{"product_id":"gibson-custom-shop-limited-edition-1959-es-345-varitone-bigsby-heavy-aged-ebony","title":"Gibson Custom Shop Limited Edition 1959 ES-345 Varitone Bigsby Heavy Aged - Ebony","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere are vintage guitar combinations so rare, so specific, and so historically significant that even seasoned collectors go entire careers without encountering one in the wild. A 1959 Gibson ES-345 finished in Ebony, with a factory-installed Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and Varitone circuit — that is precisely such a combination. The Interstellar Tone Traveler is honored to present this instrument as part of the 2026 Gibson Custom Shop Limited Edition Collection — a 25-guitar showcase of the very best Nashville has to offer, each model strictly limited to 100 units worldwide due to the intricate, time-intensive finishing and aging work required to bring them to life. The Murphy Lab Heavy Aged treatment on this ES-345 exemplifies exactly why this collection exists: deep lacquer checking, worn edges, oxidized hardware, and playing marks applied by hand to create the unmistakable character of an instrument that has lived a full musical life across six decades. In Ebony, under aged gold hardware, the effect is nothing short of devastating.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 1959 ES-345 platform is one of Gibson's most tonally sophisticated designs — not merely an ES-335 with gold hardware, but a genuinely distinct instrument defined by its mono Varitone circuit, a 6-position rotary switch using inductors to sculpt dramatically different frequency characters from bypass to progressively filtered tones that range from full and open to dark and smoky. Paired with Custombucker Alnico 3 pickups in both positions — voiced for the airy bloom, warm midrange, and dynamic sensitivity of late-1950s Patent Applied For humbuckers — the ES-345's tonal palette is genuinely encyclopedic, covering smoky jazz, biting blues, and everything between. The Authentic 1959 neck profile on a long tenon, hide glue mahogany neck, paper-in-oil capacitors, ABR-1 bridge with nickel-plated brass saddles, Kluson Deluxe tuners, amber Catalin switch tip, and Split Parallelogram mother-of-pearl inlays are all period-correct and uncompromising. The Bigsby adds one final dimension of expressiveness — a push or pull of the bar transforms chords and leads with a subtle, musical shimmer that no fixed tailpiece can replicate. Arrives in Brown\/Pink Lifton Reissue 5-Latch case with Certificate of Authenticity. One hundred exist. This is one of them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eModel: \u003c\/b\u003eCS Limited Edition\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e1959 ES-345 Varitone Bigsby, Heavy Aged\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBody Construction:\u003c\/b\u003e Semi-Hollow\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBody:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3-Ply Maple\/Poplar\/Maple\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCenterblock:\u003c\/strong\u003e Solid Maple\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBody Finish:\u003c\/strong\u003e Murphy Lab Aged Nitrocellulose \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBody Binding:\u003c\/strong\u003e Multi-Ply\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNeck:\u003c\/b\u003e Mahogany\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFingerboard:\u003c\/b\u003e Rosewood\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFingerboard Inlay\/Headstock Inlay:\u003c\/b\u003e Split Parallelogram Mother of Pearl \/ Gibson Logo and Custom in Mother of Pearl\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eNut:\u003c\/b\u003e Nylon, 1.69\"\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNeck Profile:\u003c\/strong\u003e Authentic 1959\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNeck Joint:\u003c\/strong\u003e Long Tenon, Hide Glue Fit \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrets:\u003c\/strong\u003e Authentic Medium-Jumbo 22 \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTruss Rod:\u003c\/strong\u003e Authentic 1950s No-Tube\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRadius:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFingerboard Binding:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cream, Single Ply Royalite\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScale Length:\u003c\/strong\u003e 24.75\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBridge Pickup:\u003c\/strong\u003e Custombucker Alnico 3\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNeck Pickup:\u003c\/strong\u003e Custombucker Alnico 3\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eControls:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 Volume, 2 Tone, CTS 500K Audio Taper Potentiometers, Paper-in-Oil Capacitors with Varitone\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePickup Selector:\u003c\/b\u003e 3-Way Switchcraft\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eOutput Jack:\u003c\/b\u003e 1\/4\" Switchcraft\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBridge:\u003c\/strong\u003e ABR-1 (Nickel-Plated Brass Saddles)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTailpiece:\u003c\/strong\u003e Bigsby\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHardware Color:\u003c\/strong\u003e Aged Gold \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePickup Covers:\u003c\/strong\u003e  Authentic Profile Gold Plated Nickel Silver\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStrap Buttons:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gold \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSwitchwasher:\u003c\/b\u003e Silkscreened Cellulose Acetate Butyrate\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePickguard:\u003c\/b\u003e Laminated Cellulose Acetate Butyrate\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTruss Rod Cover: \u003c\/b\u003eAuthentic Stepped 2-Ply \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSwitch Tip:\u003c\/strong\u003e Amber Catalin \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTuning Machines:\u003c\/strong\u003e Kluson Deluxe \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMounting Rings:\u003c\/strong\u003e  M69 Cellulose Acetate Butyrate Medium and Tall \u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eControl Knobs:\u003c\/strong\u003e Gold Top Hats with Dial Pointers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCase:\u003c\/b\u003e Brown\/Pink Lifton Reissue 5-Latch Case\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eString Gauge:\u003c\/b\u003e .010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAccessories:\u003c\/strong\u003e COA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e 8obs 9oz\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gibson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52989712433336,"sku":"59ES34526LE23271","price":8999.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0888\/2795\/3336\/files\/GibsonA960361_001availableatInterStellarGuitars.jpg?v=1785270038","url":"https:\/\/www.interstellarguitars.com\/products\/gibson-custom-shop-limited-edition-1959-es-345-varitone-bigsby-heavy-aged-ebony","provider":"Interstellar Guitars","version":"1.0","type":"link"}