1959 Gibson ES-345 Red

The ES-345 was introduced (officially) in April of 1959. It was offered in two finishes-sunburst and natural. Red was reserved for the top of the line ES-355 only. It wasn't until 1960 that red became a catalog (standard) color for the 335 and 345. A few of each were made in 1959-probably special orders. There are 9 known red 59 ES-345's. This is the first one (by serial number). I bought this guitar in 2005 (I think) from the nephew of the original owner. It is all original/correct. The tuner tips had deteriorated and rather than re-tip them, I found a set of 59 tuners with good tips (rare for a 59). If you want the shrunken originals, I'll put them back on but they are pretty fragile. Everything else is original. The circuit is still stereo with the Varitone intact. I will convert it to 335 spec if you want. Pickups are sealed zebra PAFs. The neck profile is large but not a baseball bat-it measures .86" at the first fret and .96" at the 12th. The frets are original. The red has faded to a gorgeous watermelon red that only happens on the 59's and early 60 345's. They changed the red in mid 60. 59 345's are a great investment and a great players guitar-I play one myself and this is among the best I've had. Certainly the prettiest. Original Gibson badged brown case in excellent condition.