-
Yesterday I purchased a 1947 Gibson ES300 at a local vintage dealer. I have never seen a guitar so old in such pristine condition. Completely original and really mint. It still has the original frets that are in fine condition! And it sounds like a bebop monster. The smoke of WW II had just cleared and Charlie Parker was recording his Dial sessions when this guitar was born ... I am not a collector and it was not cheap (think L5 price) so I had to let go of my 1963 Barney Kessel. But such a stunningly clean piece of guitar history I could not resist.
DB
Last edited by DB's Jazz Guitar Blog; 02-26-2019 at 04:15 PM.
-
02-25-2019 08:47 AM
-
Congrats DB ! You now have a wonderful guitar. These ES-300 were Gibson's flagship for electric guitars in the early post-war period. I have one from 1946 which has a non original PU and it's a damned good guitar.
I just can imagine how good yours will sound with the original P90.
Best to you.
-
Beauty. And, you are right about that condition. It looks as new as something that old could be. I promise that I am not trying to detract from your post but when I see guitars that look so clean, they make nervous and I always wonder about what kept it from being played! Ha. My L-12 looks like it has been to the War and back. Heck, it might have picked a side and fought in the War, too.
-
It is a real beauty and of course hopefully you got a decent price as the real clean ones command the money. I did a fret dress on one of these recently and the P90 just sounds so so so good.
-
I agree with Fredarchtop. I had one on loan for about six months a decade or so ago. It was a '46 or '47. It was a fantastic guitar, and in retrospect, I should have purchased it from the friend who loaned it to me (his intent was to tease me into buying it). D'oh!.
-
Great looking box!
Very curious as to how the specs (17”, solid (?) spruce top and maple neck) make it sound different from your ES-125 (or the ES-125 in general for that matter). If you find the chance to elaborate on that please do!
-
Congratulations with a great guitar.
The 300 and 350 has for decades been my favorite electric archtops (together with the L5WesMo at a split first place) but they are very rarely up for sale here in northern Europe and when they are, the condition is often questionable and the price (too) high. But given that this purchase took place in Holland, there was efter all at least one good sample. Six years ago I got tired of looking for one and instead had Tom Painter make me a paraphrase of a 25.5" scale 350T while he still was in business and as it was a custom build, it was possible to include a few ideosyncracies of mine (HCC pickup at the 24th string node, 1.75" fretboard width). But seeing this 300, I feel GAS again.
Well if it looks good, plays good and sounds good, I suppose it's safe to say that it is good. If a guitar has survived for 70 years and still is structurally intact and healthy, it's not very likely that the wood begin to move around at this point. And I feel confident that DB would have been able to spot it if there were issues.
Originally Posted by SandChannel
Last edited by oldane; 02-25-2019 at 10:54 AM.
-
Laminated maple top, Mahogany neck.
I had an 1952 ES 150 for some time, and I've briefly owned 2 ES 125s, and I own 2 1953 ES 175s. I also played a 300 at Rudy's, it sounded exactly like my 150.
The 1952 ES 150 is the most similar to this 300. The long scale and big body give this one the most thunk. Compared to the 175, I loved the spaciousness of the neck, and the extra punch and bite to the notes. It did not want for bass and depth. I had to get rid of mine because 17" archtops were giving me shoulder problems but man what a guitar. The attack/decay envelope on 17" long scale Gibson laminates is a thing of its own. I liked the neck so much that when I made (i.e. screwed together) my TK Smith Charlie Christian partscaster, I had a neck made to as close of specs as I could to this neck. Long scale, 1 3/4" nut (although I know a lot of these came with 1 11/16" nut too), 12" radius, and the 50s Gibson profile. Still the best feeling neck in my hands.
-
That's in amazing shape. Really beautiful. The only one I ever saw was trashed. And even so, had a powerful vibe. Good luck with it!
-
They are tremendous guitars. The earliest Post-War examples sport a P90 that doesn't have adjustable pole pieces--just a flat plastic cover. The next batch has the usual P90. Some of the first batch have spruce tops; thereafter, it's maple.
The guitars are essentially ES-350 17" guitars without a cutaway. Many in jazz consider the ES-350 to be the best jazz archtop ever. (Count me in that group.) You can't go wrong, therefore, with a 300.
Having played both types of the Post-War single coil Gibson pickup, I can't tell a difference. They are both just amazing pickups.
Here's one with the smooth top pickup that Elderly sold a while back:
-
Nice! Congrats, HNGD
and play her in good health!
-
Thanks Fred. As a matter of fact, I watched yours this week on Youtube! Originally Posted by Fred Archtop
DB
-
The owner of the vintage guitars store had brought his 1952 ES 350 so I could compare the ES 300 with his. There was not that much difference in sound. Both sounded great. Originally Posted by SandChannel
The guitar still looks so good because it has spent decades in a guitar collection without having been played much, if at all. It does not come from a player but from a a collector.
DB
-
Congrats!
A much nicer looking guitar than the BK in any case.
May she inspire your playing for many years to come.
-
Wow, that is gorgeous. Really amazing that it is in such good condition - like a time machine. Congrats!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
-
Oh man, that's cool.
-
Thanks. The condition is really stunning for a 72-year-old guitar. I have never seen such an old guitar in this state. The vintage guy said I would be hard pressed to find one in Europe that was so clean. I mean, even the frets show little wear. Originally Posted by oldane
The vintage guy had a well known luthier in the Netherlands do a complete check on it before he put it up for sale. The luthier disassembled it completely, cleaned it, made some pics of the inside, checked the electronics, cleaned and crowned the frets and fixed the pick guard. I had followed that process on Facebook, where he put all the pics. I know that luthier and he told me the guitar was structurally sound. So I was well informed.
DB
-
It will only sound better as it gets played over the upcoming years! Congrats again! Originally Posted by DB's Jazz Guitar Blog
-
Thanks. Yes, it's a bit bizarre, the shape it is in. Imagine a 72 year old looking like 18 ... Originally Posted by rio
DB
-
It looks in better shape than most of us.
-
Looking forward to a video Dick!
-
Maybe it’s a vampire? Originally Posted by DB's Jazz Guitar Blog
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
-
That’s a stunner, DB. Look forward to seeing a piece about this on your blog.
-
When I was a child, an uncle of mine used to say: "Years ago I was young and handsome. Now I'm just handsome." Originally Posted by grahambop
-
Opposite of the current trend in relic guitars: a 2.7 year old looking like 81..... Originally Posted by DB's Jazz Guitar Blog
Reply With Quote
Jimmy Smith at Newport ('72) Kenny Burrell on guitar
Today, 03:31 PM in The Players