1966 Gibson ES-175

**rpguitar** · 09-09-2015, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by Jazz_175

Very nice....so that guitar shipped from the US to Europe?

It did... I could accuse fws6 of absconding with it in the dead of night, but that would be quite a tall tale. I'm just very glad it found another happy home.

**skykomishone** · 09-09-2015, 12:52 PM

Jack, I understand your love of these. I love everything about my 1972 ES175D. It has plenty of thunk, weighing in at 5.8lbs, the neck is 1 5/8" at the nut. Skinnier neck than my other archtops, I still enjoy playing it. Bought it brand new when I was 20 years old. All original. I considered an L5 at the time but opted for this one. I liked the size and how it played and felt.

**rpguitar** · 09-09-2015, 05:27 PM

I pulled the volume pot out, and it has no markings on it! It is housed in one of those shielded casings, but the cover is off, so I could see the back of the pot. The tone pot is still fully covered, and I'm not removing it. The mystery of '63 vs. '67 will probably remain!

**Stringswinger** · 09-09-2015, 06:14 PM

Either way, 63 or 67, you have a guitar that you love. That is all that matters in the end...

**wintermoon** · 09-09-2015, 06:26 PM

the nut width and lack of Union Made on the label to me points to pre '66
chrome t.p. is '65 [transition year] or later as well as your tuners.

it's possible you have a replacement t.p. [as we know the zig zag is prone to cracking @ the hinge]
and tuners.

also as I mentioned, the color would be very different, compare yours to the one Franz posted.
his is certainly '65 or later.

so I'm thinking '63 is more likely.

**2bornot2bop** · 09-09-2015, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by jzucker

no, it did. but they are different beasts. The L5 is an electric guitar. It's a more modern sounding instrument than the heritage. The heritage sounds more like a '60s Gibson carved top. The heritage nails the early martino sound like he got on El Hombre.

The '96 Wes is way thicker and electric sounding and not nearly as resonant. The heritage is a much lighter build. However, the wes plays way better. It's a hot rod.

I still prefer the plywood guitars though and I may end up just keeping the 175 and Kessel. I think all these other guitars I may move out though I'm considering taking the Heritage to my repairman to install the pickguard this weekend. If I do that it's staying...

By all means then, TAKE IT!

It's fun to see the flow of your inventory. I ended up with a Tal Farlow, an SE, and an Aria PE190. Proof that living in the moment means never knowing what will end up in ones inventory. Have fun!