This Barney Kessel Custom ’burst is in exceptional condition, with a body that practically gleams. The only mod is one exchanged tuner and patches of old screw holes on the headstock.
This 1968 Gibson Barney Kessel Custom is a top-of-the-line example. It’s the higher-end counterpart to the Barney Kessel Regular, both built from 1961 until 1974. They followed a trio of Barney Kessel signatures that Kay sold between 1957 and 1960.
Barney Kessels often became parts donors, with their hardware, tuners, and pickups (original PAFs, Pat. No., and T-Tops, depending on the year) being stripped and sold separately.
Each Gibson model has a hulking 17"-wide and nearly 3"-deep body, with two humbuckers, a Tune-o-matic bridge, and a bound rosewood fretboard. The attractive Barney Kessel tailpiece is also common to both, while the controls will be familiar to any Gibson player: two volume pots, two tone knobs, and a 3-way selector switch. The dual Florentine cutaways—a design first seen in these Barney Kessels and later used in Gibson’s Trini Lopez signature—cut a striking silhouette.
Of the two Gibson Kessels, the Custom alone is dressed to the nines, swapping in gold-plated hardware for the Regular’s nickel, and bowtie inlays for the Regular’s fretboard parallelograms. There’s also a 3-piece maple neck with two pinstripe-thin mahogany strips taking over for the Regular’s solid mahogany. And the Custom tops off its outfit with a pearl headstock inlay in the shape of a musical note.
Such features were a huge upgrade to the art-deco stylings and Kleenex-box pickups of Kay’s Kessel signatures, which Kessel snubbed, reportedly saying, “I don’t play that Kay. It’s a terrible guitar!” Interestingly, he often chose not to play these Gibson signatures, either, instead typically using his favorite 1940s ES-350.
When they were introduced, Gibson’s Barney Kessel Custom model had a list price of $599, while the Regular’s was $399. Both sold in respectable if not incredible numbers, with sales peaking in 1968. However, the following decades were not particularly kind to the guitars. As the vintage market took off for Les Pauls, SGs, and other classic Gibsons, Barney Kessels often became parts donors, with their hardware, tuners, and pickups (original PAFs, Pat. No., and T-Tops, depending on the year) being stripped and sold separately. You can still find Barney Kessel husks on the market—project guitars looking for a new owner to rebuild them. And many of the complete Barney Kessels you’ll find for sale have been rebuilt.
A rear view indicates this Kessel was not heavily played. There’s no belt rash, finish wear, or other marks, and the new-guitar tags typically indicate that the previous owner or owners had a collector’s sensibility.
That’s what makes the particular Barney Kessel Custom featured here so special. It’s nearly all original, with Patent pickups intact and even its Custom-stamped hang tags. The only modification is one replaced tuner (along with a couple patched screw holes from a previous replacement). The cherry in its cherry sunburst finish is one of the most vibrant we’ve ever seen, and the condition of the finish overall is in impeccable vintage shape.
This Custom model is classic Gibson, with its 4-knob control array, 3-way toggle, and Pat. No. pickups. Unique flourishes include the special Barney Kessel tailpiece and bow-tie fretboard inlays.
Because of the wide array of Barney Kessel Customs on the used market—many with non-original parts—you can find them across the price spectrum, from about $3,000 on the low-end to $12,000 or more on the high. This Custom, listed on Reverb now by Nationwide Guitars, fittingly lands on the higher end, with an asking price of $8,999.
Sources for this article include Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars by George Gruhn and Walter Carter, American Guitars: An Illustrated History by Tom Wheeler, Reverb’s “Player Profile: The Hard-Swinging Barney Kessel” by Greg Cooper, Premier Guitar’s “Gibson and Barney Kessel” by Jim Bastian, and Reverb listings from Retrofret Vintage Guitars and Vintage Correct Parts.
This late-’50s solidbody is elegant yet practical, with its 1-piece, bolt-on rosewood neck, deep pickup controls, and classy gold hardware.
While everyone knows how Gibson answered Fender, they weren’t the only notable East Coast brand at the time. Epiphone was a heavy hitter, too, and there were other significant labels, including the company behind this month’s guitar, New York City-based Premier. That guitar and amp seller was a division of the Peter Sorkin Music Company, and its guitars were made by Sorkin’s manufacturing subsidiary, Multivox. Premier was especially notable for its “scroll” electrics, like this month’s exceptionally well-preserved E-723.
This guitar’s belt rash proves it’s seen action during its more than half-century.
Photo by Lynn Wheelwright
With pots dated late 1958, this E-723 was originally offered in or around 1959 and is an early example of the scroll shape that Premier would continue to use throughout the 1960s. Check out that distinctive upper horn: traditional yet daring, almost like a mandolin’s curves transferred to one solid piece of mahogany. And, well, that’s exactly what it is.
Like Gibson’s urn headstocks, this Premier’s torch inset has a distinctly Greco-Roman look.
Photo by Lynn Wheelwright
Premier’s owner Sorkin had recently bought the Strad-O-Lin mandolin company, and he put its equipment to work on these solidbodies. In many ways, they’re a marriage of old-world craftsmanship and rock ’n’ roll design. The neck is one carved piece of Brazilian rosewood, yet bolt-on. The gold hardware and trapeze bridge could complement any jazz box, yet they sit next to a large crushed-plastic pickguard that’s almost garish. All those knobs and switches are functional and funky. The small black knobs include a volume and tone control for each of the three single-coil pickups, which get their own on/off toggles as well. The large gold dial is a master volume control.
Premier’s owner Sorkin had recently bought the Strad-O-Lin mandolin company, and he put its equipment to work on these solidbodies.
Premier’s scroll guitars were made in a variety of pickup configurations, model names, and finishes, and were originally sold for anywhere from $145.50 to $230.00 and more, depending on the number of pickups and factory upgrades. Nowadays, prices range from about $1,500 at the low end (for a single-pickup model in fair condition) to $5,000 or more.
The dials on the left side of the guitar are volume and tone controls for the pickups. The toggles at right are on/off switches, and the large dial is a master volume.
Photo by Lynn Wheelwright
This particular Premier is one of the high-end models, with three pickups and a Ruby finish that has faded over time. Guitar seller, tech, builder, historian, and writer Lynn Wheelwright has owned it for the last 30 years and says it is one of “only two other examples of this top-of-the-line, solid-carved, 3-pickup beauty” he’s found in decades of looking for guitars. He’s selling it for $4,899 through his Pro Musician Outlet Reverb shop.
Sources for this column include Vintage Guitar’s February 2020 article “Boulevard of Broken Dreams: The Premier E-723” and Reverb listings from Retrofret Vintage Guitars, The Guitar Broker, and Rivington Guitars.
This month's featured 6129 Silver Jet does not pose such an issue. The guitar has only had one very active owner. According to Reverb seller Guitars West, based in Southern California, it was that owner's only guitar. He bought it new in 1956, likely for around $255. Then, from rockabilly club nights to bar mitzvahs, it traveled with him to every gig. With scuffs and buckle rash, the guitar has the play wear to prove it, while the binding—having never been enclosed for long—is intact.
From rockabilly gigs to bar mitzvahs, this 1956 Gretsch Sparkle Jet has led a long and active life, which has kept its binding and hardware intact.
One can imagine these DeArmond pickups roaring through a Dual Twin amp and rising above the din of a honky-tonk—that sparkle top gleaming like a misplaced disco ball, its silver sparkle aging to a golden patina. At some point, the guitar lost its pickguard. At another, its neck joint was reset. (Wood glue deterioration is another ailment common to old Gretsches.)
By 1958, those beautiful block inlays would become the more common thumbprint style and the single-coils were swapped for Filter'Trons
But it's easy to see what made that first owner fall so hard, as, pickguard aside, this Jet still has its original parts. Notice the knobs' straight-arrow position indicators, only found on Gretsches from '55 to '57. Its Melita bridge was one of the first to offer individual string-length adjustments. This guitar has the classic Gretsch control set: pickup selector on the upper bout, master volume by the cutaway, master tone in the lowest spot, and neck and bridge pickup volume dials. By 1958, those beautiful block inlays would become the more common thumbprint style and the single-coils were swapped for Filter'Trons. In the early '60s, Gretsch grounded this design by making all Jets double-cutaways.
Among this instrument's signs of age are belt rash and a neck-joint reset, which is common for '50s Gretsches.
A revived Gretsch brand reintroduced the single-cut 6129 in 1989. The late Chris Cornell played a gold sparkle reissue in Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" video, sparking a Sparkle Jet renaissance. For 30 years, they've been continuously available in one form or another, including 2021's G6129T-89 Vintage Select Sparkle Jet—an exacting recreation of the now-vintage '89 reissue.
Under those pickups covers are a set of single-coils. Filter'Trons became standard in 1958. The Melita bridge was among the first to offer individual string-length adjustment.
Original '50s Silver Jets in pristine condition are rare—for the reasons mentioned above—but recent examples have sold north of $10,000. This particular Jet, having quite a few miles on it but still plenty of fuel, is currently listed for $6,895.
Sources for this article include Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars by George Gruhn, American Guitars: An Illustrated History by Tom Wheeler, and the Reverb article "What's So Special About the Gretsch Sparkle Jet?" by Ron Denny.