The Gibson ES-225 is a thinline hollowbody

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

model produced by the

Gibson Guitar Corporation Gibson, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation and Gibson Brands Inc.) is an American manufacturer of Guitar manufacturing, guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment from Kalamazoo, Michigan, and now based in Nashvi ...

between 1955 and 1959. It is notable as the first thinline hollowbody guitar produced by Gibson.

History

The ES-225 was originally introduced in 1955 as the ES-225T, a thinline hollowbody guitar featuring a Florentine cutaway, the Les Paul combined bridge and tailpiece (also used on the

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz guitarist, jazz, country guitarist, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid body ...

from 1952 to 1953 and on the ES-295), a laminated pickguard, and a single

P-90 The P-90 (sometimes written P90) is a single coil electric guitar pickup produced by Gibson Guitar Corporation since 1946, as well as other vendors. Compared to other single coil designs, such as the Fender single coil, the bobbin for a P-90 ...

pickup mounted in an unusual position midway between the bridge and the end of the fingerboard. From 1956 the ES-225TD, a twin pickup model with conventional pickup positioning, was also available.Both models had a tobacco

sunburst A sunburst is a design or figure commonly used in architectural ornaments and design patterns and possibly pattern books. It consists of rays or "beams" radiating out from a central disk in the manner of sunbeams. Sometimes part of a sunbur ...

finish, with more expensive natural finish models (ES225TN and ES-225TDN) also available from 1956.Duchossoir A R (1998). ''Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years''. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 229''Gibson Electric Guitars and Amplifiers'', 1958 catalogue
Kalamazoo, Michigan: Gibson, Inc. p.9

Specifications

The specifications remained the same during the period the guitars were manufactured, with the exception that in 1959 a few guitars were made with separate trapeze-style tailpieces and floating

Tune-o-matic Tune-o-matic (also abbreviated to TOM) is the name of a fixed or floating bridge design for electric guitars. It was designed by Ted McCarty (Gibson Guitar Corporation Gibson, Inc. (formerly Gibson Guitar Corporation and Gibson Brands Inc ...

bridges. When the guitar was initially marketed it was the first thinline hollowbody guitar Gibson had produced,Wheeler T (1992). ''American Guitars: An Illustrated History''. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, p. 139 preceding the Byrdland and ES-350T models.Duchossoir A R (1981). ''Gibson Electrics''. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 112 In 1959 the ES-225 was phased out in favour of the ES-330 and ES-125T models.Duchossoir A R (1998). ''Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years''. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 82

Reception

Gibson shipped 5,220 of the single pickup ES-225 and 2,754 of the twin pickup models.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson ES-225 ES-225 Semi-acoustic guitars 1955 in music