1959 Gibson ES-355 Mono Red, Very Good, Original Hard, Call For Price!

ES-355 monos were low volume sellers (less than 200 sold in 59, less than 130 in 1960) and therefore the build date (FON) and the shipping date (serial number) were often months apart. This 355 has a build date of March or April of 1959 but didn't ship until the first week of January 1960. Call it a 60, call it a 59 your choice. The guitar is original except that it was sent back to the factory in 1980 for a re-fret and possibly a neck re-set (there is evidence of some light overspray at the heel). The owner says no-just some wear that was oversprayed. When it came back to the original owner-unbeknownst to him) the nice folks at Gibson did him a favor and swapped out those old PAFs for a brand new set of Tim Shaws. Lucky guy. He didn't realize until years later. So, the Shaws are still in it but I have plenty of PAFs if you want to spend some extra money to make it right. The guitar is in very good (8/10) condition. There is some neck wear on the treble side, some buckle wear and some pick wear next to the neck pickup on the treble side. Color is that early red watermelon fade. Neck is chunky .86" at the first and .96" at the 12th-definitely early 59 territory although the nut is 1 5/8" which is not unusual for a 355. Long guard mono 355's are really desirable and this will get you into one for thousands less than a collector grade one. Add the PAFs later or not. More photos on the way. I will consider selling the husk (neck and body) only. I can always use the parts.