“Its popularity extends beyond jazz boundaries – notable players include Steve Howe, B.B. King and even John Frusciante”: Why Gibson’s longest-running production electric remains one of the world’s more affordable vintage guitars

Gibson ES-175 — (Image credit: Future/Matt Lincoln)

Of the many iconic guitars that became popular during the 1950s, Gibson’s ES-175 is one of the most enduring. Launched in 1949, it holds the record as Gibson’s longest electric model in continuous production – for 70 years until 2019. (The equally revered ES-335, which debuted in 1958, is showing no signs of obsolescence and so is likely to overtake it in 2028.)

Also in 1949, Gibson introduced the 175’s acoustic equivalent in the L-4C model, which had a premium carved spruce top more typical of the jazz guitars of the day. By contrast, the ES-175 has a laminated top reinforced with two parallel braces whose resistance to feedback proved popular with players as concerts got bigger and performances got louder.

Accordingly, the list of famous ES-175 players is long, with jazz virtuosos Herb Ellis and Joe Pass most strongly associated with the model. Many players used the double-pickup version, despite sticking to its neck pickup with the tone rolled back – and Pat Metheny famously took this all the way, removing the bridge pickup and controls and taping the vacant holes.

Comfort Zone

Professional jazzboxes of the pre- and post-war period were often large. Elmer Stromberg’s celebrated instruments, such as the Master 400, were a full 19 inches wide, while Epiphone’s Emperor lower bout measured 18 ½ inches and Gibson’s Super 400 also tipped the 18-inch mark.

By contrast, at 16 ¼ inches and considerably lighter, the ES-175 was comparatively more comfortable for both the player and their wallet, with a price on release of $175, reflecting Gibson’s historic trend towards naming guitars after their launch price points.

The first examples of the Gibson ES-175 had a single pickup, and either a rich sunburst finish or a Natural blonde finish, with a $15 upcharge.

While single-pickup models were discontinued in ’71, the configuration reemerged in models such as the fancy ’90s Herb Ellis ES-165 design. Twin-pickup models, the ES-175D and DN (such as the 1954 example photographed here), appeared in 1952 and came with an upcharge of around $50.

A very few special orders were produced in black, red and even white. The rockabilly-favourite ES-295 – in production from 1952, discontinued by ’59 and reintroduced in ’94 – was essentially a fancy gold-finished ES-175 with a different tailpiece and plastics.

A few ES-175s are known to have escaped the Gibson factory with the ‘Alnico/Staple’ pickups that featured on several high-end models and early Les Paul Customs, but the overwhelming majority carried ‘dog-ear’ P-90 pickups from launch until the new Patent Applied For humbuckers were introduced in 1957 across Gibson’s middle and upper lines.

Many late-50s ES-175s were later stripped of these, alongside their tuners, control knobs and pickup switches, to refurbish or complete conversions and replicas of more valuable collectibles such as Les Pauls.

Early ES-175 knobs were a tall barrel shape with no numbers, whose early transparent plastic sometimes goes cloudy with age. These became slightly less tall and gained numbers to become more recognisable to modern eyes through to early ’53, and knobs then followed Gibson’s trend across all models (‘speed’ knobs in ’53, ‘bonnets’ in ’55, ‘reflectors’ in mid-’60 and ‘witch hats’ in ’66).

Similarly, Gibson ES-175 pickup switch tips gradually got lighter and rounder across the 50s, and became noticeably whiter by the early 60s. The switch was mounted directly into the top on the upper bout, and the jack socket into the side of the lower bout.

Both areas can suffer from splitting over time. Some players must have grumbled about the switch’s acoustic clunk – because around ’57 (as humbuckers were introduced) a rather clunky rubber mounting grommet was introduced on Gibson archtop models, in all likelihood to damp its mechanical noise.

Cutting Edge

Whereas many Gibson archtops evolved through rounded (Venetian) and Florentine (pointed) cutaways to allow upper-fret access, the ES-175 always had a sharp cutaway, and this marked a first for Gibson.

Adrian Ingram, professional jazz guitarist and author of The Gibson 175: Its History And Its Players (Centerstream Publishing), told Guitarist: “It’s alleged that the idea for the ES-175’s sharp [Florentine] cutaway was suggested when a young Kenny Burrell took one of his guitars – an early blonde L-5 that had been modified with a Charlie Christian pickup – to Gibson and asked for a deeper cutaway.

“It’s anecdotal, but there are some pictures of him playing this guitar with a sharp cutaway. Sharp cutaways look great, especially on a smaller-bodied archtop like the ES-175.”

The one-piece ivoroid-bound mahogany neck joins the body at the 14th fret, like most flat-tops, and it originally had 19 frets, with a 20th being added in 1955. Double parallelogram markers guide the way from the 1st to 17th frets, while a crown inlay features on the headstock face alongside a pearl Gibson logo.

Small frets were typical until 1959 when a wider, deeper fret profile was introduced. The neck profiles follow the trend across Gibson’s range from a comfortable early full ‘C’ shape, through ’59’s famous ‘D’ shape, to 1960 to ’62’s flatter ‘blade’ profile, before thickening again in ’63.

Kluson tuning machines with plastic tulip buttons and single rings feature on ES-175s until the transition year of 1960, when the tuner buttons gained a second ring of ornamentation (again often scavenged to restore, convert or recreate Les Pauls).

Many of these early plastics could be unstable, sometimes decomposing or disagreeing with the case lining dyes and glues of the day. These reactions produced gases that attacked and corroded metal parts, particularly gold-plated ones.

Regular production models featured a floating rosewood bridge, though some upgraded to the adjustable tune-o-matic unit introduced later to improve intonation. Most ES-175 players tended to use heavier strings with a low action for jazz, where string bending is less common.

Muted jazz tones are often enhanced by using flat-wound strings with a wound third, so the change in bridge stagger required to correctly intonate plain third strings was not such an issue as it was (and is) on other contemporary models.

Strings were anchored by a trapeze tailpiece of flat nickel-plated brass with a bar with pointed ends ornamented with two raised diamond shapes.

The early humbucker variants from ’57 to ’60 command higher prices, not least from the parts-vultures who change their parts out onto Les Pauls for profit

Some tarnish, others retain their shine as their patina develops. By ’57, the tailpiece became a central T-shape bar with a zigzag rod ornament to each side.

The top body edges are triple bound with white/black/white plastic strips, the f-holes are unbound, and the back edges are single-bound. The end strap buttons are ivoroid, and instruments quite often left the factory with no neck heel strap button as they were expected to be played sitting down. The pickguard is bevelled plastic, which can dish as its five plies shrink at different speeds with age.

The original single pickup is positioned about an inch away from the neck – neither right up against it nor in the middle position of, say, the somewhat later ES-225T or ES-330T. When double-pickup models entered in ’52, a very few of the earliest double-pickup models left the factory without the ‘D’ designation on their labels.

Enduring ESes

ES-175s have a spacious, airy, woody amplified tone. Like most archtops whose designs stemmed from big band use, they have a longer throw than many flat-tops and their acoustic tone is focused in the percussive midrange.

These guitars really were mainly used as hard-working tools, so very clean examples are quite unusual. Matching cases usually had brown exteriors (like that of the pictured model), but inside colours varied from early brown and green through mid-/late-’50s pink, and even some maroon, before the standard early ’60s black with yellow or sometimes purple linings took over.

The early humbucker variants from ’57 to ’60 command higher prices, not least from the parts-vultures who change their parts out onto Les Pauls for profit. But ES-175s with P-90s are still relatively affordable. And very good!

With thanks to Gardiner Houlgate for allowing us to photograph this model.
This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Bob Wootton is a British guitar player and vintage collector.

Towards the end of a successful – and long – career in advertising he started writing and now contributes to various media on marketing, advertising and guitar-related matters, notably for the world-leading Guitarist magazine.

As tech for his friend and mentor, highly-regarded guitarist Alan Darby, he was part of Eric Clapton’s core team at his 2019 Crossroads fundraiser festival in Dallas. He now advises, mentors and assists other players.

He works regularly on the music scene around London, surrounding himself with better players to raise his game. Not difficult, some might say. He runs a couple of YouTube channels too.