TravisC Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Hi All, I've inherited a 1960 sunburst ES 175d from my grandfather, which I've had for maybe 6 months now. I'm wondering if there is any way of finding out about its manufacturing history, who it was build by ect. I've been reading "The Gibson 175" book, which says there were a few changes made in 1960. I gather it's a mid to late 1960 because of the double ring, single line tuners. It doesn't have the serial number on the headstock, just on the orange label inside but does have the gold bonnet knobs, which were both changes made in 1960 (according to the book). I guess I'm kind of interested in little quirks like these.The most curious thing about this guitar is that the pickup switch is on the cutaway, not the top like usual, which must have been done in the factory. It's certainly the nicest guitar I've ever played anyway. I'd played it a bit when my grandfather was alive but it hadn't been plugged in for maybe 30 years or more. He passed away over 20 years ago and he used to say he didn't know whether it still worked back then! I couldn't believe how good it was when I plugged it in and played it, just a whole new life of its own! Anyway, this is my first post so I hope it's not too long and rambling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 . Welcome. Nice - a 1960 ES-175 D - with a great family legacy. We'd love to see some pics - here's pic posting help - http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/11005-sticky-how-to-post-photos/ It might take a while for some of the members to chime in - there's plenty of knowledge here, so hang on. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunburst PB Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 I agree with Big K. From your description I'm dying to pix of the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisC Posted July 13, 2012 Author Share Posted July 13, 2012 I'll take some picts today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I'll take some picts today. Hi Travis, Glad you posted. Good to hear from you and I can't wait to see pics of the guitar. Congrats on your 175. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisC Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Hi All, Thanks for the positive replies. I'm no photographer and it was getting dark when we took these photos so no natural light. Hopefully they are ok. I'll try and get better ones if people are interested. The poor thing probably hasn't been cleaned for 30 years either. I guess I've been so scared of wrecking it I've been afraid to use any sort of polish on it. Some of you will probably notice that I have replacement aged kluson tuners. I have the original ones but the buttons had gone amber and crumbly, basically that faulty plastic that was around in that era. Hopefully we've done the photo upload properly. I've got a teenager with me so it should be ok. Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Versatile Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Thankyou for posting the pics !! There are probably more ES 175's around than any other jazz guitar For good reason Most of the greats have toted said beauty at some stage in their careers And the current ES 137 in a more do-it-all format Owes much to the original successful design All we need now is A sound clip.... :blink: V Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 . Good job on the pics. Looks well cared for and in beautiful shape. You made an excellent move with the Kluson aged replacement tuners, including keeping the originals - keep them in them safely wrapped inside case compartment. . Is that the original case? It looks a little roomy. Maybe a right-sized towel on one side to keep the guitar from moving around in there. As you mentioned, the switch on the horn is unusual. I haven't seen that before. Maybe one of the more knowledgeable members will comment on it. I'm not up to date on the prices for this date range, but with the double pups (I'm assuming PAF) maybe $4K to $5K. Again, maybe one of the more knowledgeable members will comment on price. As far as cleaning and polishing I recommend Virtuoso Cleaner and Polish. Congrats on a beautiful 175. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmer Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 As an ES175 fan I say: NICE GUITAR!!! Gratz! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 Great looking 175, Travis. No offense to anyone in your family, but it's a shame that it took 20 years for the guitar to find its way to you- especially since it went unplayed all that time. The term "gold bonnet knob" would generally refer to the type that was just previous to yours, with a clear top (no reflector cap and "vol. / tone" lettering). The type you have did indeed appear in 1960, and although still bonnet-shaped, they are usually referred to as "reflector cap" or "metal-capped" knobs to distinguish them from the previous version. The placement of the toggle switch is a curious thing. I feel like I may have seen that before on a 175, but I can't recall for certain. I wonder if somebody requested that as a minor custom alteration. Anyway, I don't dislike it... kind of gives it a unique twist that makes it special. ES-175's were produced in large quantities over the decades, and many are bought and sold, so you shouldn't have any problems finding information about what sort of prices they've been selling for in today's market. You can check competed auctions at ebay; and to see how dealers are pricing them, you can look here: http://www.gbase.com/gear/find?gs=y&fy=1958&ly=1960&keyword=gibson+es+175 (note that the blond or natural finish models command higher prices) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisC Posted July 14, 2012 Author Share Posted July 14, 2012 Hi All, Thanks for all the great comments and advise, I wish I'd found this site 6 months ago! BigK, Thanks, I agonized over those replacement tuners, just wanting to do the right thing. I think it's an orignal case but not totally sure. The bad fit has bothered me a bit. My grandfather used to wrap a towel around the neck (which I still do) but not around the body, I should also do that. I was looking at the thread "Post Your Gibson ES-175 Photographs Here". Bigsby'd has a natural with a pretty good fitting case and a sunburst with a not so good fitting one. I thought maybe back then they just had series of stock case sizes that weren't made for a particular guitar type and you just chose the best fit? That's total speculation of course. I should post a photo of the case. Thanks for the polish advise too. I'm in New Zealand but I see there is an Australian retailer so I think I will order some from there. JimR, thanks, it's great to know about the knobs. I think it's interesting that it has some 1960 mods but not others, i.e. late 1960 tuners and the reflector caps but not the serial on the headstock. It looks like its never had the rubber grommet (introduced late 50's) around the switch either, although presuming the switch was a custom alteration, they may have decided it didn't look that good, more speculation?! I'm quite interested in the little quirks as you can probably tell haha! Thanks for the value advise too. I haven't got it insured right now, I'm just keeping it in a very secure place. I really do need to get it insured though so it really helps to know what it's worth, as much as knowing scares me being worth more than my car and all... haha. Elmer, I had the same problem that I see you had in one of your threads, being absolutely horrified when the bridge fell off when I went to restring it. I've got the intonation pretty good now but I'll follow the advise on that thread and get it a little better next time I restring it. That was a definite Gulp! moment haha. Like I said, I wish I'd found this site 6 months earlier! Again, thanks all for the great comments and advise! Cheers Travis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanC Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Hi All, I've inherited a 1960 sunburst ES 175d from my grandfather, which I've had for maybe 6 months now. I'm wondering if there is any way of finding out about its manufacturing history, who it was build by ect. I've been reading "The Gibson 175" book, which says there were a few changes made in 1960. I gather it's a mid to late 1960 because of the double ring, single line tuners. It doesn't have the serial number on the headstock, just on the orange label inside but does have the gold bonnet knobs, which were both changes made in 1960 (according to the book). I guess I'm kind of interested in little quirks like these.The most curious thing about this guitar is that the pickup switch is on the cutaway, not the top like usual, which must have been done in the factory. It's certainly the nicest guitar I've ever played anyway. I'd played it a bit when my grandfather was alive but it hadn't been plugged in for maybe 30 years or more. He passed away over 20 years ago and he used to say he didn't know whether it still worked back then! I couldn't believe how good it was when I plugged it in and played it, just a whole new life of its own! Anyway, this is my first post so I hope it's not too long and rambling. Hi Travis, Saw the pics. Guitar looks great. Given all the time it sat in the case it would benefit from have a quality Guitar Tech set it up. Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmer Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 Elmer, I had the same problem that I see you had in one of your threads, being absolutely horrified when the bridge fell off when I went to restring it. I've got the intonation pretty good now but I'll follow the advise on that thread and get it a little better next time I restring it. That was a definite Gulp! moment haha. Like I said, I wish I'd found this site 6 months earlier! Cheers Travis Haha a Gulp! Moment...exavtly describes it yeah...pure fear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TinyBabyBrandon Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Hey Travis! Whoa Nelly, that sure is a beaut if I ever saw one. I noticed that this guitar looks pretty straight for a 1960, to my eyes almost all the features line right up. The long pickgaurd is definitely a 1960 element. It was the last year forthem. the reflector knobs, also definitely places it as a 1960 with all the other elements going on, this was the first year for them. Also the lack of stamped serial number on the headstock is right on the money for a 1960, the zig zag tailpiece is also correct. I have a 50th anniversary 1960 es-335 and it displays all the elements you have (of course without the zig zag tailpiece)! The neck should be slimmer, not super chunky or "baseball bat-like". The switch being on the horn is interesting, but not impossible. It seems like it was probably a custom order to the Gibson factory. If there's one thing you learn about golden era Gibson guitars it's that anything is possible! As far as the case, it very well could be the original case that your grandad got with the guitar. So often music stores would just grab whatever case was around, that's why there is a pretty sprawling lack of consistency with cases, but the normal for this guitar would be a gold plush lined case with a black exterior, someone correct me if I'm wrong. There is actually a site with a wealth of knowledge, mostly tailored to golden era 335's, but definitely applicable to most es Gibson models at: http://www.es-335.org . Congrats on that guitar and play it well sir!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisC Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Hi Travis, Saw the pics. Guitar looks great. Given all the time it sat in the case it would benefit from have a quality Guitar Tech set it up. Enjoy. Hi Alan, I took it to a highly recommended luthier not long after I got it. My grandfather aways said it needed re-fretting so I looked into that. The luthier Keith McMillan said it wan't that bad and strongly advised against it so I didn't bother. He basically said it's the best 175 he's seen but something horrible had happened to the tuners, which is when I found out about the faulty plastic and all that . Another thing he noticed was a noise when you touch the switch so he thought the earth wire had come off but when he checked it out he found there never was one. So again, he didn't want to mess with original setup so left it. He sorted out the right sort of strings for me too, I'm still getting used to the damn heavy gauge haha. I did have the "Gulp, bridge falling off incident" after he looked at it though so I probably will take it back when it's time for a string change. Hey Travis! Whoa Nelly, that sure is a beaut if I ever saw one. I noticed that this guitar looks pretty straight for a 1960, to my eyes almost all the features line right up. The long pickgaurd is definitely a 1960 element. It was the last year forthem. the reflector knobs, also definitely places it as a 1960 with all the other elements going on, this was the first year for them. Also the lack of stamped serial number on the headstock is right on the money for a 1960, the zig zag tailpiece is also correct. I have a 50th anniversary 1960 es-335 and it displays all the elements you have (of course without the zig zag tailpiece)! The neck should be slimmer, not super chunky or "baseball bat-like". The switch being on the horn is interesting, but not impossible. It seems like it was probably a custom order to the Gibson factory. If there's one thing you learn about golden era Gibson guitars it's that anything is possible! As far as the case, it very well could be the original case that your grandad got with the guitar. So often music stores would just grab whatever case was around, that's why there is a pretty sprawling lack of consistency with cases, but the normal for this guitar would be a gold plush lined case with a black exterior, someone correct me if I'm wrong. There is actually a site with a wealth of knowledge, mostly tailored to golden era 335's, but definitely applicable to most es Gibson models at: http://www.es-335.org . Congrats on that guitar and play it well sir!!! Hi TinyBB, Thanks for the info. It does have a few nicks and scuffs that don't show up so well in the photos but it is certainly in pretty good condition for its age. My grandfather was the second owner so I guess it's going to be hard to ever know the who and why around the switch placement. Damn, it would have been really interesting though. The golden age aye! You're right, the neck is pretty slim, not like some of the half round ones you see. I didn't know about the pick guard either, that's really interesting. I stand corrected from what I said the other day though, it does have made in the USA stamped on the headstock. There's a bit of scuffing on the headstock which made it not so obvious plus the stamp is very light and small compared to modern ones. I was expecting the large, more promenant stamps like in later models. No serial number on the headstock though. Wow there's some nice guitars on that www.es-335.org site isn't there? I'm sure that is the original case, pity about the fit though. The guitar doesn't do much traveling about so I guess it should be ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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