My first vintage guitar. Made in 1956, this model was the first Gibson electric first introduced in 1936. The 50's model featured a P-90 pickup which really puts out the juice.
We were in Portland visiting Adinah and we went out to a place where a guy was playing an old Gibson arch-top. I asked him what model it was and he didn't know. I liked the look and sound and decided I wanted an old arch-top and asked Andy (Adinah's boyfriend at the time) to look around for me. I looked at a few ES-175s which were all in the $1,500 to $2,000 price range. Andy fond mine at the Portland Music Co. Because it had been modified (the cut off switches are not original) it didn't qualify for the vintage market and I got it for $600 with new strings, setup, and a hard shell case. I'm pretty sure its the same model that the guy we saw was playing. Most later models had either single (ES-175) or double cutaways (like my ES-133).
I sold my ES-133 so this is the one I play when I want to plug in. Still sounds great. Love the drive on the P-90 and the warm rich sound when plugged in to my Silvertone vintage amp.
