Gibson ES-345 Cherry 1960

The Gibson ES-345 was introduced in 1959 as a more elaborate version of the ES-335, featuring gold hardware, split parallelogram fingerboard inlays, stereo wiring and Gibson’s six-position Varitone circuit.

This 1960 ES-345TD is finished in Cherry, a relatively rare finish during the model’s earliest years, with only 252 Cherry examples were in 1960. The neck has the slimmer profile introduced during 1960, measuring 21.9mm at the first fret and 22.5mm at the twelfth. In practice what this means is that although the neck is slim, it has slightly more to it than some 1960 necks, and it plays all the better for it.

It has its original PAF humbuckers. The original gold no-wire ABR-1 bridge, M69 pickup rings, reflector knobs and original wide, flat frets are also present.

The Varitone circuit has been removed but has been reinstated using original period components, and the original wiring harness has been serviced. The guitar has been kept mono, so it works like a 335, just with the added Varitone.

It was originally fitted with a Bigsby vibrato but has been converted to a stopbar tailpiece a long time ago. It’s had Schaller tuners at some point, but these have been replaced by period-correct late-1950s Klusons. There are two very small filled in marks between the stop bar and the tune-o-matic, which presumably have been used for some sort of modification in the past.

The guitar shows typical vintage playwear, including checking, small marks and wear to the gold hardware. It has been professionally set up and plays extremely well, with the original PAFs of course sounding awesome. Weight is 3650g. Includes an original 1960 Gibson hardshell case with black exterior and gold interior.

An awesome golden era Gibson that checks all the boxes, plays great, and has exactly the right feel and tone these are famous for.

SPECIFICATIONS

Brand: Gibson
Model: ES-345TD / ES-345TDC
Year: 1960
oo, Michigan
Finish: Cherry
Body type: Semi-hollow, double cutaway
Top: Laminated maple
Back: Laminated maple
Sides: Laminated maple
Centre block: Solid maple
Body width: 16″ / 406mm
Body depth: Approximately 1.75″ / 44.5mm
Body binding: Multi-ply cream top binding, cream back binding
Neck: Mahogany, set neck
Neck profile: Slim 1960 profile
Neck depth at 1st fret: 0.864″ / 21.9mm
Neck depth at 12th fret: 0.884″ / 22.5mm
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Fingerboard inlays: Split parallelogram
Fingerboard binding: Cream
Fingerboard radius: Approximately 12″ / 305mm, standard period specification
Scale length: 24.75″ / 628.7mm
Frets: 22, original wide/flat frets
Nut: Original bone
Nut width: 43.2mm
Headstock inlay: Gibson crown
Tuners: Original late-1950s gold Kluson single-line tuners, period-correct replacements
Bridge: Original gold no-wire ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic
Tailpiece: Stopbar, probably late 1960s, replacing factory Bigsby
Hardware finish: Gold, with age-related wear
Neck pickup: Original Gibson PAF humbucker
Neck pickup DC resistance: 7.73kΩ
Bridge pickup: Original Gibson PAF humbucker
Bridge pickup DC resistance: 8.84kΩ
Pickup rings: Original vintage M69
Controls: 2 volume, 2 tone, 3-way pickup selector, 6-position Varitone
Varitone: Restored with original early-production vintage components
Varitone selector disc: Reproduction
Wiring: Original harness, serviced with some replacement period-style wiring, configured for mono operation
Potentiometer codes: 1436027, CTS, 27th week of 1960
Control knobs: Original reflector knobs
Pickguard: Black multi-ply
Weight: 3650g
Case: Original period 1960 Gibson black hardshell case with gold interior