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Show off Your "First Rack" ES-345's

OKGuitar

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Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
938
OK, I'll start this thread. For those who don't know what a "first rack" 345 is, it is a term I credit to Gil Southworth that describes the very first 100 or so ES-345's built by Gibson in 1959. Although there are two or three earlier examples that surfaced last year from February of 59, the ones referred to as first rack have factory order numbers of S8537, S8538 and S8539 and date from April of 1959. It is likely that S8539 is earlier than the other two based on serial numbers from those racks. A rack is a usually 35 guitars, usually the same model built at the same time and wheeled around the facility to the various areas of the factory in an actual rack. The letter "S" denotes a start date for the build of 1959. The four digit numbers went from 100 to 9999 and back to 100 again. The letter "R would be 1960. The letter T is 1958 (alphabet backwards). The FON was discontinued in 1961. I have owned perhaps 12-14 of them. For a list of FONs and serial numbers of known first rack 345's go to my website (ES-335.com). I will be posting what I have later today (May 11). This is the first factory black ES-345. Short leg PAF, big neck, double white PAFs, small VT rout but not wax potted. Nice case with cover.

wscase2z.jpg
.
 

GuitarMikey

Active member
Joined
Mar 1, 2013
Messages
910
Thanks for starting us off Charlie. Couldn't think of a more qualified ES guy!
Here's my contribution. Spent its life in North Carolina. The original owner was from Raleigh and I purchased it from his daughter this past October and brought it to Charlotte.

Serial # A 29808
FON S8538 5

Huge neck and all the typical first rack feature minus the wax potting.
As you can see...double whites in the bridge and "reverse zebra" in the neck. Pickups are very hot.

Can't wait to see all the other guitars :salude






<a href="https://imgur.com/SmhcdD5"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/SmhcdD5.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

<a href="https://imgur.com/cy21gMH"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/cy21gMH.jpg" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
 

TomGuitar

Active member
Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,700
Serial Number A29656
FON S8539

This guitar has a double-white in the bridge position and a zebra in the neck. I bought it from the second owner, who bought it from his guitar teacher in 1961. It has that nice big neck typical of the era. Gibson shipping log shows an April 20, 1959 shipping date.

345_face.jpg


345_back.jpg


birdseye.jpg


controls.jpg


345TDN_angle.jpg
 
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F-Hole

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Sep 2, 2015
Messages
2,171
Not a 345, but definitely a "first rack".

Thus far, the only known black '59 335. I beleive it's also the only black guitar from this FON.

The FON is S8537, serial A31302. Ledger says it was dispatched 2nd October 1959. It's also designated black in the ledger. Has double black PAFs and the neck is full but not what I'd describe as huge.



Here's a pic of the typical "first rack" crude cavity.

 

OKGuitar

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Joined
Jan 20, 2011
Messages
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The three black first rack 345's I've had are all from S8538 and S8539, so you're probably correct that your black 335 from S8537 is the only one. It's also probably the only 335 in any of those racks. You might mention the fact that the ledger and the label both indicate ES-345 for your 335. If I'm remembering, it is scratched out and changed to 335. It's interesting that it doesn't have the huge neck. Every other guitar from these three racks that I've had (and I've had a lot of them) has the big neck. Your black 335 is one of the coolest guitars on Earth. Your red one is right there as well. Oh, and the blonde.
 

treyrab

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2016
Messages
57
Not a 345, but definitely a "first rack".

The FON is S8537, serial A31302. Ledger says it was dispatched 2nd October 1959.

Thanks for sharing, that is simply amazing - Congrats! I have A31327 (ES-335), also dispatched on 2nd October 1959 per the ledger :hank
 
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treyrab

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Mar 21, 2016
Messages
57
Thank you for starting this thread - Such great and interesting info here! Here is my "First Rack" and some fun facts. Cheers everyone!


  • A29667
  • S8359-15
  • Neck: Double Black (7.8), Bridge: Zebra (9.4)
  • HUGE neck
  • Wax potted choke
  • Short bridge PAF leg
  • One-owner, came with brown case

G6jefLihzIyA4JBeCT_iBj1neaMMb4gjOH-IHc-Ce8IZe99TPYK40Su8E3LF3AmRyrnwQAZvv6a6jM4KB8YunbTPoaf2ojUPXDI4KixJid0DFBI1eS9LWiAIedl42SBxAHX-5lI5CH0=w2400


mjPDXGnwRLzCpAWagEN9zmvqktlzs5lTnSQrcSmaTocGERbJvikbOt2xs93pVnfvEyMgU5lCpWg3f-GWv8jf1LzmxWgapBJ1HmUSgSHzEhS5oRXjp-32jBSeYTRvzxSMhE4hvKzqL5A=w2400


OlNFAtUeA-w8MV37zHfTHmdEeJOf175_GLZGgJ-tJv8RtfgTJ6nKvj7eiEz7zInJnWOGVwly0AOeS6D-u0zZuAmmPL-UC6NbIYJpQsGloCRucBIO9uVzx7Fi7dqT9boi-jJYZIXV7Vg=w2400
 

Little Jake

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Joined
May 15, 2004
Messages
196
Here's a couple "first rack" 345s that I have in my possession at the moment: A29822 (S8538-34) and A29845 (S8537-14)

A29822
KKVAjdah.jpg





A29845
2sZaJ6Hh.jpg
 

Michael Minnis

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Joined
Feb 12, 2004
Messages
1,597
Due to my photo hosting challenges, below is a link to my first rack as represented on TomGuitar's great 3x5 site. It is #A29846, FON S8537 12. I received the guitar on 7/18/2009 from Mark's Guitar Loft. It has the typical "first rack" features, including the wax potted choke. Although the varitone has been removed along with the wax! Double blacks. 8.06 neck. 8.00 bridge. It's a great instrument that I have used on countless gigs. A guitar I never intend to sell.

http://www.es-335.net/345/A29846.html
 

GuitarMikey

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Mar 1, 2013
Messages
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Wonderful guitars :salude
If anyone knows of some gold PAF covers, I would be interested. I know it's a long shot but...
 

ourmaninthenorth

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Mar 28, 2009
Messages
7,119
Due to my photo hosting challenges, below is a link to my first rack as represented on TomGuitar's great 3x5 site. It is #A29846, FON S8537 12. I received the guitar on 7/18/2009 from Mark's Guitar Loft. It has the typical "first rack" features, including the wax potted choke. Although the varitone has been removed along with the wax! Double blacks. 8.06 neck. 8.00 bridge. It's a great instrument that I have used on countless gigs. A guitar I never intend to sell.

http://www.es-335.net/345/A29846.html

Hope you don't mind me helping you with your pictures Michael?

It's a beauty!!!

1959_ES_345_A29846_face.jpg


1959_ES_345_A29846_back.jpg


1959_ES_345_A29846_horn.jpg
 

TomGuitar

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Joined
Apr 28, 2005
Messages
3,700
Due to my photo hosting challenges, below is a link to my first rack as represented on TomGuitar's great 3x5 site. It is #A29846, FON S8537 12. I received the guitar on 7/18/2009 from Mark's Guitar Loft. It has the typical "first rack" features, including the wax potted choke. Although the varitone has been removed along with the wax! Double blacks. 8.06 neck. 8.00 bridge. It's a great instrument that I have used on countless gigs. A guitar I never intend to sell.

http://www.es-335.net/345/A29846.html

I can vouch for what a special instrument this guitar is. I spent several hours playing it in the company of fellow forum members LPNV59 at Mark’s shop. It’s a really special guitar.
 

DEVILBAT

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May 17, 2002
Messages
1,679
My 1959 ES-345. Extremely flamed and the ONLY 1959 cherry ES-345 with a factory Bigsby and no stud holes. Guitar also has a two piece back. The watermelon fade and flame is to die for.....fade to an almost Gretsch orange.

Z9hHvGx.jpg

Q5rZed5.jpg


Two piece back:
EEDn9Al.jpg


An amazing one of a kind early 1959 with burst knobs and black varitone ring. The tuners retain their gold and the tuner tips show absolutely no signs of deterioration or wear. The pickups are sealed double black PAFs.

I've owned it for well over 20 years; sold it to Vic for a short while and he was nice enough to give me first shot at it when he contemplated selling it.

I also own another cherry 1959 ES-345....that oe also has the black varitone ring and burst knobs; stop tailpiece with a removed bigsby. That one is also a killer.

Here is a link to photos that Tom H. was kind enough to post on his 335 page when I sent him photos and description of the Bigsby cherry 59 345 several years ago.
http://www.es-335.net/345/A31412.html

Here is my other cherry '59....A31038


 
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RAB

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Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
2,122
My 1959 ES-345. Extremely flamed and the ONLY 1959 cherry ES-345 with a factory Bigsby and no stud holes. Guitar also has a two piece back. The watermelon fade and flame is to die for.....fade to an almost Gretsch orange.

Z9hHvGx.jpg

Q5rZed5.jpg


Two piece back:
EEDn9Al.jpg


An amazing one of a kind early 1959 with burst knobs and black varitone ring. The tuners retain their gold and the tuner tips show absolutely no signs of deterioration or wear. The pickups are sealed double black PAFs.

I've owned it for well over 20 years; sold it to Vic for a short while and he was nice enough to give me first shot at it when he contemplated selling it.

I also own another cherry 1959 ES-345....that oe also has the black varitone ring and burst knobs; stop tailpiece with a removed bigsby. That one is also a killer.

Here is a link to photos that Tom H. was kind enough to post on his 335 page when I sent him photos and description of the Bigsby cherry 59 345 several years ago.
http://www.es-335.net/345/A31412.html

Here is my other cherry '59....A31038



Interesting, I owned cherry red ‘59 ES-345T S/N A31411. Stop tail, bought it in Hayward CA for $400 circa 1976. A monster player for sure!
 

EBW

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Jan 30, 2015
Messages
17
Possibly the first sunburst ES-345T shipped in '59. Per the ledger sheets I've seen, previous 345s shipped were either Natural or Cherry. Like others in this batch, dbl white bridge & zebra neck. Large neck and tone is unreal even with the Varitone intact, really like the OOP middle tones. Stereo output jack jumpered to mono by George Goumas, so no problem with mono cables!

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v79d5ssd1_HARDtVw_jodcAfLoNshbKTjEOHZhP6V_BTFar7MSP4qO2DuXIlJ1MgA50AzI-KkpHz4kihMbOobYpejutscGoYPiNAik5QuYtbYrp9AyFqCmshTyu5jumXzz2l_8C3MNmBMsQNNYlRU4aoU5goWrKG4uMyQw4SBuUUaSRujBYniCxsh-Svj9b1seQbd-Z2EDT9_BXUPZ-OQltUkrlSrzp2MAPHn2RHzImojdNk6zYM6xJeiRU26JRv_YN3uNQ0AsXISjq8237kmkLqSLu4PGFzGIWvx_1Y6OqkzRt7l_UCOq2u0fZPVkzrSgN0V6T1Aj6gcEiUrM09mYMcJkC6ZjPA0anW2xkPZd2Rxl3WShm4MrIcwKhWQSL4kuT5qJfOUBpYv7G3SwtEN0Tl1A_L41IxFdMjwo8AqZVtjMZiP3BX3C1MVDfhe88AQThp072QL1y0S0ec-sPLhNeR9nGSs5hXveo4bMCOPRZBODwwyKZjV0suzuFlwbgcEnzqWgatNdmtUT8FKHyp8dRbT6Wk-A972dxDjThO-mGggxjkzqjFt7QWISTiCtS66cpI-nKl2DpxmcGT9W-pjNU-4bPSDLnlqqarhXs=w681-h908-no



 
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OKGuitar

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Jan 20, 2011
Messages
938
There are four 345's (all sunburst) that predate yours. They have serial numbers A29131-A29134 shipped in February 1959 and all have 58 FONs.
Read about these "pre first rack" 345's here.
 
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