| Gibson ES-175 | |
|---|---|
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| Manufacturer | Gibson |
| Period | 1949 to present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Hollow |
| Neck joint | Set |
| Woods | |
| Body | Maple, Poplar, Maple laminate, Mahogany (back and sides, 1983-1990) |
| Neck | Mahogany |
| Fretboard | Rosewood |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Tune-O-Matic bridge with rosewood base |
| Pickup(s) | 1 single-coil (1949-1953); 2 single-coils (1953-1957); 2 humbuckers (1957-present); models with 1 humbucker or 2 single-coils are still available |
| Colors available | |
| Antique Natural, Vintage Sunburst, Wine Red | |
The Gibson ES-175 is an electric guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation, currently still in production. It is a 24 3/4" scale full hollow body guitar with a trapeze tailpiece and Tune-O-Matic bridge. It is one of the most famous jazz guitars in history.
Contents |
Features
The ES-175 debuted in 1949, as Gibson's mid-level laminate top alternative to the L-5 and as an electric version of the L-4. It was also the first Gibson electric to feature a stylish Florentine cutaway. Its first incarnation had one single-coil pickup (a P-90) in the neck position, and a carved rosewood bridge. In 1953, the ES-175D, a two-pickup model, was introduced. The ES-175 or ES-175D could be ordered in either sunburst finish or in natural finish (for an additional charge).
Beginning in February 1957, ES-175s came equipped with humbuckers. Many new jazz guitarists used these to emulate the sound of Wes Montgomery's "heart" L5, such as Pat Metheny. The ES-175 with humbuckers is prized for its full, rich tone. Some guitarists will try to mimic the rich resonant sound of this rather large hollow body instrument by turning the tone knob all the way down on smaller, or solid body, guitars.
This model guitar is not only used by jazz guitarists. Scotty Moore, the guitarist for Elvis Presley, played an ES-295, essentially a dual P-90-equipped, all gold ES-175. Such rock legends as Steve Howe have taken up the ES-175 due to its high level of craftsmanship and playability. Gibson released the Herb Ellis ES-165 as a signature reissue of his original 1957 ES-175.
The denomination 175 came from the original price tag of the first ES, which was $175.00.
The Epiphone company also produces an ES-175 model, available only in golden and black colours. The Epiphone model has an arched back as well. It is also equipped with two AlNiCo wax-dipped humbuckers.
The Gibson ES-175 features a volume and tone knob for each pickup and classic Kluson tuning heads. The Epiphone ES-175 features a volume and tone knob for each pickup and Grover tuning heads [1].
Notable ES-175 users
References
- Bacon, Tony. Electric Guitars - The Illustrated Encyclopedia
- Marshall, Wolf. Best of Jazz Guitar, pp. 4-5
Other references
External links
- Gibson ES-175. gibson.com. Retrieved May 8, 2009.
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