View Poll Results: 1 pickup or 2 on a Gibson ES 175
- Voters
- 216. You may not vote on this poll
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1 pickup
120 55.56% -
2 pickup
96 44.44%
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I've had two ES-175Ds: the first was a late 70s sunburst with neck volute; my 55th Anniversary Edition is in natural and highly figured. I find two pickups to be nothing but advantageous. Indispensable for backing singers, comping, and soloing. Any guitar good enough for Jimmy Nolen and Joe Pass is ok by me.
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01-24-2020 09:17 PM
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You gotta have a bridge pickup... otherwise... what would the two extra knobs control?
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My 1957...
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For my purposes, I prefer the two pickup model due to the additional tonal flexibility. You probably give up some acoustic sound, but everything is a compromise. I used to own a 1956 model with two P-90s and currently own a 1970 with two humbuckers. I also own a 1961 Epiphone Century (thin hollowbody non cutaway) with one neck P-90. It has surprising acoustic sound.
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The same applies to me, it is better to operate two different pickups than to commit to a certain sound.
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Can I change my vote? I voted single pickup. But I just changed my position on this important subject. Here is why:
I removed the bridge pickup on my ES 175 a few months ago. It got more resonant but there is just a bit too much attack in the high mids. Nice when played fingerstyle but through the amp it sounds quite a bit "harder".
So I cut a matching poplar piece for the bridge pickup hole and fitted snug to the hole to test. It only made it more resonant. Sometimes added too much throaty bass, sometimes extenuated the attack, especially the mids, depending on how it fitted.
I also played an ES 165 recently. It had that same throaty bass I had when I covered the hole with the poplar piece. It's not a bad sound, I just prefer the more mellowed out sound you get when the bridge pickup is preventing the extra resonance. I'm gonna put the bridge pickup back.
So if I could change my vote, I'd now go with 2 pickups.
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Tal,
L5 players notice a similar effect when switching between single and double mounted pickup models.
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Years ago I acquired a single PUP 1967 175. At the time, I also had a 1977 175. Both were equipped with T-top PUPs. The 67 had a slightly harsher tone. I figured that the reason Herb Eliis and Jim Hall got a smoother tone from their single PUP 175's was because they had PAF's rather than T-Tops in their guitars.
Recently, I acquired an L-5CES. Comparing it to my L-5-WESMO, I can hear a similar high end difference. The dampening of the top by the second PUP does make a tonal difference. The added tonal control that the second PUP brings to the table along with the slightly warmer tone outweighs the possible rattles that the second PUP brings to the equation, IMO.
The difference on the L-5 is not as stark, probably due to the warming factor of the carved spruce top vs. the laminate maple. And in Wes Montgomery's case, being that he used his thumb rather than a plectrum, he probably liked the added high end that the single PUP'ed guitar brought to his sound.
All of this said, there is nothing wrong with a single PUP 175 or L-5, and with the tone control, a desired tone can certainly be had. But for those of us who play in various venues (where dark rooms sometimes are a problem), the added tonal control of a second PUP still makes the two PUP version of the 175 the better choice.
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I had a gig the other day where I used a champ (duo with bass), dynamics were hard to control with the extra resonance through a class A amp.
The interesting thing is single pickup version actually sounds really good played with fingers (better than with the bridge pickup). The high mid attack and fingers really balance each other out. But I could not find a soft enough pick to make it work for me with picks.
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2 pickups for 2 reasons.
1) The added pickup reduces the feedback and contributes to the thunk
2) I occasionally like to use the bridge pickup for a more modern sound
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There is also a sweetness to the middle position that I like, especially for chord-melody stuff. It's nice to be able to control the amount of bridge pickup in the mix. You can also turn the bridge all the way down and use the pick up selector as a kill switch.
Another trick is to keep the neck volume low, bridge volume high and use the neck for rhythm and middle for solo. Or the opposite. Middle for comping (which can be really nice) with bridge volume low and neck (with higher volume) for solo. No boost pedal or awkward volume adjustment pauses between solos and comping needed. Although in practice things don't work out so cleanly and tend to get messier
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Maybe it's somewhere on this site (or elsewhere on the interwebs), but does anyone have a reference for what pickups were used in the 175 since 1957? I mean I have a vague knowledge, just wondering when they switched using certain pickups.
As I understand it:
1957-62 PAF HBs (Seth Lover)
1962-early 80's Patent # HBs
Early 80's-~1990 Tim Shaw HBs
~1990-present Classic '57 HBs
Anything I'm leaving out here?
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Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
57-mid 60 Long magnet PAF's
mid 60-mid 63 Short magnet PAF's
mid 63-mid 65 Early patent sticker humbuckers (some of these are identical to the short magnet PAF's except for the stickers, some had different wiring)
Mid 65- mid 70's Patent sticker T-tops
mid-70's to early 80's Patent stamped T-tops (these had different magnet materials than the earlier T-tops, IIRC)
early 80's to late 80's Shaw Humbuckers
Late 80's to 2017 Classic 57s
mid 2016-2017 59 VOS MHS humbuckers
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Originally Posted by Greentone
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Originally Posted by bluejaybill
He's pictured with a D'Angelico on "Live," as well, but he still used his 175 for that record too.
You can hear his acoustic D'Angelico in places on "Commitment" with Art Farmer
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Jim Hall and Joe Pass both played D'Aquisto's not D'Angelicos.
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One pickup.
Because it's difficult to put 2 full size Charlie Christian pickups in tandem.
Cheers.
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One
p90
rosewood bridge & saddle
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I have a '51 ES-175, that has been converted to two pick-ups, with two volume knobs
and a single tone knob on the lower front bout.
while I love single ( neck ) pick-up guitars, I got to admit that the ES-175 sounds better with two.
adding some Volume from the bridge pick-up does add some "air" and a kind of "3d-ness" to the sound,
of which I really like.
I play with my finger tips.
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FWIW, I think the correct answer is "Yes." The ES-175 should have one or two pickups. Either way, it is one of the greatest, most iconic archtop, jazz guitars ever.
Personally, I really like losaltosjoe's '57 instrument above. I also am a fan of the ES-175CC instruments made in '79-'80. Here's the one that used to reside in my house:
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Originally Posted by Greentone
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Thanks, FA. I didn't own the guitar at the time.. it belonged to my late dealer/bandmate...but it resided with me for almost a year. Only one I ever saw with rose colored position markers.
Great sounding 175.
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My vote is for the 2 pickup version.My last one was a "second" from a Gibson employee in Nashville area I paid 250$ with my music store bosses permission as long as I let him crown the frets. I did. My first 1 pickup I bought at Wurlitzers near Berklee was a fifties Gibson for 450$. Inflation on these beauties is pretty steep sometimes. Late eighties on the second 1975 on old Gibson. I need a time machine.
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My 1979 ES-175...2 pickups. I like using all of them at times, including the middle setting with both on.
I have other archtops with a single neck pickup, though.
The ES-175, in addition to being a classic jazz guitar, is pretty versatile for rock and other music too.
Any 70's Yes Steve Howe fans?
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Originally Posted by DavidKOS
And why not a 3pu 175 ?
Last edited by JFranck; 06-14-2021 at 03:32 PM.
Vintage fuzz on "space" transistors
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