One of Only Two Trini Lopez Customs Shipped in the First Year of 1964

This extremely rare Cherry Sunburst custom version (with the Barney Kessel-style body rather than the normal ES-335 body) is one of only two Trini Lopez Customs shipped in the first year of 1964, out of a total of 302 shipped between 1964 and 1970. It weighs 7.50 lbs. and a nice, fat nut width of 1 11/16 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Laminated maple body with triple binding on the top and back and two diamond-shaped sound holes with single binding, one-piece mahogany neck with a typical '64 medium thick profile, and ebony fretboard with 20 wide jumbo frets and inlaid pearl split-diamond position markers. Asymmetrical headstock with black laminated face and inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo. Two-layer (black on white) plastic truss-rod cover. Serial number ("176845") impressed into the back of the headstock. The headstock and fretboard are single-bound. Six-in-a-line individual Grover Roto-Matic tuners with half-moon metal buttons. Two powerful patent-number humbuckers with black plastic surrounds and black rectangular labels on the underside with "Patent No. 2,737,842." The outputs of the pickups are 7.42k and 7.56k. Tortoiseshell pickguard with single-layer cream binding. Four controls (two volume, two tone) on the lower treble bout plus one three-way pickup selector switch on the upper treble horn and one three-way stand-by switch on the upper bass horn. Gold plastice bell-shaped knobs with metal tops. Inside the bass f-hole is a Gibson Kalamazoo orange oval label with "Trini Lopez Custom," "Guitar," and the serial number ("176845") written in blue ink. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic retainer bridge with nylon saddles on rosewood base and trapeze tailpiece with raised diamond on cross-bar and rosewood plaque with three-layer (black/white/black) plastic shield with "Trini Lopez Model" engraved in white. All hardware nickel-plated. This is a wonderfully clean and totally original example in near mint (9.25) condition. The back and sides of the guitar are nicely flamed. Housed in its original Gibson four-latch black hardshell case with orange plush lining (9.25).

Trini Lopez Jr. burst onto the musical scene in 1963 thanks to his danceable rendition of "If I Had a Hammer," recorded live at Hollywood's P.J.'s club. Gibson saw the opportunity to capitalize on a new artist, thereby leaning towards a younger clientele not always familiar with the company's prestigious endorsers. Two Trini Lopez artist models were simultaneously devised in late 1964, a full-bodied Deluxe (Custom) and a thin-body Standard. The Deluxe (Custom) was essentially a variant of the regular Barney Kessel fitted with an asymmetrical Fenderish headstock, a special tortoiseshell pickguard, diamond-shaped sound holes, and a standby switch located in the upper horn. The Deluxe (Custom) was more expensive than both the Kessel Regular and the Kessel Custom, selling at $645. The spec sheets were sent to dealers in April 1965, but the two earliest samples were actually shipped at the end of 1964 (one could assume that one of these went to Trini Lopez himself -- here is the other!).