Gibson ES-175D Sunburst (1957)

We are simply delighted to offer up this one-owner 1957 Gibson ES-175D for the first time since it was purchased new!

Played professionally at various clubs, house concerts, and social gatherings for decades, this ES-175D is a truly excellent example of Gibson's professional-grade laminate body jazzbox. It features a beautiful and original Sunburst finish that has some seriously vibey lacquer checking and crazing throughout, along with a completely stock complement of hardware, plastics, and electronics.

These dual P90 hollowbody archtops sing with a distinct sweetness and clarity, with great dynamic response that can transform from light and airy to bold and focused with a slight change in pick attack. The full C neck profile is quite comfortable and worn in just the right spots, providing some great historical reminders of how cherished and played this guitar was.

As is often the case for a late 50s example, this ES-175D features the "zigzag" tailpiece along with a beautiful set of original Amber bonnet knobs and Catalin switch tip. The P90s feature original black "dogear" pickup surrounds along with a factory spacer for the bridge pickup, and the original 4-ply pickguard is in great shape with light/moderate cupping. Factory-installed Kluson 'single line' Deluxe tuners with single-ring tulip/keystone buttons work great.

It came as no surprise when the guitar arrived in our shop that it was in dire need of new frets. The original vintage small frets were all but gone, particularly in the 1st and 2nd positions. Our favorite local vintage restoration specialist Laurent Brondel executed a lovely refret with new Jescar 51100 fretwire, increasing the size from the original wire but not going too big. The result is just perfect - playability is about as good as it gets! The original nylon nut was quite worn down, so a new nylon nut was installed with exacting precision we've come to appreciate from Laurent.

Condition: Very Good+. With the more obvious signs of wear present on a well-played 65 year old guitar, there's not much of note to point out here. The top arch is healthy and the input jack area is free of cracks or splits, which are two areas we tend to see signs of stress from both heavy gauge string pressure and physical contact, respectively. The outer edge of the neck heel where it meets the binding at the back of the body shows the slightest amount of separation, although not even enough to slip a single piece of paper into it (it presents as more of a finish separation aesthetically). It's structurally sound and requires no additional work.

This is a superb vintage ES-175 that plays almost like a modern-built guitar but maintains an impressive amount of originality that excites vintage purists yearning for a classic Gibson hollowbody archtop electric.

Priced with original hardshell case that is in fair/good condition.

**Photographed with an early 1965 Fender Princeton Non-Reverb that came in with the ES-175 and was originally used with the guitar. Amp is not included in the sale of the guitar.**

• Laminated Maple body w/ original Sunburst finish
• Mahogany neck w/ bound Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard
• Pro refret and replaced nut by Laurent Brondel w/ Jescar 51100 fretwire (original frets and nut included)
• Original Kluson 'single line' tuners
• Full C neck profile: .89" @ 1st fret / .99" @ 10th fret
• Original P90 pickups: 8.02k Neck / 7.99k Bridge
• Original pickguard and mounting bracket
• Original wiring harness and Amber bonnet knobs
• Original switch and Catalin switch tip
• Original Rosewood bridge
• Original nickel-plated 'Zigzag' tailpiece
• FON V6002 26
• Weight: 6lb 11oz