1962 GIBSON ES-355, STEREO, PAF, SIDEWAYS VIBROLA, EXCEPTIONAL, 335, 345 

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Up for auction is an all original 1962 Gibson ES-355 with the Stereo Varitone option.  The guitar is equipped with the Sideways Vibrola unit,  Patent Pending Grover Rotomatic tuners, 1 PAF pickup, 1 very early Patent Number pickup, and ABR-1(with nylon saddles and no hold down wire).  The guitar has the serial number impressed into the headstock(hard to see in the picture), so I believe it to be a very late 1962 model.  As the pictures show the guitar is in unbelievable conditon, and shows almost no wear.  No solder joints have ever been broken in this guitar.  The finish is still vibrant, unfaded, and slick as glass.  The only wear to the finish are 2 small dings(smaller than a pin head) on the face of the guitar, some very faint scuffs on the back(probably from plastic shirt buttons), and 2-3 tiny marks on the neck(from leaning against an amplifier).  The gold hardware is also in excellent condition, showing only very light wear.  The guitar unfortunately has had the typical Gibson headtock repair.  The repair is very old, and I believe it was done when the guitar was fairly new due to the outstanding condition of the rest of the guitar.  It is a very solid repair, and absolutely no re-finishing has been done on the guitar.  The guitar is stable, stays in tune, and plays excellent.   It is set up with DR Hi-Beam 10-46 strings. The repair looks worse in the pictures than it does in person.   I replaced the nylon saddles in the ABR-1 with new ones, 5 of the originals will be included with the guitar(one was misplaced over the years).  Other than that the guitar is all original down to the screws.  I have also provided pictures of the underside of the M-69 pickup rings showing all of the correct part numbers.  I do not have the pickguard(the previous owner misplaced it), but the original screws are in the holes where it mounts.  All of the original potentiometers are scratch free, and the Varitone switch works correctly.  The pickups in this guitar sound absolutely amazing, they scream!!  The frets are also original and have about 85% of their life remaining.  The guitar includes it's original case, also in excellent condition.  If the guitar didn't have the headstock repair I would rate it's condition at a 9.7 out of 10.  Dont miss this opportunity to own a spotless clean piece from Gibson's Golden Years.  I only ship to the continental United States.  Shipping will be via FedEx fully insured, and the guitar will be shipped within 2 business days of recieving cleared payment.  Feel free to message me with any questions, and I can provide any additional pictures that you'd like.

The serial number for the guitar is 100705.  It is stamped into the headstock, and also written on the orange tag inside of the guitar.

I have recieved several questions about  the guitar, so I hope the following information helps.  The neck width is 1 5/8" at the nut, measured with a machinists ruler.  The guitar has the typical wider, flatter neck found on the early 60's ES-355's.  All of the potentiometers work correctly and are noise/scratch free.  The varitone control also works correctly.  This guitar is spotless clean and has always been waxed with Gerlitz Number 1 instrument grade carnuba wax.  The ebony fretboard is clean, crack-free and has been conditioned on a regular basis with mineral oil.  The frets are clean and in excellent condition, only showing light play wear.  The setup is middle of the road, not too high or too low, and the guitar is setup/intonated with a fresh set of DR Hi-Beam 10-46 strings.  The studs for the ABR-1 bridge are as tight as when the guitar left the factory, and have never been repaired. This is not the typical Ebay guitar that is listed as clean, and arrives needing lots of work.  I am very meticulous and keep all of my instruments setup well and spotless clean.  The pictures just don't do this guitar justice, it looks even better in person.  Bid with confidence and good luck!!