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CME has a brand new '59 reissue 175 in stock. $5200 VSB. Looks like a nice one except for the price.
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11-21-2019 09:44 PM
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Hopefully they are still making them then they are so iconic
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When we bought my 55th Anniversary Model in '06* the tag price was $4,999.99. We got it for $2,600; which was the going price at the time.**
Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
So, maybe the out-the-door price may be (adjusting for inflation) not so bad?
*Meaning it's an '04.
**There were add-ons.*** The guitar had been taking up rack space for a year and a half. Win-win.
Strap,*** strap locks, cable, strings.
***Tooled leather; says "Gibson."****
****Yes, I'm a fan!Last edited by citizenk74; 11-22-2019 at 03:22 PM. Reason: punk2ationz
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FWIW, two years ago (plus), I bought my 59 reissue 175 from CME during the great Gibson blowout sale for $2670 shipped. And that was for a Blonde. The guitar is amazing, truly one of the best electric guitars that I have ever played. And the deal was superb, I clearly got a brand new, perfect Gibson archtop at a wholesale price. The only downside on my deal is that the blowout guitars came without the benefit of Gibson's lifetime warranty to the original purchaser, something that I have heard has not been that great of a warranty in recent years in any case.
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Though currently Gibson is not making any models I would want (175 excluded) I am hearing very good reports on their QC. That CME 175 looks flawless. Go onto their website and just type 1959 and it will come up.
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Looking at the COA on that guitar, it appears to be a 2017 Memphis leftover....and CME is selling it for way more than the street price in 2016/2017. Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
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Bummer ! I was hoping the 175 was back. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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My longstanding ES-175 was stamped a BGN (bargain) for reasons I could never tell. I bought this ~1974 guitar after it was used by someone else for a decade. It was my sole guitar for a long time.
The greatest compliment I can apply to the guitar is that I never thought about it. It felt perfectly comfortable and I never had trouble getting the sound out of it I wanted. But it never drew my attention. I never even cared that it was a natural. As time passes I realize that's a very good thing. I only focused on the music I was making and that of the band.
That was at a time when laminated and carved tops didn't seem to matter much. The maple flaming and the fretboard wood didn't cross my mind.
Somehow I became finicky over the years. I wish I hadn't but it's too late.
A good ES-175 is very difficult to beat as an all around electric.
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The interwebz says that instruments sold to Gibson personnel got the BGN stamp. Similarly, some posters say that Gibson personnel would grab a perfectly fine guitar and stamp it "BGN" so that they or their friends could buy it for cheap. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
Many online posters say that there is nothing wrong with the instrument; others say that "BGN" is 'worse' than '2' (for "second").
It's all fair game in the Era of Truthiness.
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I am still amazed that I got a VOS ES175 in 2016 for $2000. It still is just wonderful to play, sounds great, and other than a slight truss rod tweak when I put 13s on it, it has needed little to know adjustment. It's the guitar I reach for when I want to just play. That's important because I have a rack of Gibsons included a 165, 2 more 175s and an L5ces, all of which I love, but the VOS is just the one that I reach for unconsciously. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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The way it worked was that someone at Gibson in the final stages of production, like buffing or hardware or setup would identify a flaw. Often these were dings, some intentionally inflicted. The defects were brought to the attention of the shift foreman to get the approval for the headstock to be stamped either with a 2 or a BGN, the latter for a more serious flaw, like a stain in the wood or a gouge. The guitars had to be structural sound and playable though. These were deeply discounted to employees and occasionally dealers. Originally Posted by Sam Sherry
Like all human endeavors, this was prone to corruption. For example, if someone in hardware wanted a LP Custom, it would be possible to put a small finish scratch on one. That worker could stamp it as a second but not set the spring in the stamper so that the 2 was a very light impression. The supervisor would approve it as being stamped. The employee could wet sand the 2 off and buff it. This was more common that you might suspect in the really busy Gibson years in Kalamazoo.
At certain times the employees could look through the inventory of seconds and bargains. There was a limit on how many they could get. But the effect was that Kalamazoo was very much a Gibson city with mint guitars at low prices.
Only collectors seem to care about the second and bargain stamp. When I got my ES-175 it was already broken it with dings and wear on it. I probably saved a few hundred due to it being a bargain, which I suppose is a bargain!
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Back in about 1980 I bought mine for about $900--half of what I made working one summer as a college student. That would be $2768 now adjusted for inflation. That sounds like a reasonable price to me, given that the basics of the guitar itself have not changed one iota. (Arguably, it is much cheaper to make a guitar now, given evolution of production techniques. That may be offset to some extent by some wood components being more expensive.)
I still want one, but I am keeping my eye out for a used bargain out there. I'm glad they're still being made.
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Marco was correct that this new one at CME is a NOS 2016. David A. wants $3.5K if anyone wants a brand new dead mint 2016 '59 175. Sadly I was hoping they were back on the assembly line.The smoking deals are over.
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That’s ok. There are still Campellone’s..
Last edited by Max405; 11-30-2019 at 11:16 AM.
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I had heard from a very good source that the early 70's ES175 were built by Harmony until Harmony went out of business.
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That CME sale was something wasn't it? I was between full time positions with benefits and was paying COBRA insurance for my family when it started so bad timing for me. I caught the tail end after I got a gig with insurance (COBRA ain't cheap) and got my ES175 VOS after returning a Figured ES 175. I doubt we'll ever see those kind of deals again.
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I was extremely fortunate to be in the position to be able to spend the money and get quite a few. Thanks to those here that could verify that one, the general quality of them was excellent, and two, the prices were more than exceptionally low. It became clear to me the real models to concentrate on were the reissues. Originally Posted by 73Fender
At first I was just going to get just one, I had an ES-175 in mind, and considering the prices I had my sights high on a '59 reissue. But already having an EPI ES-175 Premium, and no Gibson ES models, I decided to get a good ES-335, but upped that a bit an went for a '64 reissue ES-345 TDC Maestro VOS.
That was October of 2017.
Due to the volume of guitars and the way they got them in multiple shipments over time, it gave me (and everyone else for that matter) more time to ponder buying more. Snap decisions and buyers remorse were held at bay. So over time I kept plucking up more with the last one being in May of 2018. I came full circle as that last *was* an ES175, but a 2015 1954 ES-175D Dark Burst. It was the bottom of the barrel of the Memphis warehouse sale, and was languishing at first in the Gibson warehouse, then at CME because it was mislabeled (at the factory). That ended up being a unbelievable deal to put an exclamation point on my glut from the CME sale.
I figured (and still do) that this was a once in a lifetime sale and opportunity for me and I'm enjoying the hell out of them. I think it was money well spent, and my guitar buying days are over, bucket list fulfilled and then some.
And again I'd like to thank those here that helped me have the confidence to buy in.
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I don't know about that--have never heard it. Do you have any sources for that? Originally Posted by BBGuitar
Harmony generally made guitars with solid pressed tops (generally spruce). I don't know that they made many laminate-top guitars, but I could be wrong.
Apparently they did make acoustic guitars for Fender though.
Harmony History | ChasingGuitars
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My source was a Fender rep who worked through the Fender/CBS years. Then bought into Fender when they bought themselves out of CBS. He also had Heritage in his samples, later on Guild and a number of others Fender gobbled up. He had inside information no one else had, like the bug infested solid bodies that they had to quietly recall. Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
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This was one of the solid bodies... Originally Posted by BBGuitar
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Oh man I love that! Bet it gets a nice airy tone! Originally Posted by Easy2grasp
This was one of the solid bodies...
Seriously, as a woodworker, I often use things that are cracked or worm ridden and try to make them into design elements. One tip I’ve read (which I’ve never actually used) is that when working with grub-infested wood (for turning on a lathe), put it in the microwave to kill the little buggers first.
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On second look that top looks like it might be faux wormholes—created with a drill and router or Dremel or similar tool, then burned a little with a flame. Hard to tell. It looks pretty cool. But a clever person can relic a piece so that only an expert on Antiques Roadshow could tell the difference.
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It's a Benedetto!
HOLEY TEREDO II! | Benedetto Guitars
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