1952 Gibson ES-175, Sunburst
Lovely 1952 Gibson ES-175 in great players condition. Brought into us by the family of the previous owner, an accomplished Jazz musician, the guitar has seen some changes and repairs but has that magical feel of a well loved instrument.
One of our favourite and Gibsons best selling historic models, the ES 175 debuted in 1949 as an ES (Electro-Spanish) version of the established L-4 model. The 175 in the title representing the models original price of $175. An immediately popular guitar, the ES-175 was initially offered with a single neck position P-90 pickup with the dual pickup option only offered from 1953 onwards. Measuring just 16 1/4" wide and with a shorter scale compared to the full scale 17” and 18” inch instruments the ES-175 also featured a fully laminate body. Not only did this reduced the list price significantly in comparison to the larger solid Super 400 and L-5 it also had the the desirable effect of helping to suppress feedback. By 1957 the ES-175 tailpiece had changed to a new proprietary ‘zig-zag’ design and in the February of that year the model received the addition of Gibsons newly designed Humbucking pickup. Still offered in single and double pickup configurations the ES-175 would remain essentially unchanged until the early 1970’s when the single pickup variant was discontinued. Gibson produced the ES-175 from 1949 to 2017, at which point it held the title of the longest production electric guitar.
Dating to 1952 this factory Sunburst ES-175 is one of only 818 shipped that year, it remains in good overall condition but has seen some changes and repairs over its time. The Sunburst is typical of this era with a paper thin nitro-cellulose finish across the guitar with no evidence of overspray. There has been a repair to the input jack area and there has been localised finish work associated with the repair. The repair is tidy and in an area of the guitar not often visible. The neck has plenty of wear and play-through but feels perfectly broken in with a very approachable profile. The neck has been re-fretted and the nut is a well cut replacement. The fingerboard has been levelled previously and as such the guitar plays great. Some parts have been replaced, namely the Tuners are modern Schaller reproductions and the knobs are modern, short barrel type. The tailpiece and bridge foot are original with the original wooden saddle included. The Bridge currently fitted is a 1960’s Gibson ABR-1 with Nylon Saddles, bought as aftermarket part (the original saddle is retained in the ABR-1 box with original adjustment screwdriver). The pickguard is a well made replacement. The electronics have seen some changes also, pots are modern replacements as is the capacitor, the P-90 is correct but has a replacement lead wire.
The guitar plays well with a lively acoustic voice, these early ES-175’s were built much lighter than later examples, the aforementioned P-90 sounds excellent with dry, warm and woody overtones. It measures 7.38K at the input jack. This particular style ES-175 was used by far too many jazz guitar greats to count; in the 1950s and '60s Herb Ellis especially is often pictured with a guitar virtually identical to this one. As previously mentioned the neck profile is supremely comfortable, a full C but without too much depth or shoulder measuring 21.93mm at the 1st fret and filling up to 23.99 by the 10th. The nut measures a roomy 43.66mm. The guitar plays well, currently set up with 12 gauge Flatwounds it has a low, flat action with a small amount of adjustment to the bridge.
A great example of a players guitar that thanks to some changes and well executed repairs will hopefully see this golden era classic used for another 70 years. The guitar comes with a modern Hiscox case.