The Gibson Byrdland appeared in 1955 as a custom order for Billy Byrd and Hank Garland. These two were top Nashville session guitarists who wanted full archtop tone, but in a more comfortable thinner body and a shorter scale length – 23.5 inches, rather than Gibson’s standard 24.75 inches – to allow easier access to complex chords fingerings. The Byrdland was the first of Gibson’s thinline archtop guitars, with many more to follow. The design was so successful that it was quickly promoted to production status.
1976
The Gibson ES175T is based on the classic full bodied ES175, but with sides just over half the thickness. This model appeared in Gibson Catalogs from 1976 to 1979. Before being discontinued, approximately 333 were shipped in the Wine Red finish seen here, Natural, and Sunburst. Sporting a single Florentine (pointed) cutaway, the Gibson ES175T has some visual similarities to other models, like the ES125TDC, except that it has higher grade appointments and hardware.
This instrument has sold
MORE →The Fender Telecaster Rosewood Fingerboard models appeared in September of 1959 as Fender introduced this wood to attract Gibson players. This was originally a flat-bottomed ‘Slab’ fingerboard glued to the flat top of the Maple neck, and the truss rod mounted from a channel underneath the fingerboard. In July 1962, Fender introduced new production processes to bond a thin layer of Rosewood to the curved top of a Maple neck blank, and this process is still used today.
This instrument has sold
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