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Gibson Es Artist 1980, RedBurst, Customized Vibrato Tailpiece, Solid Brass Rings
Estimated price for orientation: 2 995 $
Category: Other Vintage Guitars
Class:
Description Brand: Gibson Exact Year: 1980 Model: ES Artist MPN: 81400057 Body Type: 335 semi-hollow body String Configuration: 6 String Dexterity: Right-Handed Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
From my personal collection. The ES Artist 335 was the best electric guitar ever made. The Moog electronics give a great variety of sounds. The compressor is very funky. The expander and treble boost are also very interesting (just make sure you cut the volume in half before using this feature as it will double the volume, and possibly "blow your socks off").This particular guitar has a customized Bigsby gold vibrato tailpiece system which works very well and is easily converted back to a standard stop tailpiece setup if one so desires. (The original TP6 fine tuning tailpiece was an experimental item from Gibson which I personally never cared for and I always removed them on all my ES Artists and replaced them with the stop tailpiece &/or a vibrato setup (I owned about 6 ES Artists, back in the day). On this particular guitar the strings going to and from the Bigsby gently slide over the top of the gold stop tailpiece which is securely held in the original gold posts. Very Ingenius, and works beautifully. (I usually just tap the vibrato arm for a nice effect & it thus stays in tune nicely (vs "dive-bombing the whammy bar" (which i guess is better done at the end of a tune usually).The Bigsby has a specially balanced spring (which I specifically selected from my large collection of various vibrato springs, (which I found from rummaging in various old hardware stores). I liked this one so much that I had it gold plated! (how's that for a vibrato fetish? This guitar had an old acetate pickguard which decomposed over time and stained only the adjacent pickup covers and brass pickup rings (an upgrade which gives excellent sustain and tone). This can be readily re-polished with brass cleaner, but personally I like the way it looks as it is now. It is more unusual and gives something more to look at, and is quite funky and fun. (The original black pickup rings are included in the case compartmentThe brown/pink top of the line Gibson case has 2 red miniature ES335 jewel pins attached for identification purposes (see photos). The acetate pickguard did not at all affect the plush interior here, as it sometimes does. Nor are any of the other brass and gold parts affected.There is a slight darkening of the top just under the current non-acetate pickguard which cannot be seen.The price has been reduced here because of this slight blemish but I think it is actually a blessing in disguise and I like it the way it looks, - "something different" - but it does reduce the price for the prospective lucky buyer.Also included in the case compartment are the original interchangeable barrel knobs with the special plus&minus numbering system (the current gold top hat knobs are also original Gibson and fit and look great), and also an original Gibson brochure on all the ES Artist info. Plus a fresh set of gold maxima strings (10's).This guitar also features the original Gibson tuning machines with the flip-out crank style tuning buttons, which in my opinion is one of the greatest ever ingenius inventions of mankind. Enjoy,Ozzy
Description
| Brand: | Gibson | Exact Year: | 1980 |
| Model: | ES Artist | MPN: | 81400057 |
| Body Type: | 335 semi-hollow body | String Configuration: | 6 String |
| Dexterity: | Right-Handed | Country/Region of Manufacture: | United States |
From my personal collection. The ES Artist 335 was the best electric guitar ever made. The Moog electronics give a great variety of sounds. The compressor is very funky. The expander and treble boost are also very interesting (just make sure you cut the volume in half before using this feature as it will double the volume, and possibly "blow your socks off").This particular guitar has a customized Bigsby gold vibrato tailpiece system which works very well and is easily converted back to a standard stop tailpiece setup if one so desires. (The original TP6 fine tuning tailpiece was an experimental item from Gibson which I personally never cared for and I always removed them on all my ES Artists and replaced them with the stop tailpiece &/or a vibrato setup (I owned about 6 ES Artists, back in the day). On this particular guitar the strings going to and from the Bigsby gently slide over the top of the gold stop tailpiece which is securely held in the original gold posts. Very Ingenius, and works beautifully. (I usually just tap the vibrato arm for a nice effect & it thus stays in tune nicely (vs "dive-bombing the whammy bar" (which i guess is better done at the end of a tune usually).The Bigsby has a specially balanced spring (which I specifically selected from my large collection of various vibrato springs, (which I found from rummaging in various old hardware stores). I liked this one so much that I had it gold plated! (how's that for a vibrato fetish? This guitar had an old acetate pickguard which decomposed over time and stained only the adjacent pickup covers and brass pickup rings (an upgrade which gives excellent sustain and tone). This can be readily re-polished with brass cleaner, but personally I like the way it looks as it is now. It is more unusual and gives something more to look at, and is quite funky and fun. (The original black pickup rings are included in the case compartmentThe brown/pink top of the line Gibson case has 2 red miniature ES335 jewel pins attached for identification purposes (see photos). The acetate pickguard did not at all affect the plush interior here, as it sometimes does. Nor are any of the other brass and gold parts affected.There is a slight darkening of the top just under the current non-acetate pickguard which cannot be seen.The price has been reduced here because of this slight blemish but I think it is actually a blessing in disguise and I like it the way it looks, - "something different" - but it does reduce the price for the prospective lucky buyer.Also included in the case compartment are the original interchangeable barrel knobs with the special plus&minus numbering system (the current gold top hat knobs are also original Gibson and fit and look great), and also an original Gibson brochure on all the ES Artist info. Plus a fresh set of gold maxima strings (10's).This guitar also features the original Gibson tuning machines with the flip-out crank style tuning buttons, which in my opinion is one of the greatest ever ingenius inventions of mankind. Enjoy,Ozzy