has seen some variation over the years, with different pickup and hardware configurations coming in and out of the Gibson lineup.
Those with the ES-175D model number indicate the use of two pickups, and an N denotes a natural instead of sunburst finish. Although the ES-175 is noted as a jazz guitar, it has also been embraced by rock players like Yes' Steve Howe who has a signature model.Years of Production: 1953 - presentBody Style: Archtop hollowbody cutawayDesign Elements: Two humbucker pickup, trapeze tailpiece (Bigsby optional), parallelogram inlays, Florentine cutawayNotable Players: Steve Howe, Pat Metheny, Joe PassRelated Articles.