Reverb has your back if your item is lost, damaged, or doesn't match its description. Simply report any issues within 7 days and we'll help you get a full refund.Learn More
About This Listing
Up for sale, a 1968 Gibson ES-175D in exceptional condition and in perfect working order, complete with a hardshell case. A clean vintage example, this ES-175 boasts its original "patent sticker" humbuckers, delivering a detailed and dynamic range of tones. Acoustically, the fully hollow maple body delivers a big, open sound with both the immediate attack and clarity of maple, and an airy, smooth quality befitting the hollowbody construction. These patent sticker humbuckers both meter in the mid 7k ohms range, offering a vital, complex sound in every pickup position. Lightweight at 6lbs 7oz, this ES-175D has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 11-49 roundwound strings, spot-on intonation, and ideal action.
The one-piece mahogany neck has a slender C-shaped profile carve with moderate shoulders, offering a gentle increase in overall heft further up the fretboard, measuring .795" deep at the 1st fret and .940" at the 9th. The bound rosewood fretboard is inlaid with pearloid split parallelograms and retains the original medium jumbo fretwire. The frets have good meat and well-rounded crowns, showing light wear on the crowns of frets 1-5, with wear growing fainter and extending beneath the plain strings until fret 9. The guitar plays effortlessly up the 24 3/4" scale with a straight neck with a responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The nut has been upgraded to a carved piece of bone, measuring 1 9/16" in width. The headstock features original Kluson Deluxe double line tuners with deeply ambered double ring buttons, turning smoothly and functioning reliably. The original truss rod cover is also present.
All of the electronics work as they should, and the original humbucker pair has untouched solder on the chrome covers. One original patent # waterslide decal is partially intact on the humbucker baseplate, and the other sticker has fallen off (the shadow of its placement is still visible). The original floating rosewood bridge base is fitted with the stock chrome-plated patent # ABR-1 bridge with nylon saddles, and the clean chrome zig-zag trapeze tailpiece rounds out the hardware. Plastics include the original pickguard, pickup selector ring and gasket, while the quartet of amber bonnet knobs are modern replacements (more closely evoking a '50s feature set). The original serialized oval orange label is visible through the F hole.
The three-tone Sunburst nitro lacquer gloss finish is rich and unfaded, with light ripples of flame figuring across the top, framed by deeply ambered body binding (the guitar does have a very faint smokey/musty smell that will assuredly dissipate over time). There is finish checking across the body and some minor scuffs and nicks consistent with careful use. There are also a couple small areas of minor finish loss adjacent to the tailpiece hinge. The neck retains its smooth nitro gloss on the profile length, free of palm wear.
A vintage (non-original) hardshell case with gold plush interior is included.
With a fully hollow body and sharp Florentine cutaway, the Gibson ES-175 stands out as an all-time iconic jazz guitar. The ES-175 has seen some variation over the years, with different pickup and hardware configurations coming in and out of the Gibson lineup. Those with the ES-175D model number indicate the use of two pickups, and an N denotes a natural instead of sunburst finish. Although the ES-175 is noted as a jazz guitar, it has also been embraced by rock players like Yes' Steve Howe who has a signature model.
1968 Gibson ES-175 D Vintage Archtop Electric Guitar Sunburst w/ Pat # Pickups, Case
$7,499.99
$7,499.99
About This Listing
Up for sale, a 1968 Gibson ES-175D in exceptional condition and in perfect working order, complete with a hardshell case. A clean vintage example, this ES-175 boasts its original "patent sticker" humbuckers, delivering a detailed and dynamic range of tones. Acoustically, the fully hollow maple body delivers a big, open sound with both the immediate attack and clarity of maple, and an airy, smooth quality befitting the hollowbody construction. These patent sticker humbuckers both meter in the mid 7k ohms range, offering a vital, complex sound in every pickup position. Lightweight at 6lbs 7oz, this ES-175D has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 11-49 roundwound strings, spot-on intonation, and ideal action.
The one-piece mahogany neck has a slender C-shaped profile carve with moderate shoulders, offering a gentle increase in overall heft further up the fretboard, measuring .795" deep at the 1st fret and .940" at the 9th. The bound rosewood fretboard is inlaid with pearloid split parallelograms and retains the original medium jumbo fretwire. The frets have good meat and well-rounded crowns, showing light wear on the crowns of frets 1-5, with wear growing fainter and extending beneath the plain strings until fret 9. The guitar plays effortlessly up the 24 3/4" scale with a straight neck with a responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The nut has been upgraded to a carved piece of bone, measuring 1 9/16" in width. The headstock features original Kluson Deluxe double line tuners with deeply ambered double ring buttons, turning smoothly and functioning reliably. The original truss rod cover is also present.
All of the electronics work as they should, and the original humbucker pair has untouched solder on the chrome covers. One original patent # waterslide decal is partially intact on the humbucker baseplate, and the other sticker has fallen off (the shadow of its placement is still visible). The original floating rosewood bridge base is fitted with the stock chrome-plated patent # ABR-1 bridge with nylon saddles, and the clean chrome zig-zag trapeze tailpiece rounds out the hardware. Plastics include the original pickguard, pickup selector ring and gasket, while the quartet of amber bonnet knobs are modern replacements (more closely evoking a '50s feature set). The original serialized oval orange label is visible through the F hole.
The three-tone Sunburst nitro lacquer gloss finish is rich and unfaded, with light ripples of flame figuring across the top, framed by deeply ambered body binding (the guitar does have a very faint smokey/musty smell that will assuredly dissipate over time). There is finish checking across the body and some minor scuffs and nicks consistent with careful use. There are also a couple small areas of minor finish loss adjacent to the tailpiece hinge. The neck retains its smooth nitro gloss on the profile length, free of palm wear.
A vintage (non-original) hardshell case with gold plush interior is included.
With a fully hollow body and sharp Florentine cutaway, the Gibson ES-175 stands out as an all-time iconic jazz guitar. The ES-175 has seen some variation over the years, with different pickup and hardware configurations coming in and out of the Gibson lineup. Those with the ES-175D model number indicate the use of two pickups, and an N denotes a natural instead of sunburst finish. Although the ES-175 is noted as a jazz guitar, it has also been embraced by rock players like Yes' Steve Howe who has a signature model.
