Can you please let me know what you think about this ES-345

Hi

I've been offered this 1962 345 for sale, good price but a bit of a journey for me to get to see it.

Before I waste my time, interested in people's opinions on the pictures. It's apparently all original apart from the bridge, varitone disk and the wiring loom. Also the back of the neck/headstock has been refinished.

There's something bugging me about it but I can't put my finger on it, I think I may be getting paranoid in my old age but would be good to get people's opinion.

I guess the thing in particular that's worrying me is the finish on the top end of the fretboard and the inlay there.

Thanks in advance

https://imgur.com/zbW41lC

https://imgur.com/cYMtFKX

https://imgur.com/JsnnroK

https://imgur.com/RgdsRTa

https://imgur.com/L1evCBN

https://imgur.com/M0Jp3Rg

https://imgur.com/6Ejek1n

https://imgur.com/pWrHvcQ

https://imgur.com/XFmy8PJ

https://imgur.com/1zsmF2P

pjisaacs said:

Hi

It's apparently all original apart from the bridge, varitone disk and the wiring loom. Also the back of the neck/headstock has been refinished.

Click to expand...

Not sure, but to me it looks like it had a refret without preserving the nibs. Might be wrong though.

Your concern about the body end at the neck pickup could possible be that the fingerboard might have been removed to plane a rise. That might also explain why the neck was refinished.

It does look a little untidy with some of the finish apparently removed or damaged. It is hard to tell exactly what, if anything, has gone on. For the rest, it looks fine.

I guess an in-hand appraisal is required.

(In my opinion...)

NON ISSUES:

It looks like this guitar got played - a bunch. And as a result, it may have several non-original or repaired parts.

The refret isn't a big deal - unless it was done poorly. No nibs on a vintage Gibson? Meh.

The neck PAF looks (is almost certainly) a 1962 Gibson PAF pickup. (Is there a picture of the bridge pickup?)

I don't see anything to indicate that the fretboard has been off.

POSSIBLE ISSUES:

The tuners may not be original - but that's a guess. They don't appear to have the same wear and tear as the rest of the guitar. It could be that they are original but the guitar had Grovers or other tuners for part of its life. Now the originals or a nice set of repro tuners is on.

The fact that the harness (wiring loom) is not original would worry me on any ES 345 or 355, but at worst it probably means that the bridge pickup has been monkeyed with or is not original. This could be a nice haggling point and you could get a great bargain on the guitar. (I like the Varitone!)

Pictures are always misleading, but It looks like the top portion of the back of the body of the guitar has been refinished or touched up. I cannot definitively tell from the pictures. This may be part of the neck/headstock refinishing issues.

I cannot tell if the entire neck has been refinished (black?) or just the headstock/first fret area of the neck. Having the entire neck refinished isn't all that unusual, especially on a guitar that was played regularly. (The front of the headstock looks fine.)

ACTUAL ISSUES
The back of neck / headstock indicates that it was broken, which isn't uncommon. It does affect the price - by a reduction of 20%-30% from a clean example. You could take the truss rod cover off or black light the back and possibly see indications of a headstock repair. If the neck was refinished because it was played so much that the original finish was worn off, then I guess it's a partial refinish and also dramatically reduced the price by about the same amount.

The bass side inlay on the 21st fret has (almost certainly) been replaced. (Not a big $$ issue.)

The binding at the end of the fretboard where it joins the body appears to be new. (Not a big $$ issue.)

A MILDLY INTERESTING CURIOSITY:
This ES345 is one of the 1961/62s that has the double parallelogram inlay at the first fret. This was the only time that this happened (with any regularity) as some from 1961/62 have it and some don't. It's original and mildly unusual and doesn't add any value. 1959-1960 and 1963-on don't have this first fret inlay.

I'll not offer my opinion on value unless asked by pjisaacs - but I do like ES345s and this one looks fun.

Pass

I wrote a detailed response to this thread. It has not appeared yet, but to summarize my thoughts, it looks like a fun guitar. At the right price I'd grab it and have a ball.

Perhaps my initial lengthy post will appear in the next few days. (The phenomenon of delayed postings have happened to me several times in the past month...hmmm...)

Just by looking at the photos, it looks nice. All that paperwork is sweet too.
If you can get it for a reasonable price considering the parts changes and the neck/headstock refinish....then why not?

AND...one fun fact: This ES345 has the first fret inlay which is found occasionally on some 1961 (and apparently some 1962) ES345s. Neat!

Here's a '59/60:


Here's a '61:

Good eye! I didn't notice that :salude

brandtkronholm said:

I wrote a detailed response to this thread. It has not appeared yet...Perhaps my initial lengthy post will appear in the next few days. (The phenomenon of delayed postings have happened to me several times in the past month...hmmm...)

Click to expand...

Aha! There it is! See post #4.

Thanks for all the advice, really appreciate it.

The seller has sent me pictures with the guitar oiled and the fretboard looks much, much nicer.

Have a couple of other guitars to look at but it's in the running now

Have a good weekend all