1957 Gibson ES-175D. The twin pickup version of the ES-175D was introduced in 1951, two years after its single pickup sister debuted. (The D in the name stands for Double Pickup.) The first version of the ES-175D featured single coil P-90 pickups but in 1957 Gibson swapped those out for their new-fangled humbucking pickups. The finish of this 1967 Gibson ES-175D would be known as Cherry Sunburst a few years later than this, however in 1967 it was just a variety of Sunburst the words 'Cherry Sunburst' are not seen in Gibson literature for any model until 1971.
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.
Many of the recent ES-175s I've played seemed much heavier than the vintage ones, and much less alive sounding (acoustically). Vintage ES-175s can be as loud as an acoustic guitar but new ones seem a bit dead in that department. Plugged in they are decent instruments and in capable hands get the job done.Of the new ones, I like the Steve Howe signature 175 best. The sunburst seems a bit closer looking to the vintage ones too.Check out this one at GuitarHangar, they don't come around too often either (no affiliation with dealer):Of course, for that price you are maybe near a vintage one with single P90 anyway (probably need another 1000)or this one from Mike (member here, nice guy too), he has a clip and sounds very good! (Talk about capable hands and a good guitar!). Nothing wrong with the new ones whatsoever.
The vintage snobs and people whoseem hell bent on bashing Gibson or have a vested interest in a Heritage or Sadowsky orwhatever will try to tell you otherwise. Just play a bunch and you'll find one that speaksto you - just like any guitar made by any manufacturer.For what it's worth, I'm sitting here with a real '54 ES-175D and a recent'06 reissue w/ factory P-90's. To be completely honest, I like the neckon my reissue better (fuller, chunkier). But the vintage 175 is simply woodierand a tad mellower / darker - due to age and setup with the Rosewood bridge.Plug it in to a really good amp and the differences narrow considerably.After selling off / trading most of my collection, my '06 ES-175 reissue hasoutlasted almost all of them with exception of my vintage 225TD. I've literallysold 20 guitars in the past year or so. And every time it's come down to it,the reissue 175 has made the cut. I'm talking 50's, 60's Gibsons, Historic ES-5,vintage Dano's, AVRI Tele's, etc.
They're all GONE. I don't miss ANY of them.But I still have the ES-175 reissue. It's really a gem that I can gig without worryand more than holds its own when plugged into a vintage amp. (In my case,'67 Vibrolux Reverb) I'd love to get it plek'd, but I may end up having to sell itif I don't get some more work coming in (self employed).Surely someone will post an entirely negative review, 180 degrees removedfrom my experience. But if you want the classic Gibson design, you owe it toyourself to play a few - 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's or new / recent. And to answer your questions more specifically,what to look for?- fretwork- neck angle / break angle off the bridge to tailpiece (should be fairly steep)- sunken tops (older ones)- finish detail- weight (whatever feels good and lively to YOU) compare a few in person!!!!!!I had a 1991 that was truly a boat anchor compared to my '06.But the '06 is pretty close to the weight of my 1957 ES-225TD(thinline version of 175). Have no idea why.personally, I'd try to avoid buying off the internet.play a few in person.
The chatter in the jazz guitar newsgroups is that Gibson used thinner plywood in the old days (and with different glue) that made the guitars not only lighter, but livelier. The heavier plywood in more recent years made for a sturdier guitar with less warranty returns (the putative reason for the change), and more feedback-resistant. Plus 50 years of air-drying undoubtedly affects the sound of the older ones.There may be something to it. In general, the older ones seem to be lighter than the newer ones, and at least some of the older ones (not all, by any means) sound surprisingly good unamplified. I haven't come across many new ones I could say that about. And older, livelier guitars are certainly more feedback-prone. But plugged in, the differences tend to be minimized.
I've played recent ones that sound fine amplified.You really have to play a bunch to find one that you like, whether it's older or newer. Necks in the '50s were fuller; got thinner in the '60s into the '70s, then fattened up again (I don't recall the exact years).
No matter how great a particular guitar may sound, if you don't care for the neck, you're probably not going to be happy with it.I had a mid-60s ES-175 many years ago. It was a terrific guitar, since traded away for other things, but it's one I'd love to have back. And by the way, the zigzag tailpiece rules. After reading a bunch of threads about ES-175's, a common theme seems to be: The ones that sound great unplugged don't sound as good plugged in and vice versa.From my own experience: I have a '98 Gibson ES-165 (basically a 175 with a single humbucker in the bridge).
I think it sounds great unplugged and I mostly play it around the house. I have it set up with TI 12's and I play all styles of music on it. Plugged in, it only comes alive with the right amp, and that is usually a clean, solid state amp.
It sounds great with my MicroVibe set to the BF model. With my Blues Jr. But then, I've never spent too much time playing this guitar plugged in and probably don't know how to EQ it correctly.HTH.