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Serial #: 02303712, white oval label

Body size at lower bout: 16". Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut Width: 1 11/16"

Materials: Solid mahogany neck; solid rosewood fingerboard; highly figured tiger maple body; dual-parallelogram fingerboard inlay and thistle peghead inlay; triple bound top, bound back.

Hardware: 100% original gold hardware, including Grover Rotomatic tulip key tuners: wriggle trapeze tailpiece; compensated adjustable rosewood bridge; Gibson P-90 pickup and electronics; beveled 5-ply pickguard; gold barrel knobs.

Notes: How many guitar players have gone from Glen Gray and His Casa Loma Orchestra to the Joe Pass Quartet? Texas jazz guitar legend Herb Ellis did, achieving international renown with his bluesy, soulful sound. A disciple of the great Charlie Christian, Ellis is perhaps best known for his tenure with the Oscar Peterson Trio, a hair-raising job for any sideman.

The Gibson Herb Ellis model was introduced in 1991 as a tribute to the celebrated player, and it's been one of Gibson's most popular jazz guitars ever since. This custom guitar harks back to the original 1949 ES-175, which was fitted with a single P-90 pickup until 1951. By 1957 the single coil P-90 was discontinued altogether, making the originals highly prized by players looking for that classic bop tone of the postwar era. Only problem is, Gibson has never reissued this classic original version of this timeless model.

And so the owner of this very special guitar had it built to order, a unique one-off instrument direct from the factory. With its vintage correct adjustable dog-ear P-90 pickup matched with the solid rosewood bridge, the guitar has the clear, detailed voice of the classic original 175 of the late 40's and early 50's. The arched maple body shows exceptional deep tiger flame figure throughout, and the guitar is in immaculate condition, free of pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear. The mahogany neck produces an instrument that is notably well balanced, and with fine medium jumbo frets over a classic gentle C profile neck, the instrument is utterly effortless to play. The 24 3/4" scale is fast and nimble, and the 16" body is easy to hold and substantially resistant to feedback.

A one-of-a-kind Gibson that takes it back to where it all began. Call now.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished as needed; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel roundwound strings (.013-.056). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.

Case: Original black deluxe arched Gibson plush hardshell case.

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