Special Custom Order in the Rare "Solid Walnut" Finish

This special "custom order" weighs 8.80 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Laminated maple top, back, and sides, with maple central block, one-piece mahogany neck, and bound rosewood fretboard with 22 jumbo frets and inlaid pearl split-parallelogram position markers (no inlay at the 1st fret, as usual). Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl crown inlay. With "Stereo" on truss-rod cover. Individual Kluson Deluxe tuners with single-ring Keystone plastic buttons. The body is triple-bound (white/black/white) on the top and single-bound (white) on the back. Two patent-number humbucker pickups with outputs of 8.96k and 8.38k. Five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch for pickup selection and six-position Varitone rotary switch for tonal settings. Black plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs with metal tops and a gold circular plate with the numbers in black around the Varitone switch. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic retainer bridge with metal saddles and Gibson Maestro Vibrola tailpiece on a rosewood base. The Maestro Vibrola has its original label. With black plastic "Custom Made" plaque between the bridge and Maestro Vibrola. All hardware gold-plated. This guitar is in mint condition, with only minimal button scarring on the back. The gold-plated hardware is a little tarnished. Housed in the original Gibson black hardshell case with orange plush lining (9.50).

With the following "case candy": 1. A valuation of this guitar by George Gruhn, dated 7/11/96 ($3,500.00); 2. "Now, Complete Directions for Achieving Perfect Stereo Sound" (one page); 3. "*Humbucking Pickup Adjustments" (one page); 4. "Instructions Tune-O-Matic Bridge*" (one page); 5. The original orange "Gibson Hand Made Sonomatic Strings" hang tag; 6. The original white "Stereo Wired/Use Gibson Stereo 'Y' Cord No. 501-S Only" label; 7. The original Gibson stereo "Y" cord; and 8. Two original Gibson "B" strings, in their original envelopes and in the original orange and black box.

This guitar was a special "custom order" in the ultra rare "Solid Walnut" color (which is darker than the usual Walnut). Walnut was not officially offered by Gibson on ES-345s until 1969 (106 ES-345TDWs were shipped in 1970). The shipping record for this guitar (serial number "176774") shows the it was specially-ordered with in Walnut with a Gibson Maestro Vibrola.

"The ES-345 was Gibson's first stereo guitar. It had a circuit that, when connected to a suitable 'Y'-cable, would split the pickups to two individual amplifiers, creating a wide if not strictly stereo spread. It also had a Varitone six-way tone selector. By 1963...the 335 family was priced as follows: the sunburst 335 was $300 ($315 in cherry); sunburst 345 was $395 ($410 cherry); and mono 355 was $595 ($645 with stereo and Varitone)" (Tony Bacon, The History of the American Guitar from 1833 to the Present Day, p. 105).