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

Incoming. Before you get sticker shock, consider this. An early mono ES-355 is the same guitar as a 59 335 (now pushing $60K) with an ebony board, better tuners and fancier appointments. Same pickups, harness, same big fat neck same thin top (if you're lucky to fina 59 335 with a thin top). Usually, a minor modification doesn't affect the value of a guitar much. But if you put a Bigsby on a factory stop tail guitar, the value drops by 15-25%. Put a Bigsby on a super rare stop tail ES-355 and you've committed a crime. You've taken away the single feature that makes the guitar worth $20,000 more than the normal 59 mono Bigsby 355 is worth. Now, a 59 355 mono is a rare and valuable guitar even with the Bigsby. An early 59 with a big neck and an uncut center block and a thin 58 top is kind of the holy grail of 355's. A stop tail version IS the holy grail of 355's. So this is a stop tail 59 355 but somebody did the unthinkable and added a Bigsby. It's set up as a stop tail and apparently has been for a very long time. There is considerable fade to the finish and no "Bigsby beard". The "Snakebite" holes are present in the top and four holes at the end pin. A factory Bigsby usually has a fifth hole for the ground wire. Aftermarket installations often omitted that hole. So, I'm pretty confident that this is a factory stop tail. The guitar is totally original except for the stop tail studs, nut and the frets. 58 date codes on the pots, bumblebee caps and uncut center block (rare on any 355). Different pickups were installed at some point-there are small holes inside the pickup routs (invisible with pickups installed).Correct PAFs have been reinstalled. Case is period correct brown 59 but not original.