Gibson ES-775

Made in August 1991 at the Nashville plant. Info similar to first reveiw. Came with original 'Gibson USA' case, with bright pink inlay and thick pink dust flap! Quite shocking when I opened the case.

After almost 20years the intonation is still perfect. Needs to be ampliied to get that classic jazz sound. I have a Laney tube amp.

Action perfect. Pickups little scratched but not internally damaged. Couple of soft dents in back of neck. No major scratches. Scratch plate fine.

Guitar sounds amazing live. Harware may need tweeking in future. Buttons are solid. Totally dependable. This guitar is as solid as a rock.

Not contemplated asking. It took me 18 months of surfing to find this guitar, and the lack of info on the net just made me want one even more. As per other reviews, probably no point asking gibson. I know some expreienced Luthiers here in Australia, so I am in good hands. I beleive there were only about 100 made between 89 & 92. But the info is so scarce, I just consider myself lucky.

Been playing for over 20 years. As far as Jazz guitars go, I'm sure we could debate for years over the size, feel, sound, weight, tone etc. But I very happy - considering I did take a gamble on shipping a guitar from virginia to Australia !!!
If there is anyone out there that would be interested in starting our own '775 Club', please get in touch.

Finish: TOB SB flame maple.
Body: ES 175
Bridge:tune-o-matic on an ebony, inlayed bridge base.
Tuners: Grover imperials with built in key winders, man, they are really cool too!
Neck: slime 60's style, ebony fretboard, split block MOP inlays.
Came with OHSC.
Made: 1992 USA.
Frets: 21, 19 clear.
Not sure, prolly LAM. Looks solid, though.
Controls: 2 v and 2 t, 3 way selector switch.
Pick ups: H/H
Make: Gibson
Passive( plug her in!).
Body: If she follows her less expensive mother, LAM maple, but possible solid top. Maple.

Suits me just fine!Blues, classic rock, folk rock, originals, country, some hard rock.
Using my ES 775 with a Fender tube 12, mostly clean.
Not noisy at all.
Thick, deep tone to bright tone and beyond!
Love it! Come on, it's a Gibson!

Bought her used. But she was set up almost perfect, I actually had to raise the bridge a cat-hair.
Also raised the bridge pick up just a bit.
The top is really great, flamed maple with a n excellent book match.
No flaws what so ever!

As for live playing, she WILL last.
Gold plating seems to be very good, just a liitle wear on the bottom of the pick ups.
The finish is a high grade Gibson job. Done beautifully and tough!
Only one strap button on the "bottom" of the guitar and no, I will not add another!
Dependability factor of 10!
Never go onstage without a back up guitar!

For repairs, I take my babies to Top Ten in Glenolden PA.
no warranty, that stayed with the original owner. This doll is a 1992!
I've delt with Gibsons cust. service on many occasions and most of them are reasdy to help with quick responce.

Been playing for 37+ years. Other gear? 1989 Epi Emperor, 1939 Martin R 17, 1968 Guild, 2003 Turser viola body 6 string, a "build it yourself" tele copy( Saga ),1959/60 Gibson co-classical, a couple of "chiepie" acoustics, 2002 Gibson Es 333, 1993 Les Paul studio "lite" with M3 electronics...brain fart....
I fell in love with this guitar. No questions needed once I played it.
I love everything about this guitar except the fact there is no neck strap button at the base of the neck, and I reiderate.I will NOT add one!
Anything I wish it had, yeah, a dog gone neck strap button!!!!

This guitar was made in 1992. It is a sunburst. It is basically an ES-175 with mahogany knobs and tailpiece inlay and custom headstock inlay. It was purchased from an estate auction in England. The story is (lame?)Eric Clapton used to own this guitar and it was purchased from his mom's estate auction.

Sound is sweet and mellow. It is played through an old Fender Twin. I t can also sound raunchy if you want.

As it was purchased used, I do not know the factory set-up. It was not good when purchased but after set-up by a good technician, it was great. The gold plating on the pick-up covers is coming off showing the nickel through. I should replace the covers. I had to fiddle with the pick guard as the usual small bulge showed up in the front right of the body top. Finish on the guitar is perfect - not even a scratch.

It was used heavily by a "Todd Rundgren" wanabe for three years. His sweat is what damaged the pick-up covers. However, the quality of the product at this time says something about the durability of the guitar as it survived that ordeal in perfect shape,

I used them only to authenticate the serial number and confirm it was sold to someone in the UK so I could confirm any of the story the seller told me. They were quite helpfull as they confirmed an individual in the UK ordered and purchased it. They did stop short of telling me who purchased it which they had a record of. They did mention the pick-ups were custom and the tone pots had some extra factory work done. You can forget any other support - I did not even try.

The guitar has not been used professionally since the purchase in 1998. I just saw it and fell in love with the look and feel of the instrument. As there was only 90 made from 1991 to 1993, I feel it is worth keeping in my small collection.

Read the 1st review

This guitar fits exactly the jazz sound I was looking for, somehow (flame maple neck??) it's got a bit clearer sound than 175's.
I play it through Polytones, Twins, Hot rods, but the best sound comes with an Ampeg GU-12.
It was made for playing straight through the amp, no racks, floors or so.

I can't tell about factory set-up 'cause I bought it used.
No problems with the frets, currently D'addario .12 flats.
However, I don't really like the way Gibson does the color on their guitars, Sunburst is supposed to be as it says and not a two color guitar.
The body wood is fine for the "Gibson" price, with some flame here and there. The neck however is great looking with lots of flame and perfectly matched.
About the finish, the lacquer has a crack at the headstock maybe because the owner didn't care about weather changes effects on the guitar.

The guitar is now 12 years old and when I got it my parents thought it was new.
Fair enough?

Like talking to a wall?No
Maybe it's telepathy?
Anyway, i can't hear them.

I'll only say one thing:
Didn't we all wanted a 175 that looks like a Les Paul Custom and not like a Studio?

I'm psyched to be the first (and only, as of 02/03) reviewer of this unique electric jazz guitar. The ES-775 was made for about 5 years in the early 1990's. Mine is a 1992 model, bought in '93. Its niche among Gibson's archtop family is somewhere between the ES-175 and the L-4CES; it has many upscale 'deluxe' features but retains the laminated maple top of the 175 (as opposed to solid spruce in the L-4CES).

There is a unique headstock abalone inlay that looks like a winged F-hole. The fingerboard is ebony with 'X' pearl inlays. The neck is 3-pc maple and the body is flamed maple back, sides, and top. The bridge is a gold tune-o-matic resting atop a floating ebony base with small 'X' inlays (matching the fretboard). The tailpiece is gold in the 175 style, but with an ebony block in the area that's usually open. Knobs are ebony (yes, wood!) with a tiny pearloid dot to indicate setting. All the hardware is gold. It's beautiful. My guitar is a sunburst with mild flame on top and intense flame on the sides.

Absolutely fabulous. I have yet to equal this guitar for the jazz sound I love most, and I have tried. My sound is similar to early Metheny w/o the chorus, or Joe Pass, Mark Whitfield, Wes. I know that two of those guys use(d) a spruce-topped L-5CES, but it's the tone I'm talking about: Warm, round, liquid, molten, creamy - as opposed to the more acoustic woody tone of an acoustic archtop. I also own a 1954 L-7CN for comparison, and I've played numerous others. Neck pickup is the grail; I use this guitar for jazz exclusively because I own other instruments for the other styles I play. However the neck/bridge combo is bright and crisp, useful for blues or light rock. Bridge alone is poppy and bright, not something I avail myself of often. Again, this is an electric jazz guitar. It's perfect for fusion, standards, and smooth jazz. Its tone will penetrate you like a hot needle through wax. Smooth as buttah.

I use D'Addario Chromes (flats) in .013" gauge. My amps are a Fender Super, Fender '65 BF Twin Reverb, Yamaha DG80-112A.

Now, this is a gorgeous axe... but I can't give Gibson a perfect score. The dot on the 'i' of Gibson on the headstock (inlayed pearl) is sloppy; the pickguard came unglued shortly after purchase; one of the p/u's rattled; and there is some cracking in the neck binding. I am not looking to have this thing be Miss America, so I'm refraining from the style of some HC posters who say "This thing is a piece of s*** $&*@# #&@@*" just because of a few aesthetic flaws. The guitar - as an instrument - speaks (literally) for itself. As for action, intonation, pickup height, and neck relief... I do all of these myself. I really can't recall how it was set up originally, and it doesn't matter, since the guitar came with 10's or 11's and I use 13's. Instant need for set up anyway.

Everything about the guitar is solid, and I have had no problems in the 10 years that I've owned it. It's good that I leave the neck on all the time and rarely touch the tone. Volume knob is about it. It stays perfectly in tune and the strap buttons are solid. The finish is very nice, with just a bit of wear where my right arm crosses the bass side of the lower bout. I wouldn't bother with a backup. However, it's got to be given a lower rating just because it is an inherently fragile guitar. This is no solidbody plank - a blow to the floor (G-d forbid) might have serious consequences.

Why bother? I'd go to a luthier if I had serious issues. Minor issues I can usually repair.

Given the price, $1700 in 1993, for a deluxe electric jazz guitar (no compromise here), this is a great value. It is worth another grand today at least. When I bought it, I was agonizing among several 1950's ES-175's priced between 1500 and 2000 USD. They were gorgeous in a totally different way; aged, worn like your favorite t-shirt, and full of vintage vibe. Today all of these instruments are 'worth' twice as much. It's a drag! I'm certainly happy I bought my 775 when I did, because it would be much more of a hit today. I own several other fine guitars: '54 L-7CN, Strat Plus, LP Classic, ES-335DOT, three wonderful homemade Warmoths, Martin HD-28. I'm a big fan of picking my weapon - no one guitar for all seasons for me. However, as I said earlier, for electric jazz this ES-775 takes my cake. If it were gone it would be hard to find another one; I'd look for a blonde first. I would compare it to an L-4CES, or older 175DN's (late '70's to early '80's in my price range). This is a wonderful guitar that practically nobody has heard of.