Vintage Gibson ES-175D 1953

[electricfactory]

A week or so ago I posted about looking at three 175's, a vintage 70's, a '59 Reissue and a vintage 1953. As it turned out the vintage '53 ( listed at Guitar Center of all places) was the one I'd focused on though it had more replaced parts than it should've given the listing price. Though I asked, GC was not price flexible so I walked away from that guitar. And then.

Perusing Reverb.com I found yet another '53 ES-175, this one including it's original case and sold by CME! The pics looked terrific, the guys I spoke to were super helpful and the best part I was able to negotiate a significant price break. Ordered the guitar on Monday, it took till today to arrive.

And arrive it has. Starting with the good news the guitar is indeed all original, from pickups to tailpiece to pots to to those 50's-style skinny frets! ( the tuner buttoms and the strap post in back I think may be old replacements). The neck is as straight as an arrow and the guitar arrived in playable conditon with a low action. Even the cowboy position chords are free of fret-wear, I think this guitar was played a lot at the very beginning of it's life and then got cased for decades.

As a result, and the bad news, the case smells of must, really musty ( not cigarettes, just musty age ). In fact the case isn't in all that great a shape though its relatively sound. Too, someone ripped out the case feet, no doubt to apply to another better conditon case by some 'dealer' during it's lifetime. I was misldly disappointed by this because I specifically asked about the case condition and 'smells'. Perhaps a Bounce Dryer Sheet or two will sort it out. If I keep the guitar maybe I'll luck into a better condition brown case.

Back to the guitar; there's no doubt that this guitar was played during it's lifetime though again not enough to result in wear to the fretboard, frets or neck. The P90's sound terrific, robust and buttery, in fact- the neck pickup measures 8k while the bridge pickup measures almost 12k ! This surprised me big time, had no idea these pickups were wound in this way. They sound mellow and woody in the guitar and to me this is classic ES-175 tone that I was lusting for.

The finish shows plenty of age though no buckle rash or other indignities. I have a three day inspection and so am deciding now whether or not it's a keeper. I've only plugged it in for a moment to insure everything was working, tonight I plan on settling in and giving it some full attention. Is anyone familiar with or using a DV Mark Jazz amp ?

Will post more stuff as I discover it, meanwhile here are some pics;

[vinlander]

Congratulations, play it in good health !
There is nothing like old wood
One of the addictive thing with my '59 125 is actually its old furniture smell, my wife calls it a perversion
Reminds me my old grand parents bookshelves

[ThatRhythmMan]

Congrats! That’s an awfully stunning 175 for its age.

[jads57]

Just saw a mint cond 1959 ES-175 Sunburst for sale at Willies Amerian Guitars St.Paul,Mn. Not sure of the price,it had just arrived

[Bebop Tom]

Does the guitar smell musty too? That would be a concern. The case can be dealt with or replaced.

[ThatRhythmMan]

I’ve had tremendous success eliminating odors, even smoke, with an ozone generator.

[rio]

Lovely looking guitar for that age. Did Guitar Center lie about the case not smelling do you think or did they simply not check? I could see either happening with the state of that business and how they handle used sales. Congrats! Sucks about the case but the guitar looks like a real winner.

The ozone generator is a good idea and if you can pinpoint what kind of smell it is then maybe some enzyme cleaners could help if it is in the fabric. Hard to diagnose old smells sometimes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[electricfactory]

Please expand- which gen did you buy ? Did you use it in a designated and closed room, with the case open in that room ? Details please.

I’ve had tremendous success eliminating odors, even smoke, with an ozone generator.

[citizenk74]

It's a beautiful guitar. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

[plasticpigeon]

Looks pretty special to me.

[Jabberwocky]

Woah! Love that old style sunburst! It is giving me a woody just looking at the photos. The case can be aired out. I won't carry the guitar around in it; put it aside for resale value but do air it out. Arm and Hammer Baking Soda in a large paper coffee filter will help to soak up bad odours when you close the lid. Or you could scatter it all over the inside of the case and vacuum it out later.

I would get a nice Hiscox Pro II GAD Dreadnaught case for it. Musician's Friend is running a 15% discount with a promo code for any order over $199. So, a good time to score a HIscox Case with free CONUS shipping.

I won't return it if I were you. It looks positively stunning. The case may not be original to it. Its original case may have been swapped out for this musty one. The guitar would have smelt musty otherwise and that is something you would have commented on. And you didn't.

(Yeah, and real dark Brazilian Rosewood fretboard...a $4000 upcharge on a 2018 Les Paul True Historic!!!)

Play it in good health, you.

PS Raise a stink with CME and see if you could get a rebate on the price you paid. You deserve a rebate for getting a musty case. Otherwise, agitate to return it because there is some misrepresentation here.

[patshep]

beautiful, i want a p90 vintage 175 so badly

[electricfactory]

A couple of early observations; the vintage VOL POTS are a laugh-riot. Turning up from '0' to '10' goes like this..nothing, nothing, nothing... loud. The pickup dosen't really begin speaking until; '8', then full vol between '8' and '10'. The '50's.

Secondly, the tone of these P90's are truly magical, in my opion the way the 175 was meant to be experienced. I'm presently playing through a 20yr old tweed Blues Jr, (speaker replaced and amp upgraded) Fender Blues JR, the tone is warm, woody and definitely not muddy.

Will continue playing this one over the weekend ( different amps, am curious about the current breed of small-but-powewrful combos), different strings and maybe even try recording it.

By the way my transaction interaction with the CME guys was mostly positive, very friendly and accommodating. I asked about the case condition, and specifically if it was smelly. The guy replied that i was a nice case, smelled like a 'nice old guitar'. In my mind I checked that box and moved on, upon delivery I noticed a bit more than ' a nice old guita smell'.

So at most CME and I have a difference of opinion ?

[ThatRhythmMan]

Please expand- which gen did you buy ? Did you use it in a designated and closed room, with the case open in that room ? Details please.

I have the one linked below. It did a pretty amazing job on a 2000s ES-175 and case I had that I got pretty cheap because of a strong cigarette odor. One treatment and almost all traces were gone, two treatments and no smell left. It didn’t come back either. I have a small storage room that is semi-detached from my house. I closed everything up in there to run the generator.

Mammoth Commerical Ozone Generator 5000mg Industrial Heavy Duty O3 Air Purifier Deodorizer Sterilizer Amazon.com: Mammoth Commerical Ozone Generator 5000mg Industrial Heavy Duty O3 Air Purifier Deodorizer Sterilizer: Home & Kitchen

[omphalopsychos]

This NGD wins the Internet today.

[rabbit]

Congratulations!

All this and P-90's too. Whooo.

I must lie down now.

[Stringswinger]

Congrats.

I have said it here before and I will say it again. All a jazz guitarist really needs is a good Gibson ES-175. Joe Pass, Herb Ellis, Jim Hall and countless others were on to something. They are the best gigging guitar for jazz that I have ever found. Enjoy!

+1 On Jabb's advice regarding the case and CME

[Little Jay]

Great looking guitar! Enjoy it!

Don’t let the case spoil the fun. Put it outside (opened) on a cold night and it will smell a lot better already.

Or buy a new case. If you gig with it a lot: one of those ‘soft case’ are light and offer great protection. I have a dreadnought model of an unknown brand for my ES-125 (same body shape minus the cutaway as a 175).



For optimal protection (band van) I use the Hiscox LiteFlite it came in:

[whiskey02]

Congrats on the guitar! My good friend bought a used 335 and was knocked back by the cigarette funk of the case when he got it. He sprayed it with Febreze and left it open on his back yard deck for several sunny days, spraying it periodically with febreze, and it really made a huge difference.

[rio]

If you fancy a new case to protect your great new guitar, and if you haven’t heard of it, check out Mono cases or the Reunion Blues Continental Voyager. I got the latter and it is the best gig bag I’ve ever used. Calling it a gig bag is a bit of an under estimation too - I could drop a guitar in it off a roof and I’m pretty sure the guitar would be ok.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[wintermoon]

Cobgrats on the 175
Don't put anything in the case lining, you'll never be able to vacuum it all out and every time you open it there will be some of it on the guitar. A thousand years ago I scattered some carpet deodorizing crystals in a case and no matter how much I vacuumed it I never could get it all out. I wouldn't spray anything in there either, your guitar doesn't want that stuff on it
But coffee grounds on a plate, or baking soda will help.
Even better, leave it open in direct sunlight, the UV rays will help.
Better still the ozone generator mentioned.....

Good luck....

[electricfactory]

Case smell gone!
After a few hours outside and in more or less direct sunlight the case smell has disappeared! I stuck my nose right in there and all I got was warm July summer.
As soon as I decided to keep the guitar I threw a couple of washer/ dryer sheets in the closed case for about 12hrs. I then left the case open on my outdoor deck, today she's as fresh as a daisy- thanks for the suggestions guys!

[Bluedawg]

Very cool

beautiful

[brucekenway]

I have the one linked below. It did a pretty amazing job on a 2000s ES-175 and case I had that I got pretty cheap because of a strong cigarette odor. One treatment and almost all traces were gone, two treatments and no smell left. It didn’t come back either. I have a small storage room that is semi-detached from my house. I closed everything up in there to run the generator.

Mammoth Commerical Ozone Generator 5000mg Industrial Heavy Duty O3 Air Purifier Deodorizer Sterilizer Amazon.com: Mammoth Commerical Ozone Generator 5000mg Industrial Heavy Duty O3 Air Purifier Deodorizer Sterilizer: Home & Kitchen

Don't use Ozone generator, it may be bad for your health. I thought ozone generator could release enough ozone to cause asthma attack

[wmachine]

That '53 is breathtaking! That is essentially what Gibson was going for in their '54 Reissue that I was fortunate to get fairly recently. Funny thing is the '54 Reissue is called "Dark Burst". Uh, not Dark Burst like your '53! That's a classic from head to toe!