Vintage guitar buying roadtrip! Some vintage guitars are too special to ship. This one called for an almost 24 hour drive time road trip. I received a call from a very nice owner of a 1962 Gibson ES-335tdc with stop bar tailpiece. A quick check with google maps revealed that she was only a 10 hour drive from my home in Birmingham, AL. I hopped in the driver's seat of my 2005 Ford Crown Victoria and settled in for a long drive.
I'm always a vintage Gibson guitar buyer but I'm especially looking for Gibson ES-335 guitars made in the late 1950s and 1960s. You can contact me here to sell a vintage Gibson guitar.
My first stop was in Franklin, TN for the guitar show! I knew it was happening that weekend but wasn't sure I was going to make it. I was able spend an hour cruising through the aisles and checking out all the great guitars and dealers.
I stayed in Louisville, KY that night and hardly slept thinking about the guitar I was going to see the next day. My next stop was in Saline, MI to see a one family owned vintage Gibson ES-335tdc. I got up early (well, early for a guitar player!) the next day to get to Saline, MI as soon as possible. The guitar was nice and the people were super pleasant!
I've always wanted to go to the original Gibson factory located at 225 Parsons Street, Kalamazoo, MI. I checked the map to see if I was within driving distance and to my great surprise I was only an hour and 40 minutes away! I couldn't resist the opportunity to see this great piece of American history. What's another hour and 40 minutes on top of an already 20 hour drive, right?
I could have been completely satisfied to walk around the building for the entire day! But there was much driving to be done. I began the drive back home with at least one more stop in mind. I stayed in Louisville again that night after driving for 12 hours that day.
My next stop was the new Gibson factory! Gibson Custom, to be exact. I wanted to give this clean 1962 Gibson ES-335tdc the royal treatment. I photographed it at the front door of the original Gibson factory and the new Gibson factory.
I had a blast exploring the country and seeing new places. The long drive felt like nothing knowing that I had a clean vintage Gibson guitar in tow. I'm now home and enjoying a little down time.
Do you have a vintage Gibson guitar you're looking to sell? I'm always looking for clean tone machines like this 1962 Gibson ES-335tdc. I would love to check out your vintage Gibson or Fender or Martin or Epiphone or ? guitar. You can reach out to me here to sell a vintage Gibson guitar. I'm looking forward to seeing it!
