2005 Gibson ES-335 Clapton Reissue (1964 reissue) Red

Of all the 335 reissues ever to come out of Gibson, the Clapton is the best of them. The Rusty Anderson and the Warren Haynes are really excellent but they play like new guitars. The Clapton, somehow, feels so close to a real 64 (and sounds it) that I could be convinced (with my eyes closed) that its a real 64. I've owned around 75 64's so far and each of the 9 or 10 Claptons I've sold come so close to a real one that I'm impressed every time I get one. These were really expensive when they came out in 2005 at $12000. This one was bought new and put away as an investment. When the original owner passed away, the guitar was sold to a friend of the owner but he never asked for and never got the COA. The original owner probably put it somewhere safe and his widow simply didn't know where it was put. The original warranty booklet (with serial number) is in the case but the other papers are missing. I'm knocking off $1000. This is not an easy guitar to fake. Gibson still has never gotten the 63-67 body shape quite right so you can't start with a recent reissue. How did they get the Clapton right? They won't admit it but the bodies were built by Terada in Japan. They are dead on. I know the collector value is diminished by the missing paperwork and that's a bummer but it still is what it is and proving that it's the real thing is pretty easy (especially with the original warranty book). A real 64 is pushing up toward $30,000, so this wonderful reissue is starting to look like a deal. There are others out there with the paperwork but this one will cost you less and this one is virtually brand new.