1999 Gibson ES-165 Herb Ellis, Sunburst

By Gibson
£3,350.00

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Superb 1995 Gibson Herb Ellis ES-165 in remarkable condition. Released in 1991 as a tribute to long time Gibson ES-175 user Herb Ellis, the ES-165 was in constant production until 2013. In essence a single pickup, Humbucker equipped ES-175, the model underwent some changes in 2004 when the body-mounted pickup was replaced with the Gibson BJB floating pickup. This particular guitar has a lovely dark Rosewood board and a stunning figured maple top.

Like the ES-175, it measures 16" across the lower bout and 3½ inches deep at the outer rims. The body is fully hollow with two internal lateral braces. It features a standard Gibson 24.75” scale neck with 20 frets that meet the body at the 14th fret. The bound Rosewood fingerboard is punctuated with parallelogram markers. Hardware includes a zigzag trapeze tailpiece and Tune-O-Matic bridge mounted on a rosewood base. Both versions of the ES-165 feature gold plated hardware including "Tulip" Grover tuners that were branded either as Gibson or Grover.

The guitar is in great condition for its age with only minor signs of wear and various polishing swirls. The frets are in great condition and it plays great set up with a low action on 10 gauge strings. The Gibson 490R pickup has enough output at 7.58K to give your amp a warming push. Volume and tone controls are effective and interactive. The neck has a comfortable profile that feels like a slimmer 50’s feel. The nut width is a roomy 42.63mm with a depth at the 1st fret of 21.67mm.

The ES-165 is currently out of production as of 2013 leaving pre–owned instruments the only option.  This guitar is a fantastic example in a deep sunburst that really shows off the highly figured Maple front, back and sides, the single 490R pickup works well with a range of tones available. The set up on round wound strings give a lively acoustic ring that really inspires. The guitar comes with its original Gibson case in equally good condition.