I was privileged to buy this amazing 1959 Gibson ES-355 T Mono with Bigsby tailpiece and customized Monoplak truss rod cover from the family of its sole owner since the early 1960s! We buy vintage guitars from all over the world, so when the seller said he was in Dallas, I was relieved that it would be a direct flight. I was very pleased when I opened the lid of the case for the first time and picked it up. It had the perfect '59 neck profile, double white bobbin PAF pickups, and the awesome original gold Monoplak truss rod cover engraved with the name of the original owner. My friend and customer Tom Bukovac also loved it, so check out his video at the end of this post!
A True Vintage Guitar, we specialize in buying high end vintage Gibson and Fender guitars made in the 1950s and 1960s like this 1959 Gibson ES-355. You can get help with dating a Gibson ES guitar here: How to date a Gibson ES-335. You can contact us to sell a vintage Gibson here: Sell a Gibson.
1959 ES-355 Mono, Bigsby, Watermelon Red
Gibson's top of the line ES model was the ES-355 which debuted in early 1959 as the "ES-355 T". While most later guitars were made with the Stereo output and Varitone switch, the original design for the model was the mono configuration exactly the same as the ES-335. The Stereo wiring and Varitone switch debuted a few months earlier on ES-345 model which is always stereo, with the exception of a few one-off custom orders. Surviving records from Gibson indicate that about 177 mono ES-355s shipped from Gibson in 1959. Most shipped with the Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, some with a stop bar tailpiece, and even fewer with a side pull vibrato as early as April 1959.
All 1959 Gibson ES-355 have the coveted Patent Applied For sticker humbucking pickups, but only some came with what collectors often refer to as "double whites" - or PAFs with cream white color bobbins for the coils. This example has a pair of double white PAFs with undisturbed solder on the covers. I could just barely see the white bobbins through the holes of the covers for the pole pieces. The screws were already screwed down as far as possible, so a bit of the bobbin was visible between the screw and the cover. The bobbin color doesn't really matter, but it's fun to see the little anomalies consistent with time periods of vintage guitars.
Gibson's price list from 1959 indicates that the ES-355 was finished in "Cherry Red", but most collectors refer to the shade from this time period as "Watermelon" red. Gibson used aniline dies to stain the Maple veneers red, but the formulation from 1959 tends to be less rich and fades with reaction to UV over time. When compared with a 1961 and later guitars, they certainly look more washed out. This one is a great example of the watermelon red hue from 1959.
"Jim Strange" Gold Engraved Truss Rod Cover from Monoplak
One feature that drew me to this 1959 Gibson ES-355 was the gold engraved truss rod cover with "Jim Strange" from Mono-Plak. Mono-Plak manufactured thick metal truss rod covers with music notes engraved to be sold at dealerships when you bought a Gibson guitar. The majority have the name of the original purchaser engraved on the cover, and this one has "Jim Strange" on it. I've seen his name before on another cover, but I cannot remember where. I'm hoping that someone can fill me in on who he was!
If you like the Mono-Plak, you're in luck! Demont Guitars now owns the trademark and is selling customized truss rod covers under that name. I have one on my own Gibson acoustic guitar. You can check them out here: Mono-Plak.
I buy vintage Gibson guitars with Monoplak truss rod covers: Sell a Gibson.
Our friend Tom Bukovac and this 1959 Gibson ES-355
One of my favorite guitar players out there is my Uncle Larry (Tom Bukovac or 501ChorusEcho or Home Skoolin' on YT). I met Tom at my booth at the Nashville guitar show in 2011. It was my first guitar show and I had a pretty modest collection of entry level Fenders and some Gibson acoustics. Tom rolled in and bought a couple of things. After he left, the guy in the booth next to me says, "Do you know who that was? That's Tom Bukovac. He's played on all the big country records out of Nashville for the past decade or so." I'm very proud to call him a customer of this shop.
When I bought this 1959 Gibson ES-355, I thought it might be exactly what Tom's looking for. I shot him a text and he said he loved it. I sent an invoice and prepped the guitar to ship out to Nashville. We sell every guitar with a 48 hour approval period, so I'm always interested to know if my perception of a vintage guitars matches up with the experience from a big time player. It arrived to Tom the next day and I was pleased to know that it did indeed stand up to the scrutiny of a big time player! He apparently liked it enough to decide that he wanted to sell the 1959 Gibson ES-335 we sold him a couple of months ago.
Check out the video Tom kindly posted below:
Gibson Guitars from 1959
There is something special about Gibson guitars made in 1959. Everything seemed to come together for the company with new models, most playable features, and a great vision for the future of music. The ES-335s, Les Pauls, Flying Vs, and Explorers from 1959 are simply the greatest guitars ever made. I am always buying Gibson guitars made in 1959. If you're considering selling, you can contact me here: Sell a Gibson. I can help with identification, evaluation, and may be the buyer you're looking for.
