Gibson ES-225


The Gibson ES-225 is a thinline hollowbody electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation between 1955 and 1959. It is notable as the first thinline hollowbody guitar produced by Gibson.

Model 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, a laminated pickguard, and a single 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 finish, with more expensive natural finish models also available from 1956. 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 bridges.
When the guitar was initially marketed it was the first thinline hollowbody guitar Gibson had produced, preceding the Byrdland and ES-350T models. In 1959 the ES-225 was phased out in favour of the ES-330 and ES-125T models.
All told, 5,220 of the single pickup ES-225 and 2,754 of the twin pickup model were produced.