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I would LOVE to get one of these for my wife - a concert violinist, small hands, she likes guitar.
Last edited by Woody Sound; 08-02-2017 at 09:36 AM.
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01-08-2017 08:56 PM
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I've found very few custom ES-140s so I was pretty excited to find these pictures of Larry Collins of the Collins Kids playing a custom Gibson ES-140. Larry Collins, being a kid in the 1950's, endorsed the ES-140.
circa: 1954-1955
note: Bigsby pickup in the treble position and stock Gibson P-90 in the neck position.
Last edited by Steve Z; 01-29-2017 at 12:35 PM.
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Had one a while back great guitar. YOu can pick up a nice gig bag as the Taylor baby guitar gig bags work quite well for the 140. They have a lot of padding and can be had for under 50 dollars. Great guitar with a lot of history. They didn't make too many naturals. ENJOY
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I love your beautiful ES140t IN blonde - very special.
Please let me know if you are interested in selling it at some point as I have been looking for one for a long while here in the UK and they don't ever seem to come up.
Thanks, mike
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Here's a unique white Gibson ES-140 played by Jesca Hoop...
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Looks like Rudy's bought Tal Farlow's red Gibson 1951 ES-140...
For sale on Gbase... 1951 Gibson ES-140 Red > Guitars Archtop Electric & Acoustic | Rudys Music
Description on Gbase listing...
The Red Norvo Trio was hired to play on the Mel Torme Show on CBS-TV which was to be the one of the country’s first color TV broadcasts. The producer felt the brightest colors were needed for the broadcast and wanted the musicians to paint their instruments red. Tal explained that the instruments were delicate and you couldn’t just paint them. The producer said this was so important for CBS (which had a competing color system with NBC) that he would try to get them colored instruments. Tal, being associated with Gib- son, knew that Gibson would not be happy with his appearing on TV with anything but a Gibson guitar. Gibson agreed to make something special for the occasion. It is a standard ES-140 3/4 size laminated maple top. the whole guitar was painted a bright, almost day-glow red.
This instrument can be heard on Howard McGhee (Sextet)
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Here's a pic of the Howard McGhee album with Tal Farlow playing the red ES-140 in the above post...
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Tal's red ES-140...
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Here's an addition to the ES-140 pics I found online... I dig the blonde trio!
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Here's a collection of YouTube video clips I put together of Es-140s and ES-125 3/4 guitars in action...
Last edited by Steve Z; 08-02-2017 at 09:29 AM.
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Great looking Gibson guitars up there, congrats on the new buy! And not to leave out my babe, here's my 1953 Gibson ES140, no T it's the thick one that looks like a small ES175! I love this guitar, I've had it for over 46 years! I'm glad someone put up the price list! ~Cheers!
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Just to update this Gibson ES-140 thread a bit... here's a rare 1955 Gibson ES-140N (full body) [non original tailpiece, but a sweet find none the less]... these ES-140 and ES125 3/4 guitars are some of my favorites.
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Quite late to the thread, but:
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Oh my... that is sweet!
Is the finish original? Pickup covers (possible pickups) and bridge are not original, but is the dual pickup routes original?Last edited by Steve Z; 07-25-2018 at 03:47 PM.
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There’s some good news and bad news with this 1957 ES-140TN”D”.
The good news is, yes, it is the original finish.
The bad news is, no, the bridge pickup is not original. I bought it online already modified. Along with adding the extra pickup, knobs, and switch, the tuners and bridge are newer, and some fool screwed the bridge to the top—what the...? I recieved it with chrome pickup covers and replaced them with cream.
The good news is because of all the modifying it was quite affordable.
The bad news is because of all the modifying it will always be relatively affordable.
The good news is whoever modified it did a very good job (except for screwing the bridge to the top—what the...?)
The bad news is only 57 ES-140TN’s ever left the facory (see above post from Duchossoir’s Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years), so modifying this particular piece is nothing short of a travesty.
The good news is I own one of only 57 ES-140TN’s Gibson ever shipped.
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Another ES-140 live band use...
Jay Salem, 1950s rock-a-billy guitarist in Johnny Carroll & the Hot Rocks, often used a Gibson ES-140D (full body depth with dual pickups is definitely rare... custom?). Likely playing a 1950-55 ES-140 based on the style of tailpiece.
...At 15, Johnny organized his first band, the Texas Moonlighters; they had their own show on Cleburne's KCLA radio. In 1955, the band won first prize in a talent contest, and enrolled second prize winner guitarist Jay Salem in the band along the way...
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A bit more info on the Tal Farlow wned Gibson ES-140... looks like it sold...
Replacing the Silvertone, he moved on to a short-scale Gibson ES-140 ¾, custom finished in a blazing orange-red that was once owned by the jazz guitarist Tal Farlow. This was a different caliber. He went downstairs to ask if he could play it. The store manager, Gordon French, told him he could and took him back up to the loft.
Mr. Pearce sat on a leather bench and began to strum, trying out a few plaintive Jeff Buckley riffs, a Bob Dylan song. “It’s nice with the flat-wound strings on it,” he said. When the guitar is plugged in, Mr. French told him, “It’s incredibly warm and fat. Kind of luscious.”
“Mellow,” Mr. Pearce said. He probably meant buttery. Sadly, another customer already had a deposit on it.
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After seeing smmllr's 57 I feel like I should add mine to the list.
I received it with the bridge already nailed in place and a few other mods already done. Amazingly I was also given the original bridge, volume and tone pots with bumblebee cap and tuners when I purchased the guitar.
Neck p-90 is original and I had all cutting and drilling for the extra pickup done by a pro.
When I first received the guitar my intent was to return it to normal but before long I realized this was something I will never part with, it holds no monetary value to me. When I'm gone someone else can cuss me and figure out what it's worth, I just hope it goes to someone who loves playing it as much as I do.
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Thanks for sharing. What year is your little ES-140? Inside one of the f-holes should be a factory order number. There will be a letter in front of the numbers. The letter indicates the year.
Year Letter
---- ------
1952 Z
1953 Y
1954 X
1955 W
1956 V
1957 U
1958 T
1959 S
1960 R
1961 Q
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Its a 57, U938 15.
Thanks for starting this thread Steve, I don't think there's as much ES-140 content in one place anywhere else on the web.
Hopefully it will continue to grow.
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Mine is a '57 as well... U 9848 32.
I will continue to post ES-140 info on this thread as I find it. I hope others do the same.
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Here's a Gibson price list from Nov 1959... notice the price of a ES-140 was $205.... the price of a '59 / '60 Les Paul Sunburst was $280... I bet all those folks that bought an ES140 new and still own it wish they would have spent the additional $75 for a 'Burst
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1952 ES-140 was $152.50.... add $15.00 for natural!
Les Paul... $210
L7-C... $220.00... add $15 for Natural
L5-C... $470... add $15 for Natural... Wow!
(FYI... 1951 price lists were the same prices)
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1967 ES-140 price... $275.00
faultless (hard) case.... $70.00
Durabilt (fiberboard soft) case... $13.50
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That faultless case is something I have wanted ever since I purchased my 140 and the only time I've seen just the case for sale it was within $100 of what I paid for my guitar.
I think purchasing another 140 that has the case is about the only way of getting one.
Or at least that's how I will explain it to the wife..... after it arrives of course.
Renn
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