This lot is offered without reserve.

Contemporary Classics Among the community of vintage guitar collectors and dealers, the 1970's and decades following are viewed as the dark days of American guitar making. Three of the four major American manufactures, Gibson, Gretsch and Fender had been sold and were being managed by conglomerate corporations whose primary concern was profitability. Success was judged not in market share but solely by an annual profit and loss report. The business model of producing the highest quality instrument possible as the way to dominate the market had changed. C.F. Martin and Company was still a privately owned company managed by the family that founded it in 1833. This was unique for a decade that ushered in the term mergers and acquisitions into the American lexicon. Though able to make their own decisions C.F. Martin, like the other big three, faced a multitude of challenges like inexpensive imports, shortage of materials and a steep rise in production costs. To sustain profitability and survive in a growing competitive international market place, quality suffered and the connoisseurs of fine guitars took notice. It would be unfair to universally dismiss all the instruments of this period. Gibson, Martin and Fender managed to produce some stunningly beautiful and fine instruments at the high end of the price point. What did transpire was a cottage industry of young and independent builders of both guitars and amplifiers who were committed to capturing the magic and quality of previous generations of American artisans.

GIBSON INCORPORATED

AN ELECTRIC ARCHTOP GUITAR, ES-175T, KALAMAZOO, MI., 1976

Details

GIBSON INCORPORATED
AN ELECTRIC ARCHTOP GUITAR, ES-175T, KALAMAZOO, MI., 1976
The headstock inlaid Gibson, the reverse bearing the decal ES-175T Made in USA 00238981, length of back: 20 in. (58 cm) with hard case (2)

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve.

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