Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends

archtop.com

c.1974-5 Gibson ES-150DCN

Status: For pricing and hold status for this instrument, please check our Instruments page here. If this instrument does not appear on the Instruments page it has been sold, and is no longer available. Photos and descriptions of Previously Sold instruments may by found here. To be notified of examples of this or any other model in the future, please contact [email protected].

Serial #: 509470

Body size at lower bout: 16". Body depth: 3" Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut Width: 1 19/32" Neck depth, 1st/10th frets: .76/.89

Materials: Solid mahogany neck; solid rosewood fingerboard; arched slab-cut maple top, sides and back; dual-parallelogram mother of pearl fingerboard inlay and thistle peghead inlay; triple bound top, bound back.

Hardware: 100% original hardware includes Kluson Gibson Deluxe double ring tuners; trapeze tailpiece with raised-parallelogram crossbar; compensated adjustable Tune-O-Matic bridge; twin Gibson Patent number humbucking pickups and electronics including master volume control; beveled 5-ply pickguard; 3 way control switch.

Notes: Perhaps no Gibson electric guitar has undergone more permutations than the venerable ES-150. Introduced in late 1936 as a 16" non-cutaway full depth archtop, the 150 revolutionized the course of popular music as the first commercially successful electric guitar, championed by the pioneering soloist Charlie Christian. By 1947, the model had been upsized to a 17" body, and fitted with the new P-90 single coil pickup. Discontinued in 1956, the model languished until 1969, when it reappeared in a radically new incarnation. Boasting twin humbucking pickups, the rechristened ES-150DC became the first full depth double cutaway archtop guitar Gibson ever produced. Built in modest numbers, the model was finally dropped from the catalog in 1975, though a few examples eked out as late as 1979.

Blonde finish examples of this model are rare indeed, comprising barely a third of total production. This gleaming guitar is from the very last years of the model, and is in wonderful original condition, free of pick, thumb or fingerboard wear, with 100% original finish and plating both bright and shiny. Apart from a few random buckle dents on the back, and a bit of strap wear on the peghead, the guitar shows few signs of play altogether. The body shows show attractive slab cut figure in the arched maple body, with handsome birdseye figure on the back.

With fine recent medium jumbo frets and a smooth graphite nut, the sleek, fast D profile neck is utterly effortless to play. The 24 3/4" scale is fast and nimble, the twin original Patent # humbuckers are fat and sweet, and the 16" body is easy to cradle and substantially resistant to feedback. The unique double cutaway body facilitates unimpeded access to the full 22 fret fingerboard, and the master volume control on the treble cutaway horn is a very handy addition that is exclusive to this model among Gibson full-depth archtops to this day. (Interestingly, the peghead is stamped with a 'B', possibly because the label inside the body was mismarked at the factory as an ES-175 model.)

A rare and highly playable instrument in a distinguished lineage that spans a half century of hard-working guitars. One only, call now.

Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel roundwound strings (.011). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" 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 deluxe black Gibson arched hardshell case with purple plush lining.

Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends