1964 ES-345 custom order white

dinobyte · May 18, 2004

Hello to All,

My first post to the LP forum! I was fortunate enough to have located a 100% original owner 1964 Gibson ES-345 factory custom order white finish with gold bigsby. Gotta love those regional classifieds!

Mike Slubowski was kind enough to provide me with a scan of the original Gibson "special orders" ledger noting the guitar as finished in white from the factory with gold Bigsby. Actually aged to a lovely cream white. I was also fortunate enough to have received several original black & white ink dated photographs of the original owner playing the instrument ca. 1964/65. It's never been altered and is certainly one of the finest playing early Gibson ES series guitars I have ever owned. Oddly enough, there doesn't appear to be any comparative precedent that I am aware of in order to evaluate it's worth. I think it may be the only white 345 from the classic years, well at least according to Andre Duchossoir!

I was considering a Gruhn appraisal but quite frankly, I'm not convinced any dealer appraisal will reflect an accurate value. This is a toughy! :bonk
Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. Here are some pics...

gmann · May 18, 2004

Damn what a beautiful guitar. Congrats on your fine score. I do think you should try Gruhn tho. That guitar is something else! Oh yeah, welcome to the forum.

MikeSlub · May 18, 2004

dinobyte: A rare bird indeed! Have you pulled the pickups yet? Are they Patent Numbers, or PAFs? Now that you've got the documentation that it is a special order guitar, along with the old photos, you've definitely established its provenance. Its value will be highly dependent on how much an obsessed vintage ES collector is willing to pay for it to have it in his/her collection. I would agree with checking with Gruhn's on a ballpark judgement of value.

Joe-Bob · May 18, 2004

George Gruhn is the most respected person in the country in this area. If not the world. Have him do the appraisal.....unless you already know that you overpaid bigtime.

585960 · May 18, 2004

Gruhn would be fine for an appraisel. Gibson guitars are in a huge 'growth' period, value wise, and the appraisel could/should be a variable for at least 6 months to 18 months, current. Nice find!

burstone · May 18, 2004

MikeSlub said:
Its value will be highly dependent on how much an obsessed vintage ES collector is willing to pay for it to have it in his/her collection.

He should call Gil Southworth. I bet Gil would be interested in that piece. What do you think, Mike?

MikeSlub · May 18, 2004

burstone said:
He should call Gil Southworth. I bet Gil would be interested in that piece. What do you think, Mike?

Yup, Gil might be a good choice!

59 Darkburst · May 18, 2004

WOW!!! What a great find! Thanks for sharing!

dinobyte · May 18, 2004

Thanks to everyone for their input! I'll definitely follow through with the Gruhn appraisal. If I'm not mistaken, Gil Southworth has/had an early black ES-345 w/Bigsby. Mike, in answer to your question on the pick-ups... they're Patent #'s. =( Oddly enough, I actually feel more comfortable with that because if they were PAF's, they'd be a little late and make me go hmmmm... :roll Here are some more pics...

burstone · May 18, 2004

Beautiful! :dude

MikeSlub · May 18, 2004

The pickups look A-OK! Thanks for opening her up! :dude

burstone · May 18, 2004

MikeSlub said:
Thanks for opening her up! :dude

That sounds so vile, but I like it! :lol2

gitarzilla · May 18, 2004

Very cool ride. You should definitely email some pics to Gil. If for nothing else than to share with another cool Gibson ES connoisseur. He would also be able to give you a good idea about its current value.

professor · May 18, 2004

White would not be my preferred color for a 345, but that is VERY hip, indeed...! :dude

Gitfiddler · May 18, 2004

OK...we've seen her birth certificate; her former daddy; and even examined her innards...But can she moan and wail like an old 345 should? :ahem

dinobyte · May 18, 2004

Definitely! The pick-ups on this guitar create a massive wall of sonic doom out of my blackface Super Reverb. I have owned a few original PAF equipped dot necks over the years and quite frankly, this one blows them completely out of the water (well... they weren't actually in water, :stxrus which might explain why a PAF wouldn't sound good...). Anyway, it is one sweet guitar. Don't be swayed by the collector color, this thing could be dusty rose but it still kicks @$$ to put it bluntly.

GuitArtMan · May 19, 2004

I love the picture with the long hair and satin shirt, trying to look like a hippy. And the glasses in the last photo make him look like an alien. Oh, and the guitar is nice too!

Tom Wittrock · May 19, 2004

:wow
Very cool, ideed.

What's it worth?
Sounds like it is worth keeping. :dude

PatentAppliedFor · May 19, 2004

ditto, that's a keeper!

dinobyte · Feb 6, 2007

Decided to unearth this thread and give everyone an update after nearly three years. Let me start off by saying that I should have listened to TW and kept it. :ganz It was one sweet guitar and a great find from the original owner, which made it even more special. Still, I always seem to find myself in between a rock and a hard place at the worst times and I ended up selling it. :dang I'd like to get it back from its current owner but as I understand it, he quite likes it. Soooo... doubtful that'll happen in the near future. Still, I think its found a good home. Oh well, live and learn... :wah

1964 ES-345 custom order white

New member

Well-known member

Administrator

Banned

Active member

Well-known member

Administrator

New member

New member

Well-known member

Administrator

Well-known member

New member

New member

Well-known member

New member

New member

Les Paul Forum Co-Owner

New member

New member