1973 Gibson ES-345 Semihollow Stereo Electric Guitar

This guitar is a sweetheart. My friend Tom "up the hill" has owned it for decades but it's the release time for him, so it's here for consignment. A few years ago I gave this guy a neck reset and refret with jumbo stock and so now it's playing at the best of its game -- real quick, real easy, and real slick. It's still wired "as-original" with a stereo jack output and working varitone switch.

In the video demo I forgot to show-off the varitone but it does have some useful sounds in it -- especially if you're playing chord-strummy stuff and want to suck a bit of the electric thump out of it or maybe want to make it a little duckier like a Strat. I also didn't get to demo the "middle position" because the A/B box I was running through with the stereo cable only allowed me to send neck or bridge signal to the amp. Suffice to say, when hooked-up into two channels (or amps), you can get some great sounds in the middle, too.

What else? It's all-original as far as I can tell and it's been taken care-of well over the years. There's the usual finish checking throughout and especially on the back of the neck, some fading to the finish where the body meets the back of the guitar, and a gold "G" sticker added at the tailpiece on the top, but otherwise it's in great shape for its age. The hardware shows the usual plating-loss and minor pitting you'd expect on one of these and -- thankfully -- the original tailpiece setup was maintained so it has a really easy and mellow feel for the left hand and a more "open" voice than, say, a stop-tail 335-style guitar.

Repairs included: previously a neck reset, board plane, and refret with jumbo stock, plus setup/etc. work.

Body wood: ply maple

Bridge: ABR-style original with wire retainer (with extra slots for better spacing)

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany (3-piece, '70s-style with volute -- strong)

Pickups: 2x original Gibson humbuckers

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast) with plenty of room up/down at the bridge
String gauges: 46w-10

Neck shape: slim C

Board radius: ~10-12"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: jumbo/pyramid-shaped

Scale length: 24 5/8"

Nut width: 1 9/16"

Body width: 16"

Body depth: 1 3/4" + arching depth

Weight: sdfsdf

Condition notes: there's weather-checking throughout the finish and some fine chipping along the neck joint (there long before I reset it). There's minor usewear to the back of the neck, too, but nothing obvious to the left hand. The hardware has plating-loss where you'd expect it -- bridge, pickup covers, and tailpiece. The switch tip might be a replacement but it's older. I have black ones on hand if that's more desirable. It's still wired factory-style with a stereo jack, so keep that in mind -- this is not plug-and-play with a normal guitar cable if you want to access both pickups freely. However, a good older stereo cable is included. There's a G sticker in gold placed in the "box" of the tailpiece. Who knows why? ...but I imagine it'd leave a "shadow" if yanked-off, so buyer's discretion on that. LAST thing: I had to relocate the bass post for the bridge so that has a filled tiny hole in front of its current post location that... you can't see because... it's under the thumbwheel. No worries.

It comes with: an original hard case in physically-good shape but with missing covering and fairly beat-up on the outside. It also has a good stereo cable that comes with it, too.