1956 Gibson Kalamazoo ES-175 Restored Natural
Offered for your consideration is Gibson ES-175 NC, serial number A23878. This beautiful instrument was built in Gibson's Kalamazoo, Michigan factory back in 1956. It appears to have been substantially restored over the years and is a great playing and sounding vintage instrument in it's current condition.
The ES-175 is a fully hollow, maple laminate archtop with a single Florentine cutaway and a short scale, 20-fret mahogany neck. The body is 16-1/4" wide lower bout and is 3-1/2" deep at the tail block. The neck is a chunky Gibson 50's C-shape measuring .911" at the first fret. It has a lovely dark Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with vintage size frets, a 1-11/16" nut and double parallelogram inlays. It has a compensated rosewood bridge with a nickel trapeze tailpiece and Kluson Deluxe tuners. The electronics include the original single Gibson P-90 single coil with an output of 7.90k and master volume and master tone controls. It is finished in 'natural' nitrocellulose lacquer. It weighs just 6.0 pounds.
While originally intended as a "budget" model by Gibson, the ES-175's sturdy construction and feedback resistance made versions of this model a favorite of both jazz and rock musicians alike. The neck is large relative to most jazz guitars and it feels fantastic. The playability of this example is superb and the action is easily changed to taste with the adjustable floating bridge. The tone is fat and woody as you would expect with a vintage archtop, but you don't need an amplifier to enjoy it. That said, you will want to plug it in - please check out my brief sound sample included on my website.
This guitar's beautiful cosmetic condition was a tip-off that it had seen quite a bit of work over the years. The tuners are more modern versions of the original Kluson Deluxe units that came on the guitar. It has a newer nut and original size frets. The wiring harness was replaced, although the original is included. It appears the neck was reset at some point and perhaps a headstock crack expertly repaired. Black "stinger" paint was added and the neck oversprayed to help hide these repairs and the body finish shines like one that has been oversprayed as well. I should also note the superficial stress crack in the laminate near the input jack. It comes in a non-original 90's era brown Gibson archtop case along with the original wiring harness. Not for the collectors out there, but a great vintage player!
All of these repairs have been expertly done and have resulted in a beautiful vintage archtop that plays like a modern instrument. Make beauty yours - you will be very happy you did! *Note: This is a consigned instrument, so no trades please.
Capital Guitars accepts payment via PayPal, credit cars via PayPal, wire transfer, or via bank check. Guitars ship only after payment clears. See something you wish to purchase? To pay via Paypal, just click the 'Buy Now' button, or send an email to capitalguitars@gmail.com indicating the guitar you wish to purchase, where you live (for calculating the shipping cost and NYS sales tax if applicable) and confirm the email address you use for Paypal. We will send you a Paypal invoice referencing the specific guitar being purchased. Just follow the prompts in the Paypal email to pay for your guitar. Once we receive your cleared payment we will contact you with tracking information and a paid invoice. That is all there is to it! Shipments to locations within the State of New York are subject to imposition of applicable New York Sales taxes. Trade proposals involving quality gear are welcomed! Email me a pic or two of your proposed trade and a brief description of its condition and we will let you know what we can allow you in trade. We also do LAYAWAYS! All layaways require a non-refundable up-front payment equal to 20% of the purchase price. Your deposit holds the guitar for you, with 60 days to pay the balance. Contact us via email for more details.
Shipping to Continental US addresses is via FedEx Ground, with flat rate shipping of $60 to Eastern time zones, $70 Central and $80 Mountain/Pacific. Shipping to Alaska and Hawaii is $100. A phone number at the shipping destination is required. Other shipping services, including express services and international shipping are available at our discretion, just contact us for a quote.
Refunds of the original purchase price less shipping and a 10% restocking fee may be requested within 48 hours of delivery. Exchanges within one (1) week of the original date of purchase may be made for an item of equal or greater value at the discretion of Capital Guitars. Where permitted herein, items must be promptly returned at the buyer's expense, in the same condition as received with all accessories and paperwork included. Sale items, purchases that are made via layaway, those involving trades and/or international shipping are considered final except upon an error by and at the discretion of Capital Guitars. All deposits are non-returnable. Our apologies, but we are a very small operation and returns are extremely time consuming and costly.