Gibson ES-345TD Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1959)
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Gibson ES-345TD Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1959), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # A-32141, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body; mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
The ES-345, Gibson's original "Stereo" guitar, was a product of the late 1950s fascination with "better living through Electronics" that inspired several makers to "channel" their efforts into stereo instruments. Over the decades most players have considered the added electronic complexity on this model more of an annoyance than a boon. The ES-345's initial raison d'etre was the new stereo/Vari-Tone wiring rig, but this hot trend of the time has not aged well. This example has been expertly converted to mono output with the Varitone completely removed, giving the guitar the same superb unconstrained sound as a'59 ES-335. The entire original wiring rig with the pots, switch, varitone and choke coils is preserved in the case pocket, although few players would care to re-install it once it has been removed. The original gold PAF pickups of course remain in place.
Essentially a somewhat fancier version of the recently launched thinline semi-hollow ES-335, the 345 was added to the line in spring 1959. This model retained the 335's semi-hollow thinline 16" body but was dressed up a bit adding gold plating, a bit of extra binding and trapezoid pearloid fingerboard inlay to the mix. The "A" Artist serial number on the label under the bass soundhole indicates this guitar was shipped in December 1959. The neck profile is round-backed but quite a bit slimmer than earlier '59 examples, feeling like the transition to the slim, flat 1960 profile had already begun. The longer pickguard extending past the bridge is another characteristics of the early models.
This guitar is also an original stop tailpiece model -- many ES-345s were originally ordered with vibratos, but from the later 1960s on most players have strongly preferred this non-vibrato version. The "stoptail" design is generally held to enhance playability, giving an adjustable angle to the bridge off the tailpiece which can be steeper than the typical vibrato setup, increasing string break angle over the saddles. In 1965 a trapeze tailpiece was fitted as standard and the "stoptail" configuration was no longer an option; this has been the most sought-after version ever since.
The ES-345 proved a fairly popular guitar going into in the 1960s, with signature users running the gamut from country (Hank Garland helped develop it) jazz to blues (notably Freddie King) to several prominent British invasion players, including Pretty Thing Dick Taylor, Tony Hicks of the Hollies (who used one extensively), Eric Stewart of the Mindbenders and (briefly) Beatle George Harrison. This was always a fairly expensive guitar, and just 446 of these shipped in 1959 which is not a huge amount for Gibson in that period. The thinlines from this year are generally considered the cream of the 335-355 crop, and of course are far rarer then the thousands shipped out in the '60s and '70s.
This is a really splendid guitar that lives up to its reputation in every way, extremely well preserved and unaltered except for the mono conversion allowing it to combine the unencumbered ES-335 sound with the fancier looks of the 345. It is simply stunning to look at and a real joy to play.
Overall length is 42 in. (106.7 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 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 ES-345 is a superb example, showing some light wear with the only alteration being the substitution of a complete new wiring rig in place of the original Stereo/Varitone set up, which has been preserved intact. This conversion also involves opening up one of the PAF's and reversing the magnet as these otherwise create an out-of-phase sound when blended. This has been neatly done on this guitar with the neck pickup cover having been removed and replaced. All the work was very carefully done with the original knobs and small external components combined with the new rig, resulting in an original-appearing ES-345 with the full tonality of a '59 ES-335. The Varitone knob and gold plate are mounted but are non-functional.
The sunburst lacquer finish still shines with only very small marks on it, mostly tiny dings to the headstock edges. There is some very light scuffing to the back but nothing really into the finish. The most notable wear is to the gold plating, which is heaviest on the pickup covers and tailpiece which have lost quite a bit of the plating. The "keystone" tuner buttons are in very good shape for a '59, with only the B string machine showing any shrinkage.
The hardware remains intact and original except as noted the wiring, which is all high-quality parts. There looks to be an older refret with correct style wire, the fingerboard shows some light tooling marks from this work. These frets show minimal wear and the guitar plays superbly with the classic PAF tones heard on countless of vintage recordings. The original brown case has some external wear but overall is fully solid. While technically not 100% original due to the mono conversion, this was done in the correct and (if desired) reversible way and this is a great 345, a superb survivor of the finest era of Gibson guitars and a true classic. Overall Excellent Condition.
The ES-345, Gibson's original "Stereo" guitar, was a product of the late 1950s fascination with "better living through Electronics" that inspired several makers to "channel" their efforts into stereo instruments. Over the decades most players have considered the added electronic complexity on this model more of an annoyance than a boon. The ES-345's initial raison d'etre was the new stereo/Vari-Tone wiring rig, but this hot trend of the time has not aged well. This example has been expertly converted to mono output with the Varitone completely removed, giving the guitar the same superb unconstrained sound as a'59 ES-335. The entire original wiring rig with the pots, switch, varitone and choke coils is preserved in the case pocket, although few players would care to re-install it once it has been removed. The original gold PAF pickups of course remain in place.
Essentially a somewhat fancier version of the recently launched thinline semi-hollow ES-335, the 345 was added to the line in spring 1959. This model retained the 335's semi-hollow thinline 16" body but was dressed up a bit adding gold plating, a bit of extra binding and trapezoid pearloid fingerboard inlay to the mix. The "A" Artist serial number on the label under the bass soundhole indicates this guitar was shipped in December 1959. The neck profile is round-backed but quite a bit slimmer than earlier '59 examples, feeling like the transition to the slim, flat 1960 profile had already begun. The longer pickguard extending past the bridge is another characteristics of the early models.
This guitar is also an original stop tailpiece model -- many ES-345s were originally ordered with vibratos, but from the later 1960s on most players have strongly preferred this non-vibrato version. The "stoptail" design is generally held to enhance playability, giving an adjustable angle to the bridge off the tailpiece which can be steeper than the typical vibrato setup, increasing string break angle over the saddles. In 1965 a trapeze tailpiece was fitted as standard and the "stoptail" configuration was no longer an option; this has been the most sought-after version ever since.
The ES-345 proved a fairly popular guitar going into in the 1960s, with signature users running the gamut from country (Hank Garland helped develop it) jazz to blues (notably Freddie King) to several prominent British invasion players, including Pretty Thing Dick Taylor, Tony Hicks of the Hollies (who used one extensively), Eric Stewart of the Mindbenders and (briefly) Beatle George Harrison. This was always a fairly expensive guitar, and just 446 of these shipped in 1959 which is not a huge amount for Gibson in that period. The thinlines from this year are generally considered the cream of the 335-355 crop, and of course are far rarer then the thousands shipped out in the '60s and '70s.
This is a really splendid guitar that lives up to its reputation in every way, extremely well preserved and unaltered except for the mono conversion allowing it to combine the unencumbered ES-335 sound with the fancier looks of the 345. It is simply stunning to look at and a real joy to play.
Overall length is 42 in. (106.7 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 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 ES-345 is a superb example, showing some light wear with the only alteration being the substitution of a complete new wiring rig in place of the original Stereo/Varitone set up, which has been preserved intact. This conversion also involves opening up one of the PAF's and reversing the magnet as these otherwise create an out-of-phase sound when blended. This has been neatly done on this guitar with the neck pickup cover having been removed and replaced. All the work was very carefully done with the original knobs and small external components combined with the new rig, resulting in an original-appearing ES-345 with the full tonality of a '59 ES-335. The Varitone knob and gold plate are mounted but are non-functional.
The sunburst lacquer finish still shines with only very small marks on it, mostly tiny dings to the headstock edges. There is some very light scuffing to the back but nothing really into the finish. The most notable wear is to the gold plating, which is heaviest on the pickup covers and tailpiece which have lost quite a bit of the plating. The "keystone" tuner buttons are in very good shape for a '59, with only the B string machine showing any shrinkage.
The hardware remains intact and original except as noted the wiring, which is all high-quality parts. There looks to be an older refret with correct style wire, the fingerboard shows some light tooling marks from this work. These frets show minimal wear and the guitar plays superbly with the classic PAF tones heard on countless of vintage recordings. The original brown case has some external wear but overall is fully solid. While technically not 100% original due to the mono conversion, this was done in the correct and (if desired) reversible way and this is a great 345, a superb survivor of the finest era of Gibson guitars and a true classic. Overall Excellent Condition.