Gibson ES-295 Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1953)
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Item # 7717
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Gibson ES-295 Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1953), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, gold lacquer finish, laminated maple body; mahogany neck with brazilian rosewood fingerboard, original brown tolex hard shell case.
Here is very well played and great sounding example of one of Gibson's flashiest arch-tops, the ES-295. Finished in gleaming gold overall with a cream-colored floral decorated pickguard, the 295 has been long recognized as one of the most iconic guitars of the 1950's. The model is equipped with double P-90 pickups with white plastic "dog ear" covers and the classic four-knob tone/volume control array with amber "hatbox" knobs and switch tip. The top is triple bound, back and fingerboard are single-bound. The 19 fret rosewood fingerboard has double parallelogram inlays, the headstock has a pearl crown and "Gibson" inlay.
The guitar features all Gold-plated hardware including the adjustable patent pending "Les Paul" trapeze style bridge/tailpiece with the strings looping over, a defining element in its powerful tone. Other than this bridge unit, the ES-295 is essentially a flashier ES-175D featuring the same laminated maple body and mahogany neck of that model with the eye-catching finish of an all gold Les Paul. This one is marked with a small "2" on the back of the headstock indicating a factory second; with 60+ years of wear on the guitar, whatever small flaw the Gibson inspector found is long since moot.
Gibson built 1,770 examples of this model between 1952 and 1958, and they are one of the company's most recognizable 1950's classics. This particular guitar dates to early 1953, one of 637 sold in the model's single most popular year. The ES 295 was the guitar played by Scotty Moore on the earliest Elvis Sun records, and is often considered the ultimate Rockabilly guitar. His was a later 1952 model just under 700 "A-Series" numbers away from this one. The classic 1950's Ersel Hickey photo that epitomizes the Rockabilly aesthetic features him with his ES-295 and drape suit, the quintessential bopper. The all-gold showboat ranks along with the Gretsch 6120 as the quintessential "Cool Cat's" guitar and a great playing/sounding instrument to boot!
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 16 1/16 in. (40.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.). This is a great looking and playing example with tons of vibe; well played but not abused. It retains all original finish and hardware and the guitar actually looks quite clean from the front. Nearly all the finish is gone from the back of the neck as is very typical for this model-the gold lacquer generally reacted to the player's hand over time, turning greenish and flaking off so many are in this state. The current sealed mahogany surface is smooth and very comfortable to play. There is finish checking overall, but no major worn-away areas…there is one small cigarette burn on the back! The guitar has had a very good refret with slightly taller but not oversize wire some time ago, and the finger board is trued with no divots. Down under on the body a fairly large jackplate has been added in the obvious spot where it's likely some cracking incidents occurred-it is very tastefully done and looks as good as this sort of repair ever does! Just below this is a spot where the guitar was likely put down hard long go-some finish is chipped away and the ply side is dented a bit. This is all solid and not causing any issues, but gives evidence of the heavy-gigging life this gold guitar has had. This is an excellent gigging 295; still original and of course flashy as always-and just a great sounding 1950's Gibson with a fantastic vibe as well. You can't relic this feel hitting up a new guitar with sandpaper and hammers folks-this one is earned! Includes a very well-worn but functional original Brown HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
Here is very well played and great sounding example of one of Gibson's flashiest arch-tops, the ES-295. Finished in gleaming gold overall with a cream-colored floral decorated pickguard, the 295 has been long recognized as one of the most iconic guitars of the 1950's. The model is equipped with double P-90 pickups with white plastic "dog ear" covers and the classic four-knob tone/volume control array with amber "hatbox" knobs and switch tip. The top is triple bound, back and fingerboard are single-bound. The 19 fret rosewood fingerboard has double parallelogram inlays, the headstock has a pearl crown and "Gibson" inlay.
The guitar features all Gold-plated hardware including the adjustable patent pending "Les Paul" trapeze style bridge/tailpiece with the strings looping over, a defining element in its powerful tone. Other than this bridge unit, the ES-295 is essentially a flashier ES-175D featuring the same laminated maple body and mahogany neck of that model with the eye-catching finish of an all gold Les Paul. This one is marked with a small "2" on the back of the headstock indicating a factory second; with 60+ years of wear on the guitar, whatever small flaw the Gibson inspector found is long since moot.
Gibson built 1,770 examples of this model between 1952 and 1958, and they are one of the company's most recognizable 1950's classics. This particular guitar dates to early 1953, one of 637 sold in the model's single most popular year. The ES 295 was the guitar played by Scotty Moore on the earliest Elvis Sun records, and is often considered the ultimate Rockabilly guitar. His was a later 1952 model just under 700 "A-Series" numbers away from this one. The classic 1950's Ersel Hickey photo that epitomizes the Rockabilly aesthetic features him with his ES-295 and drape suit, the quintessential bopper. The all-gold showboat ranks along with the Gretsch 6120 as the quintessential "Cool Cat's" guitar and a great playing/sounding instrument to boot!
Overall length is 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm.), 16 1/16 in. (40.8 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 3/4 in. (44 mm.). This is a great looking and playing example with tons of vibe; well played but not abused. It retains all original finish and hardware and the guitar actually looks quite clean from the front. Nearly all the finish is gone from the back of the neck as is very typical for this model-the gold lacquer generally reacted to the player's hand over time, turning greenish and flaking off so many are in this state. The current sealed mahogany surface is smooth and very comfortable to play. There is finish checking overall, but no major worn-away areas…there is one small cigarette burn on the back! The guitar has had a very good refret with slightly taller but not oversize wire some time ago, and the finger board is trued with no divots. Down under on the body a fairly large jackplate has been added in the obvious spot where it's likely some cracking incidents occurred-it is very tastefully done and looks as good as this sort of repair ever does! Just below this is a spot where the guitar was likely put down hard long go-some finish is chipped away and the ply side is dented a bit. This is all solid and not causing any issues, but gives evidence of the heavy-gigging life this gold guitar has had. This is an excellent gigging 295; still original and of course flashy as always-and just a great sounding 1950's Gibson with a fantastic vibe as well. You can't relic this feel hitting up a new guitar with sandpaper and hammers folks-this one is earned! Includes a very well-worn but functional original Brown HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.