Fresh out of a private collection(my very own), this is an uncirculated 1960 Gibson ES-345TDC, 100% original in EXC condition with OHSC. This guitar has the highly desirable Factory stop tail piece. The Varitone assembly is complete intact.
This is one of only 252 ES-345TDCs from 1960, with serial # A33896. This ES-345 has been featured several times over the years on The Les Paul Forum.
The Cherry Red is perfect: not too light(reminiscent of orange) and not too dark(reminiscent of blood). Really stunning unfaded color with nicely figured wood underneath; this is the vintage guitar with absolutely the coolest vibe I’ve ever owned!
This ES-345 has the 1959 features: long guard, black bonnet knobs, amber switch tip; also has the gold-plated Varitone ring(very faded) and DARK Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. This guitar was made early enough in 1960(April) to not have the very flat neck profile typical of mid-1960 through 1963 ES-3xx guitars(.80/1st fret or less). The neck profile is .84/1st fret and .90/12th fret.
When I got the guitar, all 6 tuner tips were shrunken badly, so I replaced the tips only. The varitone leads were coming apart, so they were all replaced with original spec wire by Scott Freilich of Top Shelf Music in Buffalo(www.topshelfmusic.com), who also did a complete inspection and set-up of the guitar. The original shrunken tips and varitone leads are in the case.
The frets are original and have been professionally leveled with lots of life left. The PAFs are original, hot, and spectacular! Neck PAF: 8.39K Ohms, Bridge PAF: 8.83K Ohms.
Also includes original Varitone instruction sheet, strap, and OHSC.
This is a very fine example of a Golden Era ES-345 with mostly 1959 features, in a totally sublime Cherry Red favored by so many blues greats, i.e. Freddie King, Otis Rush, Alvin Lee, and all the blues legends who played the fabulous Cherry Red ES-3xx guitars owned by Clifford Antone at Antone’s in Austin, TX.
This would make for a very welcome addition for the discerning vintage Gibson collector!
