1965 Gibson Barney Kessel (Maple Top)

[jzucker]

Great match to have along with my '63 Spruce top one. The maple one is a bit brighter and more open sounding, a bit more lyrical and less smokey. This one has seth lover pickups in it

[wintermoon]

cool, but you need to buy the 'best archtop you've ever heard' to get the trifecta.

[jzucker]

cool, but you need to buy the 'best archtop you've ever heard' to get the trifecta.

Yeah, but that one is currently owned by nationwide guitars. It's a '66 Barney Kessel custom and he wants $5k for it. Too much for my blood. I wish I could A/B it with my '63 but from memory it had the darker, smokier sound of my '63 but with a little bit more of the openness from my '65. Best of both worlds. It reminded me of what the Tal Farlow is going for but sounded like a 50 year old instrument instead of a new instrument.

Right now, 3 of the guitars I've sold are on layaway and I've only received about 20% of the payments. I suppose it's possible the 3 guitars would get completely solid and I'd purchase that BK from nationwide if he still has it, but not likely. I think 2 BKs is probably my limit. Also, he's had that guitar listed for over a year at $5k.

[Max405]

Jack,
I'm happy for you buddy. They are really cool looking.
These Barney Kessels are like shoes to you. When you find one that fits just right, you gotta make sure get the pair..
Enjoy Jack. Have fun and thanks for sharing.
Joe D

[jzucker]

Jack,
I'm happy for you buddy. They are really cool looking.
These Barney Kessels are like shoes to you. When you find one that fits just right, you gotta make sure get the pair..
Enjoy Jack. Have fun and thanks for sharing.
Joe D

Thanks. Now that I have these two, i'm considering the unthinkable and possibly unloading my '89 175. I think if I have these 2 BKs , a strat and a tele I should be set...

[Stringswinger]

Don't do it Jack...a 175 should be in the toolbox.

[Max405]

Abbott without Costello? NO. Tom without Jerry? NO. Ali without Frazier? NO.
Zucker without 89' ES175? No way it will never happen. And if it did, there's nothing sacred in the world anymore..

[vinnyv1k]

Every time I got rid of a axe I thought I didn't need I regretted it big time down the road. Marc is right. Everyone needs a 175 in their arsenal. BTW sweet looking Barney. You are quite the archtop detective Jack.

[Woody Sound]

I like the short heel. I forgot, does your first one have the long heel?

[Stringswinger]

Jack, I have been thinking about it. You saying that you are set with any guitar or small group of guitars is like Hugh Hefner telling us he was set with Barbie Benton. ;-)

[jzucker]

I like the short heel. I forgot, does your first one have the long heel?

yes, the '63 has the long heel. Not sure which one I have a preference for.

[neatomic]

congrats..another lovely kessel..hope we get a shot of the twins…preferably swingin'…haha

enjoy

cheers

[jzucker]

Every time I got rid of a axe I thought I didn't need I regretted it big time down the road. Marc is right. Everyone needs a 175 in their arsenal. BTW sweet looking Barney. You are quite the archtop detective Jack.

possibly but the maple top kessel is like a 175 on steroids. I can't imagine ever playing the 175 now.

[Max405]

Jack, I have been thinking about it. You saying that you are set with any guitar or small group of guitars is like Hugh Hefner telling us he was set with Barbie Benton. ;-)

if I was Hugh, I would have said the same thing. And then, you know, things change...

[John A.]

Thanks. Now that I have these two, i'm considering the unthinkable and possibly unloading my '89 175. I think if I have these 2 BKs , a strat and a tele I should be set...

You _should_ have been set, what, 18,497 flipped guitars ago?

John

[stringmaster]

So aren't the spruce tops laminated like the maple? Wouldn't that make them much the same save for cosmetics? So maybe there would be more difference from one guitar to the next, regardless of the top material? Just curious.

[jzucker]

So aren't the spruce tops laminated like the maple? Wouldn't that make them much the same save for cosmetics? So maybe there would be more difference from one guitar to the next, regardless of the top material? Just curious.

no, it sounds completely different as does the custom version.

[citizenk74]

Congratulations on a sweet looking and very hip axe! Play 'em both in good health!

[Little Jay]

Very nice!

Jack, I lost track of all the guitars you have now, since you've been doing a lot of buying and selling lately. I think a couch-shot of the collection would be obligatory by now!

On a side note: how much do those Kessels approximatily weigh? Are they light enough for your needs? My ES-125 (late 40ies of early 50ies, not sure) weighs about 2.4 kgs (a little over 5 pounds), I hardly feel that when I play (but I know you're not looking for that particular model).

Anyway, congratulations on the new purchase and I'm glad it finally turned up!

[Greentone]

Laminated spruce and laminated maple topped Gibson sound different. The BK is a great example.

[Woody Sound]

So aren't the spruce tops laminated like the maple? Wouldn't that make them much the same save for cosmetics? So maybe there would be more difference from one guitar to the next, regardless of the top material? Just curious.

Actually, spruce lam sounds different than maple lam. I like it better, JMO.

[Al Br.]

Could someone elaborate on the B.K. variations? I've been interested in them for a while but never really got a hold of the variations. Were some years better than others? Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[vinlander]

Looks like a great axe, if it could possibly make you unload your faithful 89 175, I bet it must have some thunk.
Like a Tal but 50 years older, could that sound close to an original Tal ?

[jzucker]

Could someone elaborate on the B.K. variations? I've been interested in them for a while but never really got a hold of the variations. Were some years better than others? Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

There were lots of variations. I don't know all the dates of the various permutations but here are some of the variations:

• Long neck heel
• Short neck heel
• plywood spruce top
• plywood maple top
• mahogany neck
• 5 pc maple/walnut/maple/walnut/maple (L5 Style) neck
• 3pc maple/walnut/maple neck
• Brazilian rosewood fingerboard
• Ebony fingerboard
• Trapazoid inlays
• Bow Tie inlays
• Custom Demarcation
• Standard Demarcation

I've seen customs with maple tops, customs with spruce tops. All customs I've seen have had bow-tie inlays and ebony fingerboard. The rest of the variations seem to be interspersed.

My favorite BK (and I've played 2 like this) were customs with maple top, 5 pc neck, ebony fingerboard. Both of these just had an incredible and vibey, vintagey resonance that are a step above either of the 2 I have which are at the top of the list of guitars I've ever owned. Nationwide guitars has one that they've been trying to sell on ebay for a year. I played that guitar and it was amazing. The other one was 15 years ago in a local shop and I thought $1800 was too much for it so I passed on it.

I don't have a feel for how the long vs short neck heel effects the sound. I have one of each and they do sound different but I have no idea how the neck heel factors into it because the 2 guitars have different tops.

[jzucker]

Looks like a great axe, if it could possibly make you unload your faithful 89 175, I bet it must have some thunk.
Like a Tal but 50 years older, could that sound close to an original Tal ?

Possibly. I can tell you that both of my kessels are considerably lighter builds than anything made today including 175s or Tal Farlows. The '57 175 I briefly owned was an even lighter build still so I'm guessing that they beefed up the build when they introduced humbuckers. I had heard that gibson progressively thickened the top and the tone bars on all their archtops due to the weight of the humbuckers causing the tops to sink. It's my understanding that they did this several times during the late 50s, mid 60s and then '70s