2024 Gibson BB King "Rumble In the Jungle" 1974 ES-355 Murphy Lab #48 Walnut

This example is in excellent condition with all of the case candy, COA and OHSC shown. Weight 8lbs 14oz. Way back in 1974, B.B. King made the long journey to Africa to play at the Zaire 74 music festival, a worldwide musical event intended to promote the Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. His instrument of choice? A stunning walnut-colored ES-355, now immortalized via the Gibson Custom B.B. King Rumble in the Jungle 1974 ES-355. Starting with a resonant semi-hollow 3-ply maple/poplar body and a solid maple center block, this instrument boasts a pair of T-Type Custombucker Alnico V pickups that perfectly capture the clear, brilliant, and articulate tone of Gibson’s vintage T-Top pickups. Next, the Artist Profile 3-piece mahogany neck wears an elegant ebony fingerboard, topped with high-class Custom Block mother-of-pearl inlays. The premium aesthetic appointments continue with the refined multi-ply binding, gold Kluson Waffleback tuners, and an expressive gold Maestro Vibrola unit. You also get a traditional nitro lacquer finish that’s treated to the Murphy Lab’s Light Aging process, capturing the aesthetics of a road-worn touring instrument. Complemented by a comprehensive set of case candy to celebrate B.B.’s historic Zaire 74 performance, the Rumble in the Jungle 1974 ES-355 is truly a collector-grade masterwork, limited to a mere 100 models worldwide. And to borrow a phrase from the Rumble in the Jungle victor, Muhammad Ali himself, when you plug it in, you’re in for “one hell of a rumble.”