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With all the talk about doing fret jobs to increase playability of a vintage Gibson archtop, I thought that I should share my story.
I have been a huge fan of the ES-175D for many years. I have had many over the years and currently own two, a 1997 and the subject of this thread a 1963. (I have also owned a 1967 single pup, a 1970, a 1977, a 1982 and a 2008).
The 63 came to me with some non original parts:
The bridge had been changed to a 70's TOM
The PUPs had been changed to T-tops
and the case was a 1970 purple lined case (as many guitars were sold without a hardshell case in the early 60's, it is possible that this 1970 case was the first HSC that this guitar had if an original chipboard case had worn out.
Also, it had been refretted with the wide flat frets so common in the 70's and 80's and the neck had been shaved way down.
I found that the frets were interfering with my enjoyment of the guitar and decided to refret it with Dunlop Stainless steel 6150 (true Jumbos) fretwire/ I had played a friends ES-150 that was refretted with this fretwire and thought it felt and sounded great.
Finding a luthier willing to do SS frets is a challenge. They are not easy to work with and many luthiers will not do it. And since I was going to put some money into the guitar, I decided to restore it to bone stock.
Forum member Hammertone sold me an early 60's HSC with the yellow lining
I found an early 60's Brazilian RW Gibson bridge on Ebay
The early patent sticker (pre T-top) PUPS were more of a challenge. Vintage dealers sell these for $1,000 each (without covers). I found a pair on EBay for $1,000 without covers and spent the dough. For covers, I opted for Gibson nickel replacement covers.
I had San Francisco master luthier Sean Spurling (Spurling Guitars) do the restoration work. Sean shimmed up the fingerboard, did an expert refret, replaced the neck binding and antiqued the new binding to match the body and replaced some of the inlays with Gibson Mother of toilet seat material. He also soldered in the pre T-top PUPS.
This guitar was in excellent condition with little checking in the superb 3 tone sunburst finish. It was well worthy of the work.
It now plays like butter and has that warm 175 tone that only a vintage 175 with early Gibson PUPs can deliver. It will be (along with my 97 ES-175) my main player for gigs (and I gig a lot....3-4 times a week on average)
Reverb.com's price guide says that a sunburst 63 ES-175 is worth $4500-$5500. I have about $5300 into this guitar, but the joy of playing it will last the rest of my playing days, long after I have forgotten about the cost.
Here are some Pictures:
A closeup of the fretwork, new binding and inlays:
The Guitar:
The guitar in the proper case:
She goes on her first gig tomorrow.Last edited by Stringswinger; 03-04-2017 at 04:30 AM.
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03-02-2017 09:45 PM
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Beautiful! What a labor of love. Great job!
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Fantastic job, congratulations! No one has ever been able to give me the hourly rate of a labor of love anyway.
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Wow. Hey, man, you've basically got Joe Pass's ES-175 there. Gorgeous!
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That was my intention. Joe Pass is one of my greatest inspirations.
Originally Posted by Cunamara
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It's nice to see a venerable instrument treated to TLC. Well done, Sir!
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That's awesome. Do the stainless steel frets have a different tone? I bet the feel good and won't wear very quickly - I don't know anything about them though.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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The Stainless frets are more "detailed" than nickel frets. By that I mean, the notes in a chord seem to have more individual definition. I do not think they are brighter nor do I hear any metallic "ping". And they will last the life of a guitar. I am a huge fan. Originally Posted by rio
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Wonderful, thank you for sharing.
i appreciate you taking the 'players' approach to this project.
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Great saga...glad it turned out so well. Your 175 looks great!
How long did Sean take to do all the work?
Thanks for sharing.
Enjoy.
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Sean is a super busy guy. He called me about two months after we agreed on the project to tell me that he had some time to work on it. He estimated two to three weeks but it took four. In addition to the work described above, he also did a new bone nut and installed a strap pin. His work is first rate and for a Bay Area luthier, quite reasonably priced. Originally Posted by ArchiMark
Last edited by Stringswinger; 03-03-2017 at 02:44 PM.
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That's a great story. Nice job and nice guitar.
Keith
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That looks superb, and as Henry Royce of Rolls Royce fame once said, "The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten."
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Stringswinger,
That is a fantastic story, beautiful guitar. Makes me think of Joe Pass's 'Beautiful Love'. I love my '175's. First 'Jazz' guitar that I could call my own in the early '70's, when I was gigging and digging those golden era jazz guitar players and wanting to be one. I still own that one, a '72. I recently acquired a '55 and had it refretted. I'm 100% with you on that sound. Thanks for sharing.
S
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SS, that is an outstanding guitar. There is nothing you cant do with it.
I pray someone has a capable recording device rolling on one your upcoming shows with it. Then you can share.
No matter what guitar I have in my hands, I think my hands and my heart wishes it was a 175.
Great, Great post bro.
Joe D.
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just lovely!
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JD, Originally Posted by Max405
The frets I put on this guitar are the same size as the ones you are putting on your JS. You are going to love the difference. Jumbo frets rule.Last edited by Stringswinger; 03-03-2017 at 01:54 PM.
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> Sean shimmed up the fingerboard, did an expert refret, replaced the neck binding and antiqued the new binding to match the body
That was really cool to do, I would never have thought of that. So he really raised the board begore putting the correct radius back on ? That is some top class restauration. Looks like a splendid guitar and I m sure in Marc's hands itll make some fine music
Last edited by fws6; 03-03-2017 at 01:56 PM.
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Frank, Originally Posted by fws6
I thought it needed a neck reset but after Sean measured the neck angle, he told me that replacing the board was what it needed. I did not want to lose the original Brazilian board, so he said he could do it with a shim. He is a master. It is like playing a new guitar, only better as Gibson did not use stainless jumbo frets back then.....or even now for that matter. I could not be more pleased.Last edited by Stringswinger; 03-03-2017 at 03:08 PM.
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Not only is Sean creative and crafty, but he is one of the rare luthiers who will actually work with Stainless Steel frets.
SS you basically have a brand new 54 year old guitar made with old wood.
You sure know how to pick em..
JD
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03-03-2017, 03:40 PM #21Dutchbopper Guest
Heck I'm jealous. This summer I checked out a 61 ES 175 in mint condition that I could have had for 5.5 k euro. I did not have the money because I hadn't sold a guitar yet at the time. When I finally did sell it months later I called him again and he said he could get that money for the pups alone. Of course that was bullshit but for me the deal was off for that money. So I let it go.
What do these go for in the US?
DB
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Sweet ! Marco you did the right thing breathing new life into "the iconic jazz box". It is only money. When your axe plays and sounds perfect you can't put a price on that. Bravo ! A beautiful job. That axe will bring musical joy to many people, most importantly yourself. Long may she run.
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DB, the 61's have (short magnet) PAF Pups which are selling for $2500 a pop these days. I think a bone stock 61 would go for 8K plus today in the US. It sounds like you might have passed up a fair deal. Originally Posted by Dutchbopper
The PUPS in mine are pre T-Top Patent sticker pups which Gibson used from 63 through 66. They are essentially (short magnet) PAF's but with a different insulation around the wire (and a different sticker).
IMO, both the old woods and the old PUPS (which have old metals) have a particularly good sound that the reissues cannot achieve, though the reissue stuff is pretty damn good.
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Thanks Vinny, Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
I feel good about honoring this amazing instrument. I took good care of her and she will take good care of me. Guitars and women are both like that (though occasionally both will cause you grief).
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did you put patent #'s in there?
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