1961 Gibson ES-125TD Hollowbody Electric Tenor Guitar

Overview: As far as I know, this is the only thinline ES-125 tenor guitar made -- and it's a non-cutaway, two-pickup version to boot! I've handled plenty of ETG-150s from the '50s and the layout is familiar but it's fun to handle one so light and easy to hang with.

Interesting features: It's in good order and, while it's got its nicks and dings, it's an attractive instrument. The P90 covers are pretty neat in that pearl dots were inlaid into the covers where Gibson would normally have poles for strings 1 and 6 on a normal guitar. It's a little unusual for a '60s ES-125TD model to not have a cutaway, too. The current owner is running it in GDAE (octave mandolin) tuning but, of course, it can be restrung and setup for whatever tuning is desired. Its pickups are both snappy and relaxed at the same time -- perfect for those looking for a slightly-mellower, cleaner P90 sound that sits well in jazzier contexts. It's still got some good mids-hump bite to it, though.

Repairs included: Someone in the past did a pretty sloppy neck reset (take a look at the fretboard damage near the joint and the finish disturbance at the heel as well) but it's remained stable and good to go for years. The last time I saw this, in 2023, I gave it a level/dress of the frets and set it up. That setup was still good when it arrived back here and all I had to do was dust it off a hair and hang it on the wall. It's playing spot-on and is ready to go.

• Weight: 5 lbs 1 oz
• Scale length: 22 3/4"
• Nut width: 1 9/64"
• Neck shape: slim C/V
• Board radius: flat
• Depth at first fret: 25/32"
• Depth at seventh fret: 13/16"
• Body width: 15 3/4"
• Body depth: 1 3/4"
• Body wood: ply maple
• Bridge: adjustable rosewood
• Fretboard: rosewood
• Neck wood: mahogany
• Pickups: 2x original P90 single coils
• Action height at 12th fret: 1/16” overall (fast, spot-on)
• String gauges: 44w, 32w, 22w, 12 or similar (GDAE tuning)
• Truss rod: adjustable
• Neck relief: straight
• Fret style: wide/low

Condition notes: As noted, this had a sloppy-looking neck reset done sometime in the past. There's muck-up on the fretboard at fret 16 and muck-up to the finish at the back and sides of the heel. There's a big ding/melted bit in the binding on the bass-side upper-bout on the top (near the 3-way switch). Otherwise, it has most of the usual for an older Gibson -- finish fine weather-checking light scratches and scuffs mostly confined to the edges and the headstock's edges, and plating tarnish to all the nickel-plated hardware. I'm pretty sure it's original throughout, though it's possible the knobs are replacements as they look awfully good. Someone has added an oversize washer to the jack area, presumably to help keep it stabilized.

It comes with: It has a non-original hard case.

Consignor tag: JNDM