1958 Gibson ES-225 T Vintage Hollowbody Guitar Sunburst Collector-Grade w/ Case

Up for sale, a 1958 Gibson ES-225T in collector-grade condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original faux alligator chipboard case. This ES-225 is extremely clean, 100% original save for an upgraded hand-carved bone nut.One of the cooler and oft overlooked Gibson models of the '50s, the ES-225T is the single florentine cutaway precursor to the ES-330T (the model which would replace it in Gibson's lineup in late '59). With its fully hollow maple body and Honduran mahogany neck, this 225 is a very resonant and sweet-sounding instrument, retaining its original centrally-located P-90 pickup which meters at 7.94k ohms. The pickup has the midrange growl and glassy, dynamic quality of this hotly wound Gibson design, delivering rich bark when digging in hard. The pickup cleans up nicely for complex chord work with a lighter touch or by backing off the Volume knob a hair, and the body delivers both the snappy note attack of maple as a tonewood and the airy warmth of the thinline hollowbody construction. The guitar is featherweight at 4lbs 15oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with roundwound 11-49 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.The one-piece Honduran mahogany neck has a profile carve more in-line with slightly less chunky shapes from 1959 (presumably this 225 was made late in the '58 model year) with just enough substance and roundness at the nut and a gentle increase in overall heft further up the fretboard, measuring .860" deep at the 1st fret and .965" at the 9th. The bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard features dot inlay and the original medium jumbo frets. First introduced across Gibson's lineup in '58, the medium jumbo fretwire size was a welcome enhancement over the very slender "banjo" fretwire from previous years. The frets have good meat and well-rounded crowns, showing light wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-5, playing cleanly up the 24 3/4" scale with a straight neck and responsive, optimally adjusted truss rod. The nut measures 1 11/16" in width, upgraded to a hand-carved piece of bone for optimal note clarity and sustain. The headstock features the original Kluson Deluxe single line tuning machines with original white buttons, and these tuners turn very smoothly with clean plating.All of the electronics are original and function as intended, with the original P-90 pickup wired to Master Volume and Tone knobs. The harness also features a Bumblebee tone cap visible through the treble-side F hole. The ES-225T factory stamp is bold and clean, along with the T-prefix factory order number which dates to 1958. Hardware includes the original trapeze/wraparound bridge design with bright nickel plating. The original plastics are all intact and near mint including the dogear pickup cover, gold bonnet knobs, and wide bevel four-ply pickguard.The original nitro lacquer three-tone Sunburst finish is vibrant and unfaded, with extremely faint and fine lacquer checking on top. The guitar exhibits an area of light buckle wear central to the lower bout on the back, a touch of finish speckling in the clear coat on the back adjacent to the forward strap button (likely from prolonged contact with a strap), and just a few additional tiny nicks and scuffs on the body as a whole. The nitro gloss on the neck profile is smooth and clean, with just a couple small, shallow chips and extremely faint, tight lacquer checking. A strap button has also been added to the neck heel.The original chipboard case with faux alligator exterior is included, retaining the original molded handle and functional latches.