1948 Gibson ES-125 Hollowbody Electric Guitar

The owner of this guitar bought it as a husk from a partser-outer seller and then bought back as many of the original components as possible as well. The only thing not original to this guitar is the pickup which is a 1958 P-90 with adjustable poles rather than a '48 P90 which would likely have had Alnico rod (non-adjustable) polepieces configured a bit like a Fender pickup.

That swap-out makes a major upgrade, though, in a sense. The late '50s were killer years for P90s and this one sounds gorgeous -- it's not too hot, it's relaxed enough to sound jazzy, but it still has some good bite and punch. It also doesn't squeal like a raving banshee if you get it close to your amp at all. The '40s P90s I've played through have all been feedback hounds on hollowbody boxes so it's nice to play an ES-125 this old without thinking about my placement at all.

While we chatted, I put this together with its owner over a couple hours -- leveling/dressing the frets, reinstalling the harness and wiring it to the new pickup, adding a new ground wire, fitting all the parts, and setting it all up. Post-repairs it plays spot-on quick and easy and the sound is, frankly, delicious.

The body is in good shape, too, with only minor wear throughout. It has an interesting back as well -- it's flat and has ladder bracing rather than press-arched without any. The sides appear to be solid maple but the top and back are ply. It has all sorts of cool features -- the clear/no-numbers knobs, old-style tailpiece, single-line Kluson tuners, and comfy-as-heck medium-C neck profile.

Repairs included: fret level/dress, minor wiring work, minor adjustments, setup.

Body wood: ply back and top, solid maple sides

Bridge: rosewood adjustable

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Pickups: 1x 1958 Gibson P90

Action height at 12th fret: hair-over 1/16" bass and 1/16" treble (fast)
String gauges: 52w, 40w, 30w, 22w, 15, 11 nickel strings

Neck shape: medium C

Board radius: ~10-12"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium-small

Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Body width: 16"

Body depth: 3 1/4"

Condition notes: it's all-original except for the tuner ferrules ('50s) and the 1958 P90 pickup. I had to slightly adjust the bottom-edge seating of the P90 cover so that it wouldn't interrupt the string path. The low E and high E fret-out on the pickup cover on the very last fret (as the board dips slightly as it runs-out over the body), but otherwise it plays perfectly. There's minor usewear/scratching throughout, some bumps along the back of the neck (capo use?), and a little bit of wear around the jack as well. The worst of the wear is what appears to be a chemical/finish damage mark on the back of the neck just above the heel. I'm guessing a strap was left there for a very long time. Because my hand rotates into a different position at that point I don't notice it, but it's there -- and I've shot a photo of it.

Also: these original bridges are compensated for 4-wound, 2-plain (wound-G) stringing. I've strung it that way. If you want to use this with a plain G, let me know and I will make a new bridge top/saddle for it that's compensated for 3-wound, 3-plain.

It comes with: a newish hard case.