Gibson ES-125TDC Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1967)
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Gibson ES-125TDC Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1967), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 370999, sparkling burgundy finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, molded plastic hard shell case.
This is a very rare example of a generally not particularly rare guitar, a 1967 ES-125TDC, usually one of Gibson's less flashy but most versatile lower-end archtop guitars. What makes this one special is the metallic red "Sparkling Burgundy" finish, which is specific to the 1967-69 era. The only finish officially offered on this model was cherry sunburst, but as always with Gibson some anomalies appear. This red metallic livery was used somewhat randomly on a range of Gibson models in 1967-8 (mostly in the ES-335 family) but is fairly rare on any compared to the standard catalog colors; this is the only example of an ES-125TDC in this finish we have seen.
The 1967 ES-125TDC offers the full twin-pickup Gibson P-90 experience on a fully hollow, thinline single-cutaway F-hole body. It was essentially the same as the 1950s ES-225TD with a more conventional bridge layout. This model was cataloged as a low/midline electric and sold well for much of the 1960s with an all time high of 920 shipped out of Kalamazoo this year. After that the model's sales dwindled and it was discontinued in 1970. This fully hollow thinline model was one of the many casualties of the trend to hyperamplification in that era, as volume went up fully hollow instruments fell out of favor everywhere but in more traditional jazz settings. With the lower stage volumes common today these models have come back into favor with new generations of players.
ES-125TCD is one of Gibson's best such designs, offering two great-sounding P-90 pickups on a thinline single-cutaway body. This one features the rare "Sparking Burgundy" finish on the single-bound body and a slim profile later '60s neck with an unbound rosewood fingerboard. The P-90 pickups have metal covers and it also carries the newer "witch hat" knobs just introduced at this time. This ES-125TDC is set up with an older genuine Bigsby tailpiece adding extra vibe to an already very cool guitar.
An unusual feature of this later guitar is a Tune-O-Matic bridge mounted directly to the top on posts like an ES-330. Earlier examples used a floating wooden bridge making them less adaptable to lighter gauge strings and comparatively difficult to intonate correctly. The Bigsby/Tune-O-Matic combination help give this one a sharper tone than earlier wooden-bridge examples. This extra-flashy hot rod ES-125TDC is quite a versatile instrument suitable for a wide range of sounds as long as you leave that 100-watt Marshall at home!
Overall length is 40 1/4 in. (102.2 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a largely original guitar overall, showing some general wear but no damage or major repair. The all-original finish has faded a decent amount, the deep red "Burgundy" color muted to an attractive reddish/gold shade particularly on the top and upper side. It shows some fairly heavy checking overall (common to this multi-coated metallic lacquer) with noticeable dings, scratches and chips over the entire instrument but no large areas of finish worn away. The checking on the back of the neck is heavy enough to be feelable when playing.
There are no visible repairs except a little bit of fill visible at the base of heel, which is fully solid. Apart from the added Bigsby the hardware is all original and in good shape; that vibrato tailpiece is period, or perhaps somewhat later but not a modern issue. There is a filled hole on the upper side from a strap button added above the heel; a correct Gibson strap button is mounted on the bottom of the heel.
The original frets have been crowned down somewhat showing light wear but fully playable. Overall this is a very nice player, a unique and especially cool and flashy example from the original twilight era of the classic Gibson thin body, twin P-90 format. It resides in a modern molded plastic HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
This is a very rare example of a generally not particularly rare guitar, a 1967 ES-125TDC, usually one of Gibson's less flashy but most versatile lower-end archtop guitars. What makes this one special is the metallic red "Sparkling Burgundy" finish, which is specific to the 1967-69 era. The only finish officially offered on this model was cherry sunburst, but as always with Gibson some anomalies appear. This red metallic livery was used somewhat randomly on a range of Gibson models in 1967-8 (mostly in the ES-335 family) but is fairly rare on any compared to the standard catalog colors; this is the only example of an ES-125TDC in this finish we have seen.
The 1967 ES-125TDC offers the full twin-pickup Gibson P-90 experience on a fully hollow, thinline single-cutaway F-hole body. It was essentially the same as the 1950s ES-225TD with a more conventional bridge layout. This model was cataloged as a low/midline electric and sold well for much of the 1960s with an all time high of 920 shipped out of Kalamazoo this year. After that the model's sales dwindled and it was discontinued in 1970. This fully hollow thinline model was one of the many casualties of the trend to hyperamplification in that era, as volume went up fully hollow instruments fell out of favor everywhere but in more traditional jazz settings. With the lower stage volumes common today these models have come back into favor with new generations of players.
ES-125TCD is one of Gibson's best such designs, offering two great-sounding P-90 pickups on a thinline single-cutaway body. This one features the rare "Sparking Burgundy" finish on the single-bound body and a slim profile later '60s neck with an unbound rosewood fingerboard. The P-90 pickups have metal covers and it also carries the newer "witch hat" knobs just introduced at this time. This ES-125TDC is set up with an older genuine Bigsby tailpiece adding extra vibe to an already very cool guitar.
An unusual feature of this later guitar is a Tune-O-Matic bridge mounted directly to the top on posts like an ES-330. Earlier examples used a floating wooden bridge making them less adaptable to lighter gauge strings and comparatively difficult to intonate correctly. The Bigsby/Tune-O-Matic combination help give this one a sharper tone than earlier wooden-bridge examples. This extra-flashy hot rod ES-125TDC is quite a versatile instrument suitable for a wide range of sounds as long as you leave that 100-watt Marshall at home!
Overall length is 40 1/4 in. (102.2 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
This is a largely original guitar overall, showing some general wear but no damage or major repair. The all-original finish has faded a decent amount, the deep red "Burgundy" color muted to an attractive reddish/gold shade particularly on the top and upper side. It shows some fairly heavy checking overall (common to this multi-coated metallic lacquer) with noticeable dings, scratches and chips over the entire instrument but no large areas of finish worn away. The checking on the back of the neck is heavy enough to be feelable when playing.
There are no visible repairs except a little bit of fill visible at the base of heel, which is fully solid. Apart from the added Bigsby the hardware is all original and in good shape; that vibrato tailpiece is period, or perhaps somewhat later but not a modern issue. There is a filled hole on the upper side from a strap button added above the heel; a correct Gibson strap button is mounted on the bottom of the heel.
The original frets have been crowned down somewhat showing light wear but fully playable. Overall this is a very nice player, a unique and especially cool and flashy example from the original twilight era of the classic Gibson thin body, twin P-90 format. It resides in a modern molded plastic HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.