Gibson ES-175
If the ES-150 was a seminal influence in the design of the electric archtop guitar the ES-175 could be said to have set the standard for Jazz guitar design.
At first glance the ES-175 looks very similar to the ES-150 but with
the addition of a cutaway and a more modern pickup design. It
didn't stop with these visible features however. The entire body
of the ES-175 was laminate Maple, a style of construction that helped to
make the guitar more feedback resistant than even the ES-150.
The L-4 C was also released at in the same year of 1949. Visually similar the L-4 C was a purely acoustic model and featured a solid spruce top. It is surprising that there are so few L-4 compared to ES-175s but perhaps it is because of the 175s suitability for the demands of gigs in a world that was beginning to demand more volume of the guitar.
In the '50s and '60s quite a number of Jazz guitarists played 175s. Such names as Herb Ellis, Jim Hall, Joe Pass and Carole Kaye were known to play Jazz on it and it's influence didn't stop with mainstream Jazz players. The 175 has been used in Country music and even the Progressive Rock of Steve Howe from the band Yes.
With such a rich history and such progressive products as the ES-175 you might get the impression that Gibson had the situation fully in control but a non-musician in California had some ideas that even Gibson had not anticipated.
