Lost & Found: Bill Frisell’s ES-175

Whether due to financial shortcomings, boredom, space constraints or restlessness, every guitarist has a tale of the “one that got away,“ an instrument that we should have held onto, but, somehow, didn’t. In the case of Bill Frisell, the one that got away was a custom 1968 Gibson ES-175. In his 20s, while the young musician was still discovering his singular voice, the Gibson was his main guitar and constant companion. And then, in a move he’d regret for decades, he sold it in 1978. As Frisell’s career took off, he often wondered about where the ES-175 went. Then, magically, he was able to track down the guitar in 2014.