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1968 Gibson Trini Lopez

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Serial #: 948194, orange oval 'Union Made' label

Body size at lower bout: 16". Scale length: 24 3/4" Nut Width: 1 9/16" Neck depth: .86/1.00/1st, 12th frets

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

Hardware: 100% original chrome hardware includes twin Patent Sticker pickups with original covers and electronics, ABR-1 Tuneomatic bridge with nylon saddles and retaining wire, beveled b/w/b/w/b pickguard with support bracket, raised diamond trapeze tailpiece with rosewood insert and engraved artist model plaque; 3 way selector switch, black bonnet volume and tone knobs, 6 on plate open back tuners.

Notes: Raised in Dallas' Little Mexico neighborhood, Trini Lopez went on to cut million selling records, covering classic folk songs with a Vegas style rock beat. In 1964, Gibson released two Trini Lopez artist models: the Deluxe, with the full depth body of their Barney Kessel model, and the Standard, a thinline model adapted from the classic ES-335. With their signature diamond soundholes and inlays, the Lopez models were also the first Gibsons to adopt Stauffer style pegheads, as seen on the earliest Martins, and then made iconic when Fender borrowed them from Bigsby in the late '40s.

Like the 335, the Trini's thinline body is comfy to hold, and its inner block enhances sustain and reduced feedback, while the humbucking pickups offer high output, and richly saturated tone. Built only through 1970, the Gibson Trini Lopez has developed cult status, having been reissued by Gibson in limited editions since the Dave Grohl Lopez tribute was released in 2007.

A gleaming example, this Trini shows brilliant deep cherry finish, which highlights the slab cut maple figure, and contrasts elegantly with the jet-black pickguard and control knobs. The instrument has been exquisitely cared for, and remains free of cracks, pick, thumb or fingerboard wear: even the typical lacquer checking one expects in an instrument of this vintage is almost entirely absent. All finish, hardware and electronics are original, and apart from a bit of buckle worming and a small stand nick on the neck, the instrument looks much as it did when it left Kalamazoo, the same year the Apollo 8 astronauts first orbited the moon.

The neck has a gentle "C" profile, somewhat fuller than the typical Gibson of the era, and the handsome rosewood fingerboard sports fine pro fretwork, polished to a brilliant sheen. Action is smooth and low over a fresh high precision setup, and the original patent-sticker pickups produce a smooth, high output signal with lots of snap and sustain. And all in its original deluxe black Gibson arched hardshell case with gold plush lining.

If you had a hammer, you could hammer in the morning. But in the evening, you can ring this baby all over this land. Pure '60s styling at its most distinctive: one only, call now.

Setup: Trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.

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