In picking it up for the first time, we recognized that the guitar had some amazing energy. Set up with flatwounds, it has a nice warm tone with such strong fundamental presence about it. The trebles are nearly as loud as the wound strings, so it's incredibly well balanced both acoustically and plugged in.

The neck feels slightly slimmer in profile to a true '54 neck - closer to a '59 carve in some ways. With the back of the neck having been refinished, it's possible that it was partially shaved down a bit.

This '54 ES-175 won't win any beauty contests, but it'll sure go toe to toe with some of the best vintage archtop electrics you're bound to come across.