Any of you seen an ES-175 JS?

[ThatRhythmMan]

No but there's a Japanese "lawsuit" brand logo that looks exactly like that, I don't recall their name and don't feel like looking it up now.

Have you ever seen a Gibson Johnny Smith headstock? They do indeed have thr split diamond back of headstock inlay at least in 1986 which was the 25th anniversary year of the GJS. It seems you didn’t feel like looking that up either before confidently claiming that they don’t have that inlay.


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[Woody Sound]

Its a Johnny Smith t.p. w Custom Made instead of Johnny's name.

Ah, sorta like this.

[wintermoon]

Ah, sorta like this.

Only in the fact that it says custom made.
Those were stock on some Gibson thinlines, this ES175/Byrdland was truly a custom made guitar. I don't think I've ever seen another Gibson tailpiece exactly like it.

[skiboyny]

It's a cool guitar. I think because no one has seen one of these, and it's a pretty schooled group of people that have been around awhile, your going to have some scepticism. Being a Johnny Smith fan, mostly curiosity on my part. It seems odd that the binding on the neck is nowhere near as yellowed as the headstock. No nibs, so a fret job at some point. You never know with Gibson they like to slap together almost anything. Is there a sticker in the guitar?

[ThatRhythmMan]

It's a cool guitar. I think because no one has seen one of these, and it's a pretty schooled group of people that have been around awhile, your going to have some scepticism. Being a Johnny Smith fan, mostly curiosity on my part. It seems odd that the binding on the neck is nowhere near as yellowed as the headstock. No nibs, so a fret job at some point. You never know with Gibson they like to slap together almost anything. Is there a sticker in the guitar?

Skepticism is totally understandable. The binding on the side of the neck is yellowed the same as the headstock because, like the headstock, has lacquer on it. Remember that on the fretboard side there is no lacquer to yellow. There’s no label inside, but that not entirely unusual.

Appropriate Tim Shaw pickups and correct pots are in it by the way.


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[Mick-7]

Have you ever seen a Gibson Johnny Smith headstock? They do indeed have the split diamond back of headstock inlay at least in 1986 which was the 25th anniversary year of the GJS. It seems you didn’t feel like looking that up either before confidently claiming that they don’t have that inlay.

"Have you ever seen a Gibson Johnny Smith headstock?"

Yes, quite a few, I have never seen a Kalamazoo factory production with that diamond insignia on the back of the headstock, but I just saw a 1991 model online that does have it, so perhaps they started doing that when they moved to Nashville. I stand corrected on this particular feature.

However, there are a few other attributes of this guitar I have not seen on any other Johnny Smith, e.g., the tailpiece, which matches no Johnny Smith tailpiece I've ever seen but is identical to the one on my Japanese 1980's Japanese "lawsuit" copy of a ES-175 (as is the body of the guitar).

Appropriate Tim Shaw pickups and correct pots are in it by the way.

Some of the Japanese copies have those pickups too, they are not all that unique.

So I'm still very skeptical, I think it is wise to be so when you're dealing with a guitar that has no known equivalent - caveat emptor.

[ThatRhythmMan]

"Have you ever seen a Gibson Johnny Smith headstock?"

Yes, quite a few, I have never seen a Kalamazoo factory production with that diamond insignia on the back of the headstock, but I just saw a 1991 model online that does have it, so perhaps they started doing that when they moved to Nashville. I stand corrected on this particular feature.

However, there are a few other attributes of this guitar I have not seen on any other Johnny Smith, e.g., the tailpiece, which matches no Johnny Smith tailpiece I've ever seen but is identical to the one on my Japanese 1980's Japanese "lawsuit" copy of a ES-175 (as is the body of the guitar).

So I'm still very skeptical, I think it is wise to be so when you're dealing with a guitar that has no known equivalent - caveat emptor.

I agree, if you don’t have the knowledge base, being skeptical can save you from jumping into a situation you may regret. I’ve seen a lot of Gibson guitars though. Any skepticism I may have had has been thoroughly allayed.


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[Mick-7]

I agree, if you don’t have the knowledge base, being skeptical can save you from jumping into a situation you may regret. I’ve seen a lot of Gibson guitars though. Any skepticism I may have had has been thoroughly allayed.

For the record, I was not questioning your expertise, but in a "one-off" guitar case like this, I'd want someone from Gibson to authenticate it - maybe I'm just more skeptical than most folks.

[ThatRhythmMan]

For the record, I was not questioning your expertise, but in a "one-off" guitar case like this, I'd want someone from Gibson to authenticate it - maybe I'm just more skeptical than most folks.

No offense taken. I wouldn’t blame anyone for doing so. I doubt Gibson would have good records for this guitar. They generally don’t for this period. They usually can’t do much more than verify the year by serial number.


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[orri]

I think I might have seen one in Tokyo on Ochanomizu guitar street about a year ago.

I spotted a 175 that looked like the one in the photo. I didn't know exactly what it was at the time. But this photo made me immediately think about that guitar again.
I had been strolling through guitar shops for a few hours, when I came to this smaller shop further up the street, closer to the university. Ot seemed to be more focused on archtops and jazz guitars. This guitar immediately caught my eye. I remember thinking that this was probably the one I'd most wanted to take home with me, after an entire afternoon of looking at guitars.

But it was not the time and place to buy a new guitar, so I tried to not get too emotionally invested, dream too much about it or find out more.