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My new guitar day that has been in the works for almost a year has arrived. This 1959 ES-175 was completely harvested for parts for someone to do a LP conversion, so they took the PAFs, pots, knob, tuners, tailpiece, switch and harness. It was sold as a carcass and retrofitted with repro parts. All wood parts are original, including the bridge, fretboard w/inlays and body w/ binding. I do not mind, because the only way a '59 would ever be attainable for me is in this kind of state, minus the premiums for all original and PAFs.
I actually bought this from a forum member almost a decade ago and after a few months sold it to my teacher. I told him if he ever wanted to to move it to let me know. Thankfully, he did and I was in a position to buy it once I sold the guitar here on the forum. It plays great, I just need remove the flatwounds and put some rounds on there.
Now what everyone is here for, the pics.
And now pictured with her partner '53 L7
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09-04-2025 10:08 AM
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Sweet combo ! Congrats
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Excellent
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Both guitars look great. I have a ‘59 ES-175 too. I’m sure yours will be fantastic. I believe the guitar itself, regardless of the hardware and electronics, is a big part of the magic of a 175 from that period. There are lots of boutique pickups that get close enough to an original paf. The rest of the hardware doesn’t really impact playability or sound. Nice NGD.
Keith
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congrats, there was someone else that posted here this year that bought a '59 175 w/ all the parts swapped out and he loved the guitar.
I think I posted this before but a few years ago I sold my '59 175.
it was 2 dings away from dead mint and the guy that bought it said he planned on yanking the PAF's but when he got it he said it was just too nice so he was leaving it stock.
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That's quite the pair. Nice pictures of two iconic jazz guitars.
These old guitars all have their stories. With archtops, you have to imagine the players and tunes that inspired their owner and music.Last edited by skykomishone; 09-04-2025 at 01:41 PM.
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Beautiful!
Makes me want to play mine ('88) right this moment! Only 29 years older, but still essentially the same guitar.
What pickups did you put in it?
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It came to me with ThroBaks already in it but I might be selling these and trying something different.
Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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Definitely agree with the stories. Its hard to see from the pic but the L7 has a lot of battle damage that makes you wonder its story Originally Posted by skykomishone
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try a couple classic 57's in there to get semi close to the PAF sound Originally Posted by Paulie2
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So did my '44. Battle scars. A WWII era Gibson archtop. But most of the scars were from just getting the hell played out of it. That's one reason I thought it might be a diamond in the rough. Turned out to be a good guess. Originally Posted by Paulie2
There is a book about Gibson during that period, The Gibson Gals, I think. Lots of women worked in the Kalmazoo factory then. And with the war effort, shortages resulted in reaching deep into inventory for parts. Gibson sure built some great instruments.
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On the pickups, Ron Ellis LRP are great.
Congrats on the 175. I have an all original 1957 ES 175 DN. I paid a good price for it and it has skyrocketed due to the parts. The PAFs are cool but definitely not worth the premium vs modern boutique.
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Struck gold right there. Enjoy!
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One cannot beat old wood - or plywood in this case. With acoustic guitars it's also an issue whether it was played regularly or not but with electric guitars it's far less or even not noticeable. Yours doesn't even have a strap pin , wow ....
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Juan: I would love to see a picture of your ‘57. My ‘59 is also all original (photo attached). I was lucky to find mine in a small shop several years ago, before someone grabbed it and stripped all the parts. I absolutely love it. If I could only have one guitar, it would be the one. Having said that, I think a late ‘50’s 175 with replaced hardware and electronics, like the OP’s guitar, would be basically the same. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
Keith
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Keith Here you go. photos are from trcrandall where I had it consigned for a while before I changed my mind. check out the frets. by bay area local Geoff Luttrell, he's the only person i trust with frets out here. IMO on par with Norio
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Which PAF sound? Originally Posted by wintermoon
Gibson was (in)famous for winding coils practically randomly and as a result there is no single PAF sound to chase. Not to mention the aging of alnico 2 magnets which means they don't even sound like they did in 1957–59.
Throbaks are as good as anything out there to try to approximate what we think of as the PAF sound. Now, maybe Paulie's tonal goal is something else which is IMHO completely legit.
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That is truly a beautiful guitar. I’m glad you changed your mind. A late ‘50’s 175 is pretty special. And…nice fret work. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
Keith
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I had an early 60's 175 that I mistakenly refretted with stainless frets. I did not like the tone with the stainless frets so I sold it. I replaced it with a Memphis built 59 reissue 175 which is a superb guitar, but the guitar is not the real thing. I have played Juan's 57 and it is a better guitar than my reissue. Old wood has the mojo. My reissue will probably be as superb as Juan's 57 in another 20-30 years. The problem is, I most likely won't be around to enjoy that. That said, the difference in tone is not worth the difference in price to me. Others may feel differently.
To the OP, Congrats on scoring a fine jazz guitar and may she inspire your playing for many years to come. Gibson or Duncan PAF replicas are both good choices. ThroBaks are well regarded (and you may not like anything else as well), but if I was interested in getting a custom set of pickups, I would talk to Kent Armstrong.
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I still have an early 60s 175. Very similar sunburst to the OPs. A few changed parts - tuners I think, bridge base (don't have the orig rw bridge but I have 'an' original rw bridge), output jack (orig in case).
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Re: replacements- moving parts like tuners, frets, pots wear out. Caps may fall out of spec as they age. Replacing things like this does not (to me) have a deleterious effect on the value of the instrument. They are part of conscientious maintenance. Pickups... well, the old A2 magnets age and the tone changes, coils can short out and wires can snap, etc. If the pickup no longer works, fixing or replacing it is OK within the context of stewardship; fixing the original pickup is probably preferable to replacement from a resale value perspective. Selling the original PAFs and replacing them with Throbaks to milk some cash out of the guitar is not something I'd do- as Paulie's seller did before he bought it- but it might sound just fine with the Throbaks afterwards. Might even sound better to some than with the original pickups, and if you didn't know about the swap then you'd think those PAFs sound great!
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Congrats on your beautiful and well-aged 175! It's remarkable how these old cats shine and even look and play better after many years.
I venture here to pose a problem I recently encountered; that is, I bought a replacement (though gold) 175-tailpiece for a Chinese L7-like copy, and noticed that the two side 'strands' does not meet/convene at the middle part. From searching the net, I learned that even replacement 'original' Gibson 175-tailpieces (mine 'supposedly' included - at least according to the seller) does not meet the old standards (i.e., meeting/convening at the middle). Only the tailpieces for the Epiphone-175's and the 1959 Gibson VOS reissue or Custom shop 175's (guess Gibson does not produce a 'standard' 175 anymore) has gotten the old style. The explanation I got from the net was that the spare replacements are made 'overseas' and cannot be equated with Gibson at all?
- and btw, I happen also to be the lucky owner of an ES-175 (single pu though) from 1959 that I bought in 1985. I don't play it so much anymore, but without it, I probably never would have gotten through the first years of trying to play jazz; the feeling of having it in ones hands gives you kind of a whole story-board that you can try to expand on. 1959 was a pivotal year in many ways and I love the instruments and bands from that period - used to have an L7c from that year too, but sold it during my studies, big mistake though.
Epiphone ES-175 Premium - Vintage Sunburst (Pre-owned)
– Mak's Guitars
Just a moment...Last edited by Bluematter; 09-15-2025 at 04:32 PM.
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Jesus, for those prices they'd better be! Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
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