In all my talk about modern ergonomic designs - and I truly am a convert - it is impossible to ignore how perfect some old things are, too. Case in point: Gibson's 16" laminated electric archtop, the ES-175.
I won't seek to give a history of this instrument, as such details are available elsewhere. I'd rather tell the story of my own. She was made in 1957, and she is blonde. I wanted one like this for close to twenty years, ever since I discovered Pat Metheny as a college student in 1986. I saw his Group play in New London, CT just before Still Life (Talking) was released.
Along my guitar buying and sellling journey, I balked at the price of a blonde 175. Instead, I bought a 1992 ES-775, a rare fancy variation that was made only for few years in the 90's. I loved that guitar, but it was not the same. It was fairly heavy and had a slightly different sound.
Ten years later or so, I picked up an early ES-175, made in 1950, with a single P-90 pickup. It had great vibe, but I sold it eventually to acquire something else.
On January 3, 2005, I was casually reading the posts in the Usenet newsgroup rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz. And I happened upon a For Sale ad for a 1957 ES-175. I always check out things like this, just for fun. Such is the nature of a guitar hunter. This 175 had been completely restored from some unknown but supposedly poor state. Everything was replaced on it, except - critically - the original first year PAF humbuckers. The seller seemed rather casual about that, but the market for PAF's is crazy. They sell for thousands of dollars!
The price for the whole guitar was $1500. I snapped it up! What luck.
And it is, of course, blonde. An ES-175DN from 1957; one year apart from Pat Metheny's 1958. I would never rip out the bridge pickup like he did, or cobble a synth driver with duct tape to the tailpiece, but I do relish the association nonetheless. There is a sound that the 175 gets that is unique. It's got a very dark, rich electric jazz tone. But with the right picking technique you get a desirable "ping" on the attack that gives it an alive, acoustic flavor. Totally cool.
Later, I managed to find this original post on the same jazz guitar group where the previous owner described a bit more about the guitar's origin. Folks didn't seem to impressed at the time. Oh well! This guitar is refinished, but the original wood is gorgeous and speaks with 50+ years of musical energy. The neck, nut, and fretwork are perfect. The old PAF's chime with an authentic and expressive voice. And it weighs less than anything Gibson puts out today, which gives it excellent acoustic resonance despite its laminated construction.
