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1965 Gibson ES-125C

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Serial #: 362497

Body size at lower bout: 16" Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut Width: 1 9/16" Body depth: 3 3/8"

Materials: Solid Honduras mahogany neck; maple top back, and sides; solid Brazilian rosewood fingerboard

Hardware: 100% original hardware includes P-90 single coil pickup; gold reflector cap tone and volume knobs; nickel trapeze tailpiece; swirl tortoise pickguard; nickel-plated Kluson Deluxe tuners, compensated Brazilian rosewood bridge. Original pots included case, extra set of recent pots installed.

Notes: We've known about them for years, but this is the first one that's actually come through the door.

By the mid-1960's sales of Gibson's perennial ES-125 had begun to flag. A full depth 16" noncutaway guitar with a single P-90 pickup, the ES-125 had been by far the most popular archtop Gibson ever made, with sales of almost 25,000 in the '50's alone. But by 1965, production had dwindled to a few hundred examples, having been eclipsed by the newly popular thinline series: the ES-125T, TC, and TCD.

Bowing to the demand for cutaway guitars, Gibson launched the ES-125C, with a full depth 3 3/8" body, identical to that found on the ES-175. In doing so, the firm had essentially re-issued the original late 40's version of the 175, with its classic single neck-position P-90 pickup. Built in very limited numbers only between 1965 and 1970, the ES-125C would become one the rarest Gibson archtops of the postwar era. With its uncluttered design and a sleek, elegant neck, the ES-125C offered classic tone with contemporary playability. The laminated body offered superior feedback resistance, and the guitar produced a respectable acoustic tone for playing unplugged.

From the very first year of production, this gleaming guitar is one of just 87 examples produced in its debut season. Preserved in uncannily pristine shape, the instrument appears to have emerged from half a century of hibernation in virtually new-old-stock condition. Without visible playwear of any kind, the guitar has all original finish, hardware and case, and weighs in at a phenomenal 5lb. 10oz.

Shiny as a dime, this example is without pick, buckle, thumb or fingerboard wear, right down to the original frets, and comes complete with its equally clean original black Gibson logo fiber case. The back shows particularly attractive slab cut maple figure under a medium walnut stain. One of the rarest jazz birds ever, this ES-125C is an outstanding performer, and a true best buy in a genuine 60's Gibson archtop.

Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, recrowned and polished as required; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

Case: Original black Gibson logo fiber case.

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