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.
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 from 1952 to 1953 and on the ES-295), 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 (ES225TN and ES-225TDN) also available from 1956.Duchossoir A R (1998). Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Corporation, p. 229Gibson 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. The exception was 1959, when 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,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