February 2013
1962 Gibson ES-350T
Instead of a more common tobacco sunburst, this gorgeous ES-350T sports a cherry sunburst finish that still pops a half-century later. With its laminated maple top, back, and sides, the ES-350T was meant to be a more affordable version of the Byrdland. (The Byrdland originally cost $550, while the ES-350T was $395.) The rosewood fretboard with split parallelogram inlays and crown headstock inlay were carried over from the original full-sized ES-350.
Original price: $485 in 1962, plus $56 for hardshell case
Current estimated market value: $6,500
We’ve compiled an abbreviated gallery of all the vintage gear highlighted last year by Laun Braithwaite, Tim Mullally, and Dave Rogers of Dave’s Guitar Shop in their monthly column, Vintage Vault. To read the larger history of these instruments, visit the “Vintage Vault” section by clicking here or navigating under the Premier Blogs tab above for the full monty.
