Gibson ES-140 3/4 Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1953)
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Item # 9298
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Gibson ES-140 3/4 Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1953), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # Y3508-15, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, black gig bag case.
The 1950s ES-140 is an extremely cool little Gibson, but also a surprisingly great sounding guitar. The Kalamazoo company offered this diminutive 3/4 size electric archtop through the early 1950s, described in the catalog as perfect for students, "ladies", guitarists "with smaller hands", or anyone desiring a compact fully hollow guitar. It was a steady but fairly low volume seller over the decade with a total of 409 shipped out in 1954, the peak production year. For 1957 the model was converted to a thinline instrument, both are neat guitars but somehow we tend to prefer the original (and cooler, we think) full-depth model.
Looking deceptively almost like a toy ES-175, the ES-140 is in fact a fully professional quality instrument with a slim great-feeling round profile neck, single "dog ear" P-90 pickup and simple appointments. The tuners are Kluson Deluxe strips and the rosewood bridge a modernized version of Gibson's lower-end 1930s style. The short nickel-plated tailpiece is a generic part shared with several other makers in the '50s while the single layer tortoise celluloid pickguard is a typically Gibson appointment
With a smaller body cavity the tone is a bit brighter and snappier than the typical ES-175 or other full-size hollowbodies, and less prone to feedback. This ES-140 shows some typical wear and signs of long use but remains in nicely original condition. It plays beautifully and has an amazingly big honking tone for such a small instrument -- we think it sounds better than many full-sized archtops!
Overall length is 36 1/2 in. (92.7 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 22 3/4 in. (578 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This is a nice somewhat played-in example but not abused, showing a slightly relic'ed look with general wear overall but remaining original with no alterations. The finish shows plenty of patina with a lot of fine checking and small dings, scratches, and chips, the most notable wear on the upper headstock edges. There are some circular marks on the headstock where the finish is gone; these can occur when hot embers or something chemical strike the finish. The back has one deep scrape and some smaller dings, the back of the neck some feelable dings mostly in the second-third fret area.
There looks to have been a clean repair to the base of the original tailpiece where it bends over the folding tine; it is very well done and looks ancient. The tuners are the correct style Kluson Deluxe strips but are about 10 years newer than the guitar, likely from the early 60s. Apart from this all hardware is complete and original if nicely worn in and the guitar presents very well looking every bit a stately 67 years old. This ES-140 has a very good neck angle and the original frets are crowned down somewhat but still in solid shape with hardly any wear, making for a very nice playing example. This is super cool little '50s Gibson, great fun to play with a fantastic vibe. Very Good + Condition.
The 1950s ES-140 is an extremely cool little Gibson, but also a surprisingly great sounding guitar. The Kalamazoo company offered this diminutive 3/4 size electric archtop through the early 1950s, described in the catalog as perfect for students, "ladies", guitarists "with smaller hands", or anyone desiring a compact fully hollow guitar. It was a steady but fairly low volume seller over the decade with a total of 409 shipped out in 1954, the peak production year. For 1957 the model was converted to a thinline instrument, both are neat guitars but somehow we tend to prefer the original (and cooler, we think) full-depth model.
Looking deceptively almost like a toy ES-175, the ES-140 is in fact a fully professional quality instrument with a slim great-feeling round profile neck, single "dog ear" P-90 pickup and simple appointments. The tuners are Kluson Deluxe strips and the rosewood bridge a modernized version of Gibson's lower-end 1930s style. The short nickel-plated tailpiece is a generic part shared with several other makers in the '50s while the single layer tortoise celluloid pickguard is a typically Gibson appointment
With a smaller body cavity the tone is a bit brighter and snappier than the typical ES-175 or other full-size hollowbodies, and less prone to feedback. This ES-140 shows some typical wear and signs of long use but remains in nicely original condition. It plays beautifully and has an amazingly big honking tone for such a small instrument -- we think it sounds better than many full-sized archtops!
Overall length is 36 1/2 in. (92.7 cm.), 12 3/4 in. (32.4 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 22 3/4 in. (578 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).
This is a nice somewhat played-in example but not abused, showing a slightly relic'ed look with general wear overall but remaining original with no alterations. The finish shows plenty of patina with a lot of fine checking and small dings, scratches, and chips, the most notable wear on the upper headstock edges. There are some circular marks on the headstock where the finish is gone; these can occur when hot embers or something chemical strike the finish. The back has one deep scrape and some smaller dings, the back of the neck some feelable dings mostly in the second-third fret area.
There looks to have been a clean repair to the base of the original tailpiece where it bends over the folding tine; it is very well done and looks ancient. The tuners are the correct style Kluson Deluxe strips but are about 10 years newer than the guitar, likely from the early 60s. Apart from this all hardware is complete and original if nicely worn in and the guitar presents very well looking every bit a stately 67 years old. This ES-140 has a very good neck angle and the original frets are crowned down somewhat but still in solid shape with hardly any wear, making for a very nice playing example. This is super cool little '50s Gibson, great fun to play with a fantastic vibe. Very Good + Condition.