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I just took delivery on a 1962 single pickup Gibson ES-175. It is in great condition with only mild finish checking. It has the original unmolested PAF, original pots with cans, nickel zigzag tailpiece, knobs etc. It has had the machine heads replaced with period correct double rings, a new nut, and the frets have been replaced with period correct fret wire. It has an updated Gibson hardshell case. It plays very nicely, but I am going to have my luthier go over it and set it up to my tastes. It has one modification that the seller mentioned and it also lowered the price. A mud dauber wasp decided to build some nesting tubes inside it one year. The mud dauber does not eat wood, but likes to seal cracks with mud and saliva and build nesting tubes. The wasp goes out and paralyses about 25 spiders to insert with the larvae in each tube. The female does all the work. All the male does is sit around and guard the larvae from parasites while the female is out getting spiders to put in the tubes she had to build herself. So basically I have a small piece of pottery stuck on the inside of my guitar. I could scrap it off with difficulty, or I can leave it there for posterity. What would you do?
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08-30-2021 07:43 PM
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Beautiful 175!!
It's your call, but I'd leave the wasp nest as is. It has zero impact on the tone or playability of your vintage guitar.
Plus the description of how wasps build their nests is too precious to not tell for years to come. I'd even keep a mirror in the case just to show it.
Play it in good health.
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What a beautiful instrument!
I had a 1959 175 with the single pickup. Of all the guitars I have owned that is the one I regret ever having sold.
Thank you for sharing the pictures.
Sent from my LE2127 using Tapatalk
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Great guitar! I’d probably get the mud nest out of there. My ocd just wouldn’t allow it. Whatever you decide enjoy your new guitar.
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As I read the title of this thread I expected it would have something to do with a variation on bumblebee caps or something to that effect. I was pleasantly surprised. Great story! Don’t you wonder how the wasps found their way in there?
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And here I thought it was modified by some White Anglo Saxon Protestant to malfunction if you attempt to play "race music" with it.
Nice score. I'd clean out the mess myself....
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How many 175's does that make?
Enjoy, and I'm not very ocd but I'd try to get it out
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I'd keep it as is for sure!
Claim it adds some special unique tonal Mojo that no pedal can replicate. A specific harmonic resonance. It will increase the sale value on account of the Authenticity, rarity and gullibility. Someone will believe it.
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Ok, I'm still at 6 ES-175's because I accidentally sold my '59 w/clone Pu's. When will I ever learn to never sell an ES-175 I have acquired? I have lost 3 beauties that way. Now I have learned that I am the ES-175 Whisperer. I will never forsake another one.
Originally Posted by wintermoon
Last edited by Easy2grasp; 09-05-2021 at 11:55 AM.
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Get it cleaned out! Maybe even a very good luthier good restore that.
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BTW, what fretwire is period-correct for late 50s-early 60s 175s?
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I would keep the wasp nest to add a stinging tone!
(My sincere apologies in advance)
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If you get any of those mysterious buzzing vibrations that 175s are known for, at least you’ll know where to look.
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It's a sustainable method for fighting feedback, instead of using synthetic foam.
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I have 3 ES-175's myself (down from 4), so unlike many (most?) here, I get it. IMO, there is no better guitar for playing jazz. I suspect Joe Pass, Herb Ellis and Jim Hall would agree with me, but we would need the services of a very good medium to verify that. Originally Posted by Easy2grasp
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The nest is a non-original, non-appropriate add-on. Remove.
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To repair it, mix the drinks, then call the luthier. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
And here I thought it was modified by some White Anglo Saxon Protestant to malfunction if you attempt to play "race music" with it.
Nice score. I'd clean out the mess myself....
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Originally Posted by EastwoodMike
I'd keep it as is for sure!
Claim it adds some special unique tonal Mojo that no pedal can replicate. A specific harmonic resonance. It will increase the sale value on account of the Authenticity, rarity and gullibility. Someone will believe it.
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Originally Posted by aborodya
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Bee-flat? Originally Posted by EastwoodMike
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I would have the nests removed. Think about it. Practicing spider scales. You're next for the feeding.
Seriously. They be yuck for me.
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The guitar came from the West coast. I bought it from a seller in LA. So this is probably some unique mud that can't be duplicated in any way. It's the color of a dusty trail in an Old Western. I would probably clean it out if it was Georgian mud which could produce a red stain. It should help with stabilizing the humidity in the guitar and someone else mentioned control of feedback. If I can get some Ohio mud daubers to move in, I can eventually fill the guitar with nesting tubes. Hey where did all my house spiders go?
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Hang on to it, it's special, even the Gibson relic'ing shop don't offer this option yet.
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You have to get a patent for this, something like "A way to improve wood stability in varying moisture environment" and contact Gibson.
A lot of money to make
I'd leave it as is
It's a unique feature and a lovely story
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If ever a guitar needed a stinger modification...
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