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1957 Gibson ES-225T

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Serial #: U2771-3

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

Materials: Solid Honduras mahogany neck; slab-cut maple top back, and sides; solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard.

Hardware: Original hardware includes black cover P-90 pickup with original pots, capacitor, and gold bell tone and volume knobs; beveled 5-ply pickguard; combination bridge and trapeze tailpiece. Vintage correct hand antiqued nickel-plated Kluson Deluxe tuners.

Notes: Before the ES-335, 345, 355. Before the ES-330, and the humble 125TC. Before any of the legendary series of Gibson thinlines that changed guitar design forever, there was this slim blonde beauty, where it all began.

It was a disc jockey convention in Nashville, and the year was 1955. Gibson, Inc. had a booth demonstrating their new offerings, and ace session guitarists Hank Garland and Billy Byrd were sampling the merchandise. Then, according to Garland, Gibson rep Clarence Havenga asked the fateful question: "What would you like in a guitar that we don't already have?" By the time the three had finished brainstorming, a new guitar was born.

Garland had already commisioned a guitar from Elmer Stromberg that was about an inch thinner in depth than a conventional archtop. After his meeting with Havenga, Gibson rushed into production three new models with the slimmer body: the Byrdland, the ES-350T, and this revolutionary guitar, the ES-225T. Unlike its premium priced siblings, the ES-225 was targeted at a mass audience, and was massively popular. Over 2200 of the new Florentine cutaway thinlines shipped in the first two years of production alone. However, only a tiny fraction of these were finished in the rich amber blonde lacquer, less than 10% of total production by the time the model was discontinued in 1958.

This gleaming beauty from 1957 is one of just 138 blondes that left Kalamazoo in the year of the Sputnik. The lightweight laminated body offers superior feedback resistance, and the clarity and range of the P-90 pickup and fast 24 3/4" scale makes for a highly versatile and playable combination. Unique among Gibson thinlines, the 225 is fitted with the combination bar bridge/trapeze tailpiece designed by Les Paul himself, and seen only on the ES-295 and the earliest Les Pauls.

Similar to a thinline version of an early '50s ES-175, the model is ideal for jazz, blues, rockabilly and traditional guitar styles of all types. Clean as a whistle, this example weighs in at just 5lb. 13oz. and is an absolute delight to hold and play. In superb original condition, the guitar is without pick, buckle or thumb or fingerboard wear, right down to the original frets. The neck is the coveted late 50's shape with a generous gentle C profile, and the full 1 11/16" fingerboard width. Apart from a small nick on the peghead, the guitar appears virtually unplayed, and the original blonde finish has ambered to a warm glow over the attractive birdseye maple body. Action is smooth and low over freshly dressed original fretwork, and the guitar is supplied with its original Gibson logo black Archcraft fiber case. A handsome and versatile player, the ES-225 occupies a pivotal position at the dawn of the modern electric guitar.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished; 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 radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished. The guitar is strung with nickel roundwound strings (.012-.054).

Case: Original Gibson logo black Archcraft fiber case.

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