and no listing of any 355’s shipped, although
they do exist. I’ve seen at least two in my time,
making both these models, especially the ES355, very rare in natural. It was not until late
1960 when Gibson discontinued natural as
a standard finish on all the double cutaway
thinlines and replaced it with cherry red.
Many,
myself
included,
feel
this
period
from1959 thru mid 1960 to be the pinnacle of
Gibson workmanship and quality with regards
to electric instruments. Generally speaking,
during this era, Gibson allocated 10 to 20%
of a models production to receive a natural
finish, with the majority being in the standard
sunburst. That percentage also varied some
depending on model.
I won’t bore you with shipping totals, but I
will and do recommend getting a copy of
Gibson Electrics “The Classic Years” by A.R
Duchossoir. It’s an excellent book on the history
of the electric era of Gibson models as well as
having the added bonus of listing shipping
totals for all the models up ‘till 1965.
Since I was born in 1959, I have always had
a built-in affection with that year and have
generally focused on collecting instruments
made during that extraordinary year of guitar
building. There is probably little doubt that
collecting any other year would have been
easier on the old wallet, but it wouldn’t have
filled my “birth year” craving, or my craving
for the best. At one point my goal was to
own one of every model guitar Gibson made
during 1959. A lofty goal! But one I pursued
for sometime until a lack of space and sanity
prevailed.
The day always comes that I feel the need to
“weed and seed” the guitars that I have, and
when it came to my thinline collection, it’s an
easy choice for me. In this instance, I think that
blonds do have more fun. And they are the only
blonds that can sit on my lap all day while I am
fondling away on them without upsetting the
wife one bit. Actually, she approves!
Sep Oct 2016
CollectibleGuitar.com
13