Gibson ES-300 Hollow Body Guitar | Cremona Burst | USA | 1946

This vintage 1946 Gibson ES-300 is a killer vintage archtop with the looks, sounds and smells that make these old Gibson arch tops some of the most magical guitars around. This 17" wide, full scale cremona burst jazz box is a joy to play. Guitars that are great to play tend to get played a lot, and there is evidence of that with this example. This guitar has had its share of maintenance and repairs over the years. It has had a refret with medium jumbo frets, a replacement vintage tailpiece, replacement pick guard, an early neck reset, which has been over sprayed upon reinstallation. In the years just after WW2 it was not uncommon for Gibson to mix and match materials based on availability. This guitar has a mahogany neck, though its not uncommon to see examples of this year with a maple neck. The guitar features vintage kluson “no oil port” fully sealed tuners - which were one of the first iterations of the closed back Klusons, which began to appear in the mid 40s. A couple of these sit slightly askew of the tuner footprint and could be replacements, though they are period correct for this instrument. There is a long crack along the side of the instrument on the treble side waist. This has been repaired a long time ago and is structurally sound. Despite the repairs, the important parts of this guitar are all there. This is a solid, well maintained workhorse. There’s no feeling of frailty to the guitar and its easy to forget this is a legitimate golden age 40s Gibson archtop. There is no perceivable sinking of the top. The binding is in great shape as are the original Brazilian rosewood bridge and fretboard. With a thickness of 20.5mm at the first fret, the neck is thin enough to feel fast and comfortable for most players. The neck is straight with a good low action and a comfortable medium C profile with a reasonably wide nut width of 44.3mm. The cremona burst has aged into a beautiful amber patina. The tone of this guitar is warm and woody with nice P90 clarity. It is strung up with 11-50 flatwounds. This guitar comes with a sturdy Hiscox hard shell case in near new condition. This may be the perfect player grade 1940s Gibson jazz box. This is a classy instrument with tons of vintage appeal. A great vintage Gibson at a price you might never see again. ______________________________ Brand: Gibson Model: ES-300 Country: USA Year: 1946 Serial: N/A Case: HSC Body Colour: Cremona Burst Neck Colour: Burst Early Refinish Finish Type: Nitro Body Material: Maple Neck Material: Mahogany Fretboard Material: Brazilian Rosewood Scale Length: 25.5" Frets: 20 Fretboard Radius: 12” Action (Low E): 2mm Neck Profile: Med/Thick C Nut Width: 44.3mm 12th Fret Width: 54.1mm 1st Fret Depth: 20.5mm 12th Fret Depth: 23.3mm Pickups: P90 Resistance: 8.85k Electronics: Volume/Tone Knobs: Original Clear Pick Guard: Repro 5 ply Black Hardware: Nickel Weight: 2.78kg Mods/Repairs: Crack repair along waist - treble side, early neck reset and refinish back of neck, refret, reproduction pick guard, strap button at heel