Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends

archtop.com

c.1947 Gibson ES-300

Status: Pricing and hold status for all instruments currently available is shown on our Instruments page here. If this instrument does not appear on the Instruments page it has been sold, and is no longer available. Photos and descriptions of Previously Sold instruments may be found here. To be notified of examples of this model or similar instruments in the future, please contact [email protected],. Please be specific on which instrument(s) you're looking for, and we'll be happy to contact you as soon as they become available.

Body size at lower bout: 17". Scale length: 25 1/2" Nut Width: 1 3/4" Neck Depth: .88/1.00, 1st/10th frets

Materials: Arched figured maple top, back, and sides; solid Honduran mahogany neck; Brazilian rosewood fingerboard and bridge.

Hardware: 100% original nickel hardware incudes Kluson Deluxe tuners; Kluson 'f-hole trapeze tailpiece; P-90 single coil pickup with original volume and tone pots, capacitor and wiring harness; compensated adjustable rosewood bridge; bound tortoise pickguard, clear gold barrel tone and volume knobs; adjustable truss rod and cover.

Notes: Debuting in 1940, the ES-300 was Gibson's top-of-the line electric guitar. Originally sporting a huge 7" diagonally oriented pickup, the electronics were changed the following year to a smaller diagonal pickup in the bridge position. Revived in 1945, the ES-300 was fitted with a single P-90 pickup, and was built only until 1948, after which the model was refitted with twin pickups, until the last one rolled off the line in 1956. The ES-300 was also the first electric to be inlaid with double-parallelogram fingerboard inlays, original to the prewar L-12, and now seen on Gibson electrics to this day.

Examples from the postwar era bear neither label nor factory order number, but this instrument may be dated to late 1947 or early 1948 by its postwar fat script Gibson peghead logo, early closed back Kluson tuners, and rare Kluson 'f-hole' trapeze talipiece. Preserved in stunning museum quality condition, the instrument is crafted of handsomely figured arched curly maple, with a solid Honduran mahogany neck.

With its subtly shaded original sunburst finish, the instrument is free of cracks, pick, buckle, thumb, or fingerboard wear, with all original hardware, electronics, and hardshell case. Even the typical weather checking one expects in an lacquer finish of this vintage is happily absent in this gleaming postwar closet queen.

At barely 6lb, the instrument is notably light in weight for a full size Gibson electric archtop, and balances deftly on the lap or the strap. The action is low and inviting, with a fresh high-precision setup over fine original fretwork on the solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, on the traditional gentle C profile neck. The original P-90 pickup and electronics are clear and detailed, and the full depth, long scale, 17" L-5 style body produces one of the finest acoustic voices to be found on any electric guitar, with its lightweight arched laminate body providing enhanced feedback resistance as well.

One of the rarest Gibson electrics, this ES-300 offers classic tone, unmatched versatility, and easy, modern playability. We've never seen a more pristine example, and don't expect to anytime soon. One only: call now.

Setup: This instrument is strung with medium gauge nickel Thomastik halfwound strings. The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 4/64" to 5/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.

Case: Original brown Lifton arched plush lined hardshell case.

Home / Instruments /Accessories / Ordering / Tips / Friends