This 1962 Gibson ES-175DN was one of only 68 shipped in that year. This is the cream of the crop of Gibson's working players electric archtop of the era. During that time some of the biggest names in guitar were playing ES-175s, like Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, and Jim Hall. Later some rock greats like Steve Howe discovered the versatility and great sounds that could be drawn from this remarkable hollowbody guitar. This one features the much rarer natural finish which has always been considered a premium feature.
The original humbuckers were removed at some point and it now has a Seymour Duncan set that matches terrifically well with this guitar. The neck pickup is a (SH1-N) 59 model, and the bridge pickup is a Custom Custom. The 59 is a "vintage output" PAF style humbucker with an alnico 5 magnet. The Custom Custom is a medium output humbucker with an alnico 2 magnet. The original tailpiece, Brazilian rosewood bridge, and gold reflector knobs are all there. The original pickguard has it's original mounting bracket as well. The pickguard has a small repair with a pop rivet used to reattach the pickguard to its neck mounting block (I suppose that's more reliable that just regluing). The tuners are modern reproduction single line, double ring Kluson Deluxe, for an era correct design match. There were clearly different tuners on the guitar at some point in its life with some remaining mounting screw holes.
This 175 has had a fairly recent refret with medium-jumbo wire which is in excellent conditon. The guitar plays beautifully with all notes ringing clearly. The PAF-style tone is fantastic and again, matches tremendously well with this particular guitar.
The guitar shows evidence of lots of loving play with some finish worn off of the bass side lower bout, the back of the neck, and a small spot on the back. There is also the usual finish checking to be expected on a 60 year old guitar. This is a well cared for, but well played instrument, indicative of its quality as the tool of choice of a serious musician.
Weight - 6.35 pounds
Nut width - 1.685 inches
1st fret depth - 0.85 inches
12th fret depth - 0.91 inches
The guitar comes with a non-original, high quality, hard shell case.
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