Gibson ES-175 Steve Howe Model Opinions?

[SOLR]

I have one which is for sale.
located in Italy.
in great shape.
asked price 3.900,00 euro.

Next week end I’ll post it in the “for sale” section of this web site, with detailed pics.

Is this the one you're playing here?

S

[gianluca]

Is this the one you're playing here?

S

yes

[Mick-7]

I would hold out for a nicer one at that price. The damage on that guitar concerns me enough I would pass.

Interesting, could you elaborate?

The seller has no feedback and the guitar does not qualify for the rating of "excellent" he gave it -- Gear conditions and what they mean

[SOLR]

The seller has no feedback and the guitar does not qualify for the rating of "excellent" he gave it -- Gear conditions and what they mean

Thx , yeah that rating is way off, I brought it up with the seller, the 2 issues I noted were the headstock paint peeling /he calls it wear also the 2 hits/dings at the bottom back of the guitar near the binding . The rest looks quite nice actually, I got him to send me extra pics of the neck..... the action is a bit high (well looks that way on the jpegs ) there was some room on the bridge to come down , I asked him to get as low as possible and he said he got it to around 1mm no buzzes It could get lower, assuming the neck is straight and the truss rod works . It's a 2007 so it should.

As we live far enough from each other I'm getting as much info ahead before I decide to meet.

here are some pics :



FWIW I'm not looking at the reverb ad but his local facebook page , he has a few other instruments for sale mostly acoustic .

While I'd prefer a pristine condition instrument I'm not overly concerned about the dings, the peeling paint is more of a possible issue. If I can be comfortable with the instrument playing and sound wise then I'd make an offer.

Unless , of course, someone here picks up something unusual.

S

[stevo58]

Is that paint? Isn’t it a fiberboard overlay?

It doesn’t look like random damage to me, either. Somebody scraped or sanded that.

[Bill C]

Just wondering if the apparent headstock damage might have been caused by a too small case?

fwiw I’d be inclined to ask for various photos from different angles/videos of the headstock issue, to get a better idea of things

I’ve owned a few old Gibsons over the years and all have had various degrees of cosmetic wear and tear which hasn’t affected playability, though it may have affected resale value - ymmv …

[SOLR]

So the story is , according to seller,

He never played that guitar, it was bought in 2013 and he put in a glass showcase display in his home.

Recently he was selling some items and welcomed perpective buyers in the house and not long after a few visits he got robbed while he was out of town on vacation.

His better guitars were taken as was the Steve Howe but it was dropped on the open case and left there which would account for the 2 dings on the back. During that same event the headstock was smothered on a wet cloth for some time (I don't know how or how long) and the overlay started to buckle . The seller eventually slit the peeling part off himself . That might also explain why the headstock logo is now a silvery shade rather than the gold original.

As for the binding, in some photos it does appear yellow and some it looks white..so probably not an issue per say.


At his point the price seems several thousands below others reverb postings in excellent /mint (we agree this one is not quite that ) condition.

To add to the intrigue, after having been the victim of a theft the seller does not receive perspective buyers at home anymore , so we'd need to meet in a public space (restaurant / hotel lobby etc.) But that would same me the 200 mi trip as I could meet him much closer to my home using public transport.

Thx for reading,

S

P.S here are some other items from the seller's collection for sale

Vibrolux '66 $4500cdn
Alejandro Cervantes $7500cdn Heikki Rousu 13 strings, 2013$5500cdn Hughes & Kettner Puretone Combo 25-Watt 1x12"$ 1500cdn

[SOLR]

The headstock has more extensive overlay "peeling" you can see it pretty much all around the head and it's more pronounced on the left side.



S

[Cunamara]

If the price is comfortable to you and you can live with the cosmetic issues of the headstock, nothing else that I see in the photographs are jumping out at me as problematic. If you like the feel and the sound of the guitar, to me that's 90% of it. I don't ever buy a guitar with thoughts about what the resale value is going to be, because I tend to keep them for 25 years or more (46 in one case, 42 in another with no plans to sell either).

[jaymen]

Looks Like the SH model was Gibsons replica of Howe's original 1965 ES-175 with his modifications: as it has the same Grover tuners he replaced, an L5 bridge. and a keystone tuner key for the switch knob.

My 1989 ES-175D has mahogany sides and back, making it a bit warmer than the all maple body versions, but there are also differences over the years in the pick-ups they came with, which will also slightly alter the tone. Biggest tone change I made to mine was to string it with Thomastik Infeld swing series flatwounds; way better than Gibson Flat wires, or D'Addario Chromes.