1959 Gibson ES-225TD Hollowbody Electric Guitar

An update, here: a few weeks ago this was purchased. The buyer returned it because (A) he thought the pots and wiring harness were replacements and (B) he thought it had been refretted and (C) he was concerned about the lack of finish on the sides of the nut. In response to (A)... the harness is actually completely original... I checked and double-checked when it got back. For (B)... it hasn't been refretted but it had been played a bunch when it arrived here and the remains of the original binding "nibs" were very worn-down. By the time we finished the fretwork they are now essentially gone. For (C)... when we level/dress frets we usually take the nut off. It's very likely that the finish chipped off of the sides of the nut when we did that as it's the right material and style for a Gibson nut from the time. Just like I elaborate below, this appears to be a completely original guitar, one-owner, and ready to roll.

It does not get much better than this for Gibson collectors. This is a one-owner, completely-original, non-mucked-with, ES-225TD from '59. It has the guy's photo in the case with it and with him holding the guitar and smiling that half-knowing, this-is-the-shit, look on his face. It has those golden-era P90s and two of them to boot. It has the cool, old, long-tail trapeze/bridge combo. It has the slick truss cover. It has the neck everyone wants. It hasn't even been fit with a strap button at the heel!

Our only work was to level/dress the frets a little bit, spray the pots out, and set it up. Compensation at the bridge cannot be perfect but it's as close as it can get with this style of bridge in place. It came with 11s on it and we left them on there -- they're just about the right weight for this, though I would be tempted to fit something with a wound G to give it that '50s vibe.

The case is unoriginal but I will not knock points for that because it's kept it in excellent health.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress and setup.

• Weight: 6 lbs 0 oz
• Scale length: 24 5/8"
• Nut width: 1 11/16"
• Neck shape: medium C
• Board radius: 10"
• Body width: 15 3/4"
• Body depth: 1 7/8"
• Body wood: ply maple
• Bridge: adjustable/non-compensated
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Pickups: 2x original P90s
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 50w-11 or close to it
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: medium

Condition notes: it's completely original and in good order. There's some weather-check to the finish but overall it looks beautiful. I can't remember the last time a Gibson came in that was this clean and untouched. The pickguard has a little flare/warp to it at its lower half but it's not a playability issue. I sprayed-out the pots but the bridge pickup tone pot continues to crackle now and then and I continue to clean it. It seems to have settled-down but I can't be sure of its working 100% unless it's replaced as it was quite dirty-sounding at first. I am leery of yanking the wiring harness out as it's very easy to damage the old knobs, but I can do that if the next owner desires.

It comes with: a nice hard case.

Consignor tag: EL