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A good friend and former student in Atlanta just sent me a photo of the '56 single P90 175 that he inherited from an aunt - he's been waiting on it for over thirty years. She told him he'd get it when she died but she held out to age 94. Anyway, he says it's in very good condition overall - very little finish checking and fret wear. Only exceptions are, maybe, a little fingerboard extension rise and the pickguard has cupped some and is no longer flat. I told him, if it needs the fingerboard worked on, to get it to Randy Wood in Savannah or Gruhn in Nashville - they're both both reasonably close to him - I've used both and trust them. As to the pickguard: does anyone have any ideas about a DIY process for flattening it back to original or should he get a new one and store the original away?
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12-20-2022 11:20 PM
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My 1953 arrived (as as described by seller) with a slightly warped pick guard. Doesn’t bother me in the least or affect playability. My 1955 ES-125 had it as well. Didn’t bother me. Personally, unless it affects playability, I’d just leave it alone.
Originally Posted by Skip Ellis
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Very common w old 175 guards, though they usually don't interfere w playing. Sometimes you can clamp a guard to a flat surface and heat it carefully w a hair dryer, but often they warp again over time.
Be careful doing this w celluloid guards however, they can combust.
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I've had good results using both the glass plate method (letting it sit out in the summer sun) and also by simply heating it up by waving it above a hot plate on my kitchen stove. The guards did not warp back and stayed flat.
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I've done this a few times when I have gotten a vintage ES-175. I have tried pre-warming it using a clothes iron on low but this works better and is more controlled. Warm it with a hairdryer just until it starts to smell like warm plastic and then put it facedown on the kitchen counter with a stockpot of hot water on top. The step off from the thick strip on top of the back can be compensated for with wood or something hard and thin like a ruler. When the water cools it will be flat.
Last edited by Easy2grasp; 12-21-2022 at 09:58 AM.
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Gibson Archtop Bible 2015
Page #128 of the PDF
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I have to wonder if this 94 year old aunt was playing this 175 daily ?? What is it with people holding on to
sh!t they have no use for, but it's "theirs", you can have it when I'm dead but I feel better having it in my closet for 20 or 30 years? I have given friends a guitar, speed skates, bicycle components, clothing, kitchen items, CD's, a Bang & Olfsen turntable and cowboy boots.
What power or satisfaction is there in possessing something you have have no need or use for?
People are weird, or maybe it's just me.
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yeah, they even refuse to die in a timely fashion so others can have their shit. selfish bastards! Originally Posted by whiskey02
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I’m going to have my 175 cremated with me to stop anyone else getting their hands on it.
Also so I can play it in the next world.
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Maybe the item helps them hold on to something, a memory that makes them feel good. Smells and things and how something feels in the hands can be soothing to those with the capacity for emotional content. Age brings a life that gets smaller, with more and more things that'll never happen again. Some things become sacred in ways that may not be obvious to... I don't know... someone who can't understand that concept?
Last edited by Scott Beckwith; 12-22-2022 at 05:12 PM. Reason: clarifying
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I once went to visit my grandmother. I sat down to plink away on their 1920's Steinway baby grand, which my mother, an accomplished pianist, learned on. My grandmother said, "He can't wait for us to kick off so he can get that piano".
Needless to say, that hurt.
Then when they did pass away- they didn't leave it to me, the only musician in the family.
Needles to say, that hurt worse!
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We profess the resurrection of the body no doubt, but of the guitar? Could be but not in the Creed as such, my guess is that it is either Harps or Pitchfork's depending on the situation. Originally Posted by grahambop
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Put the guard in a clamp with flat surface and apply a bit of heat with a heat gun set on low and be very careful. Let it sit in the clamp for at least 3 to 4 days. Remove clamp and see what you get which should be fine. I use a heat gun but a hair dryer would be safer not enough heat to really damage. You can repeat the process as necessary until you get it flat if it does not come right back close. Another trick would be to do this and clamp it and then put it in the freezer for a few days with the clamp on.
Should be plenty of competent luthiers in the Nashville area Gruhn would have a fine repair shop. There are other for sure. A rise in the fingerboard extension is not big deal on a guitar that old, it just needs someone with experience to check it out and do what is needed. Can you post a picture of the guitar would be cool to see an old 175.
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Years ago on ebay I saw an ad for a lefty Heritage 335 style guitar. The owner's widow was selling it, was in mint condition, rarely played because he had an early 60's Fender (don't remember model) that he loved and played all the time. A question posted from potential buyer asked ..."are you going to be listing the Fender"?. No was the answer, that went with him into the crematorium. So, at best, some necrophiliac lefty undertaker might be playing it now. Originally Posted by grahambop
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I wish my relatives played guitars so I could get them when they shake off this mortal coil.
Actually my mom still has my 3/4 size Teisco guitar, which was my first guitar, at her house. She fell and broke her shoulder recently, and will be moving in with my sister. So, presumably the old house (where I grew up) will get sold.
Not a problem for me—I’ve been trying to get mom to sell the house and move into an apartment for YEARS.
There’s not much I want or need except maybe that old guitar. And maybe some 8mm movies of us as kids.
There was another full-size solid-body guitar—I’m thinking a Teisco, but maybe a Silvertone—almost certainly bought from JCP or Montgomery Ward’s or Sears—which I would love to have, but it seems to have gone bye-bye. Maybe mom gave it to a relative’s kid who wanted to learn guitar.
Not a great guitar by any means, but the mojo and memories would be strong.
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Greed, that's the power and satisfaction. Lording it over others even when the others don't exist. And hoarding, a mental disorder. I have known guys with dozens of guitars, dozens of guns, pole barns full of vintage and classic cars, women with dozens of dolls in all white carpeted and decorated living rooms that aren't even lived in i.e off limits. It all strikes me as vanity, futility, and childishness. But there are those who make money off of collecting or who hang on to items of value which might be getting saved for a rainy day, which makes a little more sense to me. I'm kind of like you, if it ain't been used in 6 months I give it away, but probably because I'm selfish and don't want it taking up my space more than just being generous. I have a grand total of two items of value that have an annoying level of sentimentality attached to them where I am waiting for the gift giver to die so I can sell them because they are dust collectors to me. I don't think you are weird at all. I'm weird. Originally Posted by whiskey02
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If I'm completely honest I must admit that I should have held on to those boots.
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LOL! I have a pair I rarely wear but they are kind of a mandatory item for Texas life. Boots, hat, pistol. Originally Posted by whiskey02
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Love to see a picture of your friend's guitar! A '56 ES175 is a thing of beauty!
S
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About the original warped pickguard: I would have suggested to make or buy a new one but then I saw the messages and realised that many have fixed the warp.
Is the old plastic different compared to the plastic of a modern substitute pickguard? How much would a new pickguard drop the resale value of the old guitar?
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Fingerboard raise might need either a replane with refret or just a fret level depending on severity.
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One of my hobbies is antiques, and I go to a lot of estate sales,
You’d be surprised what people hold onto. The richer, the more cheap crap they have it seems.
Oh some expensive clothes and furniture and art. At one recently there were 6 or 7 mink coats for sale. How can one woman wear 6 different mink coats?? The art and furniture are always overpriced for my taste. There was one painting by a well-known Nebraska painting that went for $40K to a museum.
No guitar hoarders at these sales so far. I suspect the relatives sell anything worth anything on consignment through a local shop, as with vintage autos.
I did go into one recently looking for a nice set of speakers that I saw listed. The sale started at 9 AM and because of traffic I got there at 9:10 and they had already been snatched up. (I got some lovely Infinity speakers about 40 years old from a guy on Craigslist about a week later, at a much better deal.)
Anyway, where were we? Let us know what you do with the guitar.
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Yep! I’ve been wearing boots regularly since college - I have about 20 pairs, some as old as 40 years. With proper care, they last a lifetime and make you happy just like your guitars do. Here’s my 50th birthday present from my wife - custom from Little Dave Viers in Livingston, Montana. Dave made the deck-of-cards boots worn by Kenny Rogers in the original TV movie “The Gambler”. Originally Posted by whiskey02
Dave asked for photos of my guitars and inlaid a few in his own style, along with some notes. I’ve been wearing these for 26 years now, and they’re among my best friends.
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