The Gibson ES-295 (1952–1959) is a hollow body guitar which was built by the

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

. The ES-295 was introduced in May 1952 as a fancier version of the ES-175. The 295 had the same measurements as the ES-175, but it came in gold finish and featured a combination trapeze bridge/tailpiece.

History

In 1952 Les Paul has claimed responsibility for the creation of the ES-295. He is said to have called Gibson and told them to paint an ES-175 gold for a young man Paul met at a hospital. The first ES-295s came outfitted with one pickup. By 1953 the guitar was shipping with two pickups. It was designed to be a full-sized hollowbody archtop which would sell alongside the solidbody Les Paul model. The original price of the 295 was $295. The guitar was discontinued in 1959. In 1990 Gibson reissued the ES-295 but it was again discontinued. In 1999 Gibson again produced the ES-295, this time in a Scotty Moore signature model. In 2013 Gibson also released a reissue '52 ES-295 but discontinued it again.

Specifications

ES-295s came with the same wrap around trapeze tailpiece that was standard on the first Les Paul Guitars. the whole guitar including the neck were finished in gold with ivory binding and pick-guard. The guitar had two single coil P-90s with cream colored pickup covers. The guitar had a 3 way switch with two tone knobs and two volume knobs. The metal parts were all finished in gold.

Reception

The 295 did not sell well. By 1957 Gibson changed the pickups from

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 ...

s to

Humbucker A humbucker, humbucking pickup, or double coil, is a guitar pickup that uses two wire coils to cancel out noisy interference from Single coil guitar pickup, coil pickups. Humbucking coils are also used in Microphone, dynamic microphones to can ...

s. Some thought the gold color was a reason for the diminished interest in the 295. Gibson shipped some ES-295s in sunburst, Argentine Grey and cherry. The guitar was played by Elvis Presley guitarist Scotty Moore.

Notable players

Joe Bonamassa Joseph Leonard Bonamassa ( ; born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. He started his career at age twelve, when he opened for B.B. King. Since 2000, Bonamassa has released fifteen solo albums through his inde ...

Danny Gatton Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. (September 4, 1945 – October 4, 1994) was an American virtuoso guitarist who combined blues, rockabilly, jazz, and country to create a musical style he called "redneck jazz". Career Daniel Wood Gatton Jr. was born in ...

Scotty Moore Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968. Rock critic ...

Johnny Marr John Martin Marr (Birth name#Maiden and married names, né Maher; born 31 October 1963) is a musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has sinc ...

Geordie Walker Kevin Walker (18 December 1958 – 26 November 2023), known professionally as Geordie Walker, was an English rock musician, songwriter and producer. He was best known as the guitarist of post-punk group Killing Joke. He joined the band in March 1 ...

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

* Diego García (Twanguero) * Joel Paterson * Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera) * Featured prominently in the music video " Are You Jimmy Ray?"

References

{{Gibson Guitar Corporation ES-295 Semi-acoustic guitars 1958 musical instruments 1952 in music Discontinued products