"If You Are Looking For An ES-345 - Then You Have Just Found The Holy Grail…"

One of only 50 Natural ES-345TDN's that were made between 1959 and 1960. This example is one of the very last of the 32 that were made in 1959 as evidenced by it's Factory Order Number "S 1447 11" which is stamped in black inside the treble f-hole. This guitar was not shipped from the factory until January 1960 (again as evidenced by the serial number "A 32326" stamped in black on the orange label. Most importantly this wonderful example has that wonderful medium-to-thick neck profile so typical of 1959 - and two 'double-white' PAF's. This blond beauty weighs 9.10 lbs. and has a nice comfortable nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Laminated maple body with triple binding on the top and single binding on the back and semi-solid construction with maple central block, one-piece mahogany neck, and rosewood fretboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and inlaid pearl double parallelogram position markers (no inlay at the 1st fret). Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl crown inlay. Individual Kluson Deluxe 'single-line' tuners with single-ring Keystone plastic buttons, stamped on the inside "D-169400 / Patent No". Two PAF 'double-white' pickups with black plastic surrounds and huge outputs of 8.19k and 8.30k. "Long" five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard extending below the bridge. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch for pickup selection and six-position Vari-tone rotary switch for tonal settings, all on lower treble bout. Gold plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. With a gold circular plate around the Vari-tone switch. "ABR-1" non-retainer Tune-O-Matic bridge with metal saddles and factory gold Bigsby tailpiece. All hardware gold-plated. With the original Gibson orange oval label inside the bass f-hole, with the style ("ES-345T") written in black ink and the serial number "A 32326" stamped in black. The word "Stereo" is stamped in black on the inside of the guitar just to the right of the label. Inside the treble f-hole, stamped in black are the numbers "S 1447 11". The natural finish has uniformly mellowed to a rich amber shade. There is some overall finish checking, just one small area of wear on the back approximately 1/4 inch square, and some tarnishing to the gold hardware. The original tuner tips are somewhat shrunken but they are stable and perfectly functional. This guitar plays like butter, sounds wonderful... and it has that oh so perfect '59 neck profile that we all dream of! We can confidently give this exceptionally rare example a solid 'exceptionally fine' (9.00) rating. Housed in it's original Gibson four-latch brown hardshell case with pink plush lining (9.00).

"The new electric with stereo and Vari-Tone circuitry was given a sneak preview in the March-April 1959 issue of the Gazette describing the ES-355T. It was then announced as the ES-345T, not only because it was pitched -- cosmetically and price-wise -- as an intermediate model between the 335 and the 355, but also because it originally retailed for $345.00 in sunburst finish. Besides the Vari-Tone switch, double parallelogram inlays on the fretboard were retained as a distinctive feature of the 345 compared to the existing semi-solid thinlines. The 345 was at first made available in sunburst and natural finish only, but by mid-1960 the selection was enlarged with the addition [of] two other colours: cherry red and Argentine gray" (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 81).

"Exciting to play, thrilling to hear! This new Gibson can produce any sound you've ever heard from any guitar. The 'Vari-tone' selector switch...produces 18 separate sounds and creates hundreds of voices when coupled with tone controls. Though marvelously versatile, it is uncomplicated...may be used with stereophonic, monaural, or two-channel amplifier. The double cut-away thin body construction brings you the finest sustain and tone color with Gibson's low, fast, professional string action" (leaflet announcing the ES-345T stereo guitar, illustrated on p. 81 of A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 81).