Gibson ES-150 Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1940), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 1450F-12 (FON), sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
Here is a pre-war Gibson with a great sound, but one very different from the traditional "jazz" archtops the company is usually associated with. This 1940 ES-150 electric Spanish guitar has a single pickup in the bridge position, giving it a snarl and bite more associated with blues or country playing than the typical neck-position purr. The metal-covered pickup itself has six screw pole pieces and is the earliest ancestor of Gibson's venerable P-90 and was only used at Kalamazoo only during this particular period. The guitar itself is otherwise similar to the earlier ES-150, with a 16" full-depth body featuring a carved top and the typical tailpiece, bridge and wiring used since 1935, except for an edge-mounted jack.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 1/8 in. (41 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/4 in. (8.3 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 guitar has seen some use but remains in good condition overall. There is light finish wear overall; the only really notable major defect is a repaired crack running from the bass-side F hole forward to the edge that has been sealed and touched up, but is still visible. There is a second smaller crack below it, from the ball of the F-hole to just north of the bridge. There are also a couple of sealed back cracks. There is one fairly deep ding to the back of the neck behind the second fret. All fittings are original including the lovely early Kluson tuners, the tortoise celluloid pickguard, adjustable rosewood bridge and the rare trapeziodally ornamented tailpiece. The pickup and wiring are original, including the period 2-color knobs (one brown, one black). Overall this is a cool and slightly unusual pre-WWII guitar, with a very unique sound and great funky charactero! Very Good + Condition.
