1953 Gibson ES-295

Today’s featured instrument in our Reverb Rarities series comes from a singular time and place in the annals of vintage guitar history: the 1950s at the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This decade saw the birth and early evolution of the Les Paul, and the advent of the thinline hollowbody electric guitar epitomised by the ES-335. In the realm of full-depth hollowbody guitars, though, Gibson was just as forward-thinking, releasing guitars such as the ES-295.

Often associated with Scotty Moore as ‘The Guitar that Changed the World’, the story goes that the initial inspiration for the ES-295 came from Les Paul himself who had Gibson paint an ES-175 gold as a gift for an ailing WWII veteran. By the time of the Les Paul model’s development, Gibson opted to build on the concept with a souped-up hollowbody and all the latest tech to serve as a counterpart to its inaugural solidbody effort.

This featured 295 comes from 12th Fret Guitar Sales of Cross In Hand, East Sussex. This ’53 edition is all original and, like gold-finished Gibsons of this era, exhibits fine checking throughout the body.

To find the full listing, head to: http://bit.ly/ReverbGibson295

Dan Orkin is director of content at Reverb, a leading website and app for buying and selling new, used and vintage music gear. A go-to for gear history, sales trends and pricing data, Dan edits the Reverb Price Guide and leads the Reverb team that produces daily videos and articles