1992 Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis Archtop Electric SOLD

The Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis is based on the classic Gibson ES-175, a standby for jazz guitarists since its introduction in 1949. However, some jazz players like Herb Ellis only ever use the neck pickup, and desired a thicker neck profile than the standard on the ES-175.

Built from 1991 to 2011, the Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis is built to deliver what a jazz player needs. The full-depth, florentine cutaway body is built with nicely figured laminated maple, which resists feedback better than solid woods. A standard mahogany neck with a fuller profile sports a rosewood fingerboard and split - parallelogram position markers, and a Herb Ellis signature decal on the headstock. The hardware is gold plated; the tuners are gold Grover Roto-Matics with metal tulip-shaped buttons. There is a single humbucking pickup in the neck position, a gold tune-o-matic bridge on a rosewood base, and a gold trapeze style tailpiece. Controls are simple, single volume and tone controls, and gold 'speed' or barrel knobs complete the hardware. There are strap pins at the tailblock and on the heel.

This early example of the Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis was built in 1992 and is in good original condition. The lacquer finish has a fair amount of natural checking, and it has sunk to the wood giving it a very nice vintage feel. The frets are original, with light to moderate wear - it's strung with flatwounds, which don't chew the frets very quickly.

The original brown Gibson hardshell case is included.