Here’s a real beauty – a Gibson ES350 Electric Archtop built during 1951 at the historic Parsons Street shop in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The ES-350 was built from 1947 to 1956, and for 1957 received a thinner body and new name – the ES-350T, the T standing for Thinline. This model was played extensively by top artists like Barney Kessel, Chuck Berry, B B King and Tal Farlow. At its 1947 introduction, the Gibson ES350 was named the ‘ES-350 Premiere’ and was a full body, single cutaway archtop with a single P-90 pickup in the neck position. For 1949, it received a second pickup. Construction was typical of Gibson’s electric archtop production, with Laminate Maple for the top, sides and back, part of an attempt to reduce feedback at stage volumes.
Split Parallelogram
The Gibson J185 12 String was built in Bozeman Montana from 2001 to 2004 and as the name suggests puts the classic J-185 into a 12 string configuration. The J-185 model was originally built from 1951 to 1959 and featured a smaller body than the J-200, but also used Maple sides and back with Sitka Spruce top. The neck is Mahogany with Rosewood used for the bridge and bound fingerboard.
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MORE →This is a treat – one of the last pieces from the now-closed Memphis plant, a Gibson ES345 1964 Reissue in Frost Blue with nickel plated hardware. Gibson hit the mark squarely in 1958 with the introduction of the groundbreaking thinline semi-hollow concept, coupled with their new humbucking pickups. The ES-335 and upscale ES-355 were an immediate hit, and in 1959 the line was filled out with the mid-range ES-345, which also sported Split Parallelogram position markers and a six-position Varitone circuit, but not the Stereo outputs or extra binding of the ES-355.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Here’s a lovely Gibson J185 Custom Quilt, one of a run of 65 instruments built with sides and back of a fantastic AAA grade Quilted Maple set. Gibson introduced the J-185 in 1951 and was built until 1958, and production resumed again with updated specs in 1990. During 1962, a new Everly Brothers J-180 was designed. Based on the J-185, that model featured an adjustable bridge, star inlays, and top and bottom pickguards, and that was built till 1972.
This instrument has sold
MORE →Here’s a beauty from the now-closed shop – a Gibson Memphis ES345 64 Reissue thinline archtop electric in an unusual Sea Foam Green finish! This was a limited edition model for the 2016 year. Introduced in 1958 as a midpoint between the groundbreaking ES-335 and upscale ES-355, the Gibson ES-345 featured the same core construction as the two bracketing models. A thinline body built with Maple laminate and a solid Maple center block, routed for pickups, and a Mahogany neck with Rosewood fingerboard are common to the three models (except for the ES355’s Ebony fingerboard with Mother of Pearl block markers).
This instrument has sold
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