1958 Gibson ES-355 Mono Red

Gibson introduced the high end of their thinline series, the ES-355 in 1959. However, ten of them went out the door in Kalamazoo in 1958 making the 58 ES-355 the rarest production guitar in the line. 58's are a little different than 59's. It appears Gibson was still trying to figure out the model. Of the five known 58's, all but one has Grovers. That one would be this one. It has tulip tip Kluson wafflebacks like an early Les Paul Custom. It has a three ply headstock binding like a 30's J-200 and not the 5 ply of other 355's. No idea why this one is different. The other four have faded to more of an orange color while this one hasn't faded much at all and retains a deep almost wine red. The finish is unquestionably original. All the 58's are mono. All the 58's are thin tops. All have PAFs, of course. This one has a headstock stinger. It still retains it's low profile ABR-1. Most of these collapsed and were replaced with shaved full height ABR-1's until early 59 when they made the neck angle a little steeper to allow for the full height bridges. It's a wonderful player and it has been played. The frets are original and getting low so you might want to factor in a re-fret in the future. It plays well now but it's the eighth or ninth inning for the frets. There are no issues. .