1959 Gibson ES-225 TDN Vintage Hollowbody Electric Guitar Blonde, Lifton Case

Up for sale, a 1959 Gibson ES-225TDN in excellent condition and in perfect working order, featuring its original gloss Blonde nitro lacquer finish and complete with a vintage Lifton hardshell case. Produced at the tail end of the 225s production run (it would be succeeded by the ES-330 in the same model year), only the sparingly few 225s produced from 1958-59 sported the much more player-friendly ABR-1 bridge like the example seen here.One of the cooler and oft overlooked Gibson models of the '50s, the 225TD is essentially a single florentine cutaway precursor to the ES-330. With its fully hollow maple body and Honduran mahogany neck, this 225 is a very resonant and sweet sounding instrument, outfitted with an era-correct pair of vintage Gibson P-90 pickups. The pickups have the midrange growl and glassy, dynamic quality of this hotly wound design, delivering rich bark when you dig in hard. The pickups clean 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 6lbs 3oz, professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar with roundwound 11-48 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.The one-piece Honduran mahogany neck has a round, baseball bat-worthy C-shaped neck profile carve with generous shoulder and ideal substance, measuring .915" deep at the 1st fret and .999" at the 9th. The bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard is an extremely dark and tight-grained cut of this hallowed tonewood, retaining the original late '50s Gibson fretwire which has  more width than the wire used earlier in the decade, featuring well-rounded crowns and showing virtually no wear. The guitar plays easily up the 24 3/4" scale, and the nylon nut measures 1 11/16" in width. The headstock retains the original truss rod cover which has been custom engraved, and the original Kluson Deluxe single line tuning machines with original white buttons are also intact. The gears turn smoothly and hold pitch well with a speckling of surface patina.The headstock does exhibit a professionally addressed W-shaped repaired fracture across the  joint, with black overspray across the back of the headstock and an added stinger. The repair is smooth to the touch, and the guitar holds full string tension with ease.All of the electronics function as intended, and the era-correct Gibson P-90 pair meters at 8.59k ohms in the bridge position and 8.56k at the neck. Each pickup has dedicated Volume and Tone knobs, and the harness features era-correct pots and genuine Bumblebee caps. The ES-225TDN ("N" for Natural) factory stamp is bold and clean, visible through the F hole. Hardware includes a Gibson True Historic ABR-1 nickel bridge on the original Brazilian rosewood base, pairing well with the original nickel trapeze tailpiece. The original set of ambered bonnet knobs with slightly dished tops are intact, along with the original P-90 covers and wide bevel pickguard, while the amber switch tip is a modern replacement.The original nitro lacquer Blonde (Natural) finish is exceedingly clean with only the faintest lacquer checking on the bass-side lower bout and a few tiny scuffs and minor nicks on the body as a whole. There is a small repaired seam separation on the inside edge of the cutaway, and there is a filled additional strap button hole on the neck heel. The neck profile gloss is extremely smooth and free of palm wear with just a couple tiny nicks.A 1950s brown Lifton hardshell case with pink interior is included. The case retains the original latches and stock handle.