The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    1956 Gibson ES-175-front-guitar-2-jpeg
    I have been tracing this guitar's journey. I cleaned up the truss rod cover and it says Rulon Mecham.
    1956 Gibson ES-175-headstock-chips-truss-rod-cover-jpeg

    I googled him and found his obituary. He died at age 87 in Utah in 2004. He was an inventor and gold processor and enjoyed prospecting and working with gold. He was a songwriter and played the guitar and used his musical talents singing and entertaining at rest homes and other functions. One function I uncovered was he provided music for a ceremony for four Boy Scouts being named Eagle Scouts in 1951 in Salt Lake City. My luthier/guitar tech said that it was common in the 1950s, in music stores, that you would be able to have an aluminum truss rod cover engraved with your name on it. I figure this is strong evidence Rulon was the original owner. He would have been 40 years old in 1956 when the guitar was new. There are several clues on the guitar that point to it having a single owner. And I think the severity of the wear indicates that this was Rulon's only guitar and it was well used for about 40 years. There is consistent lightening on the part of the guitar where it rested on Rulon's leg,
    1956 Gibson ES-175-worn-area-under-bouts-jpg
    excessive fret wear in the first position in addition to first position wear on the back of the neck indicative of a player who used his thumb on the 6th string,
    1956 Gibson ES-175-1st-position-wear-back-jpeg
    and lastly a divot worn into the right side neck and binding at the third fret from his wedding ring.
    1956 Gibson ES-175-right-side-neck-binding-3rd-fret-wedding-ring-damage-jpeg
    When Rulon died in 2004, his daughter, Margie Anderson, from Cambridge, Ohio probably brought the guitar back to Ohio with her. She died twelve years later in July 2016. She was survived by a son, Rulon Poulsen, of Cambridge.

    Maybe he is the one who put his grandfather's guitar in a pawnshop in Cambridge, Ohio after his mom's funeral in 2016. (The Craigslist seller said he found the guitar in a pawn shop around then.)
    Rulon Poulsen was/is in a southern rock band in the Cambridge, Ohio area. It says on the Lock And Load band page from 2011 that his grandfather, Rulon Mecham, released some albums in the 1950's. I have not been able to find anything on that.
    About the guitar - as soon as I plugged it in, I heard early Jim Hall sounds. That was a good sign, and I knew I was buying it! The headstock has a bunch of dings along the edges - from carrying a bunch of crap in the case? Or it leaned against too many objects over the years? There is a chip on the left side of the neck binding at the 6th fret that would support this hypothesis.
    1956 Gibson ES-175-chip-left-side-neck-binding-6th-fret-jpeg
    The case has evidence of heat damage on three sides.
    1956 Gibson ES-175-heat-damage-case-jpeg
    This is ironic considering I started a thread a few weeks ago about keeping guitars safe from house fires (https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/guitar-amps-gizmos/61401-opinions-display-cases-racks-vs-hardshell-cases.html)
    1956 Gibson ES-175-fullsizeoutput_2d2-jpeg
    Then I found an article from 1976 in the Salt Lake Tribune that a man named Rulon Mecham was rescued from an apartment fire. The damage on the case is consistent with an event such as that, however the man’s stated age in the article is not consistent with my Rulon Mecham’s age, so maybe the paper got his age wrong?
    The bridge has an interesting repair for a horizontal crack that involves about 30 % of the bridge. It appears it was epoxied or super glued and then bracketed with a steel strap to reinforce the repair.
    1956 Gibson ES-175-bridge-staple-4-frontside-good-pic-jpeg1956 Gibson ES-175-bridge-staple-3-backside-jpeg
    One more thing about this sweet acquisition, the pickguard looks like a ski jump - very warped. I am going to have Tony Knudzik of The Pickguardian make a new pickguard for it. He is the go-to guy for pickguard work (ask Gibson who they go to for vintage pickguard repairs) and he is close to my location.

    I love guitars with stories. It enhances my feeling that I am just a temporary curator to preserve this guitar’s legacy for future owners. This guitar was a great find. I am grateful that I bought it and I thank my fellow addicts on the forum for encouraging me to pursue this one.
    Thanks everyone - I love this guitar.

    Last edited by Easy2grasp; 08-10-2017 at 04:40 PM.

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  3. #2

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    Very nice

    My best friend's nephews had an uncle that died in Vietnam ..... he had a 175 that looked just like this .. a beautiful guitar

    Good memories in these beauties

  4. #3

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    Very cool. Thanks for sharing it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #4

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    Great score man. I love these 'I already have one and don't need another, so I'm out' stories.
    and they end up w it.
    'Hey, I have a blonde would be cool to have a sunburst'
    you can rationalize it any way you want..been there done that....


    Btw, love those old engraved truss rod covers.
    Seen countless Gibsons w them from the 20s on.
    Must have been a service Gibson provided for a fee if I had to speculate.
    This one is odd in that the name is engraved at an unusual angle in relation to the headstock.
    Last edited by wintermoon; 08-08-2017 at 12:43 AM.

  6. #5

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    Congrats. May she inspire your playing for many years to come!

  7. #6

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    On second look, the angle of engraving of the name is a bit easier for the player to read.
    Most I've seen seem to have it oriented towards the listener.
    this guy must've liked reading his name while playing.
    Interesting....
    Last edited by wintermoon; 08-08-2017 at 12:45 AM.

  8. #7

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    Great score, and great story. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

  9. #8

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    Very cool story on your 175. Enjoy it.

    Calton case makers also engraved the purchaser names and serial numbers of the cases while they were in Canada. I have a custom job for an Aria PE-175 with a name engraved on it. Seems like the name is common in Florida so no info is available on the P.O.

  10. #9

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    See, that's just badass.

    This is bucket-list guitar for me, sharing #1 with a 62 rosie Strat.

  11. #10

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    Great find - a guitar with a history behind it - enjoy it in good health!

  12. #11

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    What a NGD ! Thank you for sharing this.

    Beautiful ...

  13. #12

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    Very nice guitar and great story! I've often wondered who owned my '53 ES-150 previously. It was obviously someone loved it and played it a lot, just like this one. Congratulations!

  14. #13

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    Wow great research! Thanks for sharing!

  15. #14

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    Oh wow! Love the guitar and love it's history even more! I would really like to know the same for my 67 year old ES-125...

    I have seen pickguards being straightened (to some extend) with the help of an ordinary iron: clamp it and heat it with the iron (use a cloth between the iron and the guard and don't put it to max!).

    But also without the guard it looks great. Enjoy it in good health!

  16. #15

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    Outstanding. Great back story. Great guitar.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by Little Jay
    Oh wow! Love the guitar and love it's history even more! I would really like to know the same for my 67 year old ES-125...

    I have seen pickguards being straightened (to some extend) with the help of an ordinary iron: clamp it and heat it with the iron (use a cloth between the iron and the guard and don't put it to max!).

    But also without the guard it looks great. Enjoy it in good health!
    Thanks for the tip! I think I will try this. An iron would be a lot safer than waving a heat gun over it considering it is highly flammable nitrocelluloid. As it is now, the pickguard is only good for using as a template for a replacement. You might have just saved me $150 or more. I used to have an ES-125 from this era, also, and sold it long ago. The memory of it's wonderful tone is what prompted me to chase down this guitar.
    Ted

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Easy2grasp
    Thanks for the tip! I think I will try this. An iron would be a lot safer than waving a heat gun over it considering it is highly flammable nitrocelluloid. As it is now, the pickguard is only good for using as a template for a replacement. You might have just saved me $150 or more. I used to have an ES-125 from this era, also, and sold it long ago. The memory of it's wonderful tone is what prompted me to chase down this guitar.
    Ted
    Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you must only apply the iron, through a cloth and on low heat, to the back of the guard. Ideally the front of the guard is placed onto a totally flat and clean, cool surface - marble is ideal

    If you apply the heat to the front, the cloth can imprint itself slightly onto the the guard. You can guess how I know this..

  19. #18

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    Wow what a great score and thank you for sharing this amazing story. Reminds me of scoring my L5P last year.
    You must be living right young man to have that come along. Play it in good health.

    Big

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Easy2grasp

    1956 Gibson ES-175-1st-position-wear-back-jpeg


    1956 Gibson ES-175-right-side-neck-binding-3rd-fret-wedding-ring-damage-jpeg


    Wow.

    Just been researching the Japanese aesthetic called Wabi Sabi and the bhuddist marks of existence. This is a great example of such a thing.

    Yes, with such items we are the custodians.

    Enjoy in good health!

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by jazzbow
    Wow.

    Just been researching the Japanese aesthetic called Wabi Sabi and the bhuddist marks of existence. This is a great example of such a thing.

    Yes, with such items we are the custodians.

    Enjoy in good health!
    I wikipedia'ed Wabi Sabi and that is pretty heavy. I like it. The little dip in the binding and edge of the neck is polished smooth as glass from his ring.
    Ted

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by jazzbow
    Wow.

    Just been researching the Japanese aesthetic called Wabi Sabi and the bhuddist marks of existence. This is a great example of such a thing.

    Yes, with such items we are the custodians.

    Enjoy in good health!
    I already knew your Zen leanings from your signature. And you spell Buddhist like a Victorian Englishman.

  23. #22

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    you still have his DNA jammed up against the frets, blech.....

  24. #23

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    classic book...just make sure you get a used copy!! haha

    1956 Gibson ES-175-wabi-sabi-artists-desigers-2-jpg

    lovely guitar and great story...love the crazing on top...and that bridge saddle fix is whacky but great!!

    now get your jim hall on...

    enjoy

    cheers

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by Franz 1997
    Forgive me for stating the obvious, but you must only apply the iron, through a cloth and on low heat, to the back of the guard. Ideally the front of the guard is placed onto a totally flat and clean, cool surface - marble is ideal

    If you apply the heat to the front, the cloth can imprint itself slightly onto the the guard. You can guess how I know this..
    Thanks for all the great advice. I was inspired and tackled this right away.
    First I laid the pickguard face down on our nonporous soapstone countertop:
    1956 Gibson ES-175-pickguard-repair-1-jpg
    I covered it with a thin cotton napkin and ironed it on the "silk" setting until it was very hot to the touch and I could smell hot plastic:
    1956 Gibson ES-175-pickguard-repair-2-jpg
    I them put a big pot of water on top of it for 15 minutes while it cooled:
    1956 Gibson ES-175-pickguard-repair-3-jpg
    After repeating this three times, results were pretty good. Here is a "before" picture showing about 5/16th" of bow:
    1956 Gibson ES-175-before-iron-jpeg
    And the "after" picture with less than 1/16th" bow:
    1956 Gibson ES-175-after-iron-jpg
    The pickguard looks great now (even though the guitar looked cool the other way, too).
    1956 Gibson ES-175-1956-es-175-pickguard-no-bracket-jpg
    1956 Gibson ES-175-fullsizeoutput_2d1-jpeg
    Now I need to source a vintage correct bracket. Joe at Archtop.com seems to have the most vintage correct ones and in an antiqued nickel finish. But they are kind of pricey and it seems like from the text that the screw hole will be in a new place (but the old one is covered up). Does anyone have any suggestions on other good places to find one? Does anyone have one of these laying around in a drawer somewhere? Hello grandson of Rulon!!?

    Ted

  26. #25

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    Twin brothers born one year apart.
    1956 Gibson ES-175-twin-brothers-jpg

    Big Enos and Little Enos