The justjazzguitars collection of vintage and rare jazz archtops.

Gibson ES Artist.

Very, very Rare.

If you know the ES Artist, then let me say straight-away,  this one is all original, everything works exactly as it should, and it is in outstanding condition.    I bought it from its original owner and it has only been lightly played on and off over the years and kept and stored properly when it was put to one side.

If you don't know the ES Artist, it is essentially a top of the range ES 335, without f-holes (as Lucille), with on-board sophisticated Moog designed active electronics giving "Expansion", "Compression" and "Bright" effects in any combination with either or both pickups via Master Volume, Master Bass and Master Treble controls.   There are many other detailed differences from the 335 range which are listed below.

So here's the bit that matters  -  it plays like a dream.    You can go to Mars and back on this guitar, so no surprise that many top performers have used these in their time.     Pure Steely Dan!

Condition:

This lovely guitar is from '79/80 and only a handful were made.    Very few have survived!

The Vintage Sunburst nitro is all original and still brilliant in colour with a deep lustrous finish all over.    Choice woods have been used for this guitar the colour of the neck and headstock are amazing  -  it looks almost like tortoiseshell.    The finished has aged yellow on the binding and the inlays on the headstock are really stunning.    There are one or two minor chips in the finish and on the binding, and a few minor abrasions on the back , with a larger chip hidden beneath the pickguard but all of these are really insignificant.    Overall the guitar looks stunning.     As is customary with Gibsons of this age, the gold is wearing thin on the pickups, bridge and tailpiece.

The electronics all work correctly.    Feedback is not an issue with this model but the Compression circuit is just a little "hissy" if you get too close to the amp.    In the literature with this model, Gibson advise rolling back the volume when you select Compression which overcomes this but also because the compression gives a massive volume boost.    A copy of the owners manual comes with the guitar.

Set up is a very personal thing but this is set-up low and fast - no problems here.   There is a little fret wear in the bluesy regions but it doesn't affect playing.   

Specification:

• 5 piece laminated Maple neck
• Bound ebony fingerboard with offset dot markers
• 22 nickel silver low profile frets
• 24.75" scale
• Brass Nut
• Gold Plated Schaller enclosed Tuners (original, but not speed tuners on this one)
• Ornate ES Mother of Pearl logo on the headstock
• Arched, highly figured Maple top, with Maple back and sides with multiple binding
• ES Artist humbucking pickups
• Tune-o-matic bridge on "sound sisters"
• Exclusive Gibson TP-6 fine tuning tailpiece
• All hardware gold plated
• ES Artist, Moog active electronics