The Birth of Gibson's ES-5 Guitar…

1949 Gibson ES-350 Special.

The very first electric guitar with three pickups… This is the exceptionally rare prototype version of the ES-5. One of only twelve of an experimental batch of ES-350 Specials made by Gibson during June and July of 1949. This 17-inch-wide single soft (Venetian) cutaway guitar weighs just 6.70 lbs. and has a nice, fat nut width of 1 11/16 inches and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Three original P-90 single-coil pickups with outputs of 7.45k, 7.19k and 7.05k. Four controls (three volume on lower treble bout, plus one master tone on upper treble bout). Rosewood bridge on rosewood base. Original trapeze tailpiece. This near mint (9.25) guitar, which was formerly in the Chinery collection, is featured on p. 74 of The History of the American Guitar… Housed in the original brown "Lifton" hardshell case.