1953 Gibson ES-295 Arch-Top Electric Guitar Used

$15,000.00

Details

Here's a remarkably original ES-295 that's now 70 years old but has survived in quite good shape. Original tuners, nut, frets, finish and all hardware in and on the body appears to be original as well. One possible exception is the switch, which is nickel-plated, not gold, but looking inside it's impossible to tell for sure if it was replaced and we've seen lots of examples of gold-plated Gibsons with nickel switches that appear original.
The adjustable patent pending "Les Paul" trapeze style bridge/tailpiece is a defining part of this model's powerful tone, giving the 295 more ring and sustain than the plainer ES-175 (which shares the same materials, construction and pickups).

Gibson built a total of 1,770 examples of this model between 1952 and 1958, and their colorful pickguard and finish has made the ES-295 one of the most recognizable 1950s American guitars. In rock'n'roll history the ES-295 is revered as the guitar played by Scotty Moore on the earliest Elvis Sun records, and thanks to such a high profile it's often considered the ultimate Rockabilly guitar.

The Achilles heel of these Gibsons with metallic gold lacquer is the "greening" effect from handling, as seen on barrel of the neck on this one. And if you look closely at the sides you'll see a dark line just below the bottom edge of the binding. Cracks perhaps? Nope, that line represents the actual edge of the binding, still under gold lacquer, as Gibson only scraped off the upper portion of the celluloid, which has shrunk a bit over the years leaving a narrow gap.
Original brown hardshell case is included.