1941 Gibson ES-300

“Gibson ES-300 Electric Spanish Guitar – GIBSON MASTERPIECE: Never before anything like this for tone color, tone brilliancy and tone balance; best for advanced and professional players. NEW! – Equipped  with a new Gibson offset adjustable pickup unit to give clear singing treble strings together with deep, booming bass. Gibson perfected natural finish brings out the true beauty of the carefully selected air seasoned wood. — ADVANCED SIZE: Same size and general construction as advanced L-5; body is 17″ wide and 21″ long. Equipped with the finest parts. In this model Gibson has perfected the best electric Spanish guitar it is possible to make, overcoming the limitations of ordinary electrics.” — Gibson supplement to catalog AA, October 1, 1940.

Make and Model: Gibson ES-300

Year: 1941, serial number 967xx. One of approximately 60 examples made with the long diagonal pickup (Gibson Electrics, The Classic Years. pg 159, A. R Duchossoir)

Specifications: 17″ wide advanced body, solid Spruce top, Maple back and sides, split parallelogram fretboard inlays, 6 1/2″ long model specific pickup, 25 1/2″ scale length, 1 11/16″ nut width, .89″ neck depth at the first fret, round C profile.

Condition: This nice example has just come out of repair after decades of neglect. Repairs include a neck reset, refret, pickup rewind by Lindy Fralin, two top cracks glued next to the bass side pickup mount. It’s now in excellent playing condition and is a fine example of the model.

Originality: The original pickguard did not survive so I sourced a quality reproduction from Pickguardian. The original tailpiece is included with the guitar but not currently installed since it suffers the typical break at the hinge. We’ve installed a reproduction tailpiece. The tuners are 1954-1956 era gold no line Kluson tuners, which likely replaced the originals in the mid 1950s. All electronics appear to be original except for the coil. The nut, bridge, knobs, pickguard mounting hardware, and case are the originals that the guitar came with.

Playability: Excellent. This ES-300 now plays like a dream with a proper neck angle and proper frets.

Notes: I was thrilled to find such a rare variation of a rare model that has survived in good condition. This one was definitely played professionally a long time ago but appears to have been forgotten for the past few decades. It’s now a professionally playable guitar once again and an intriguing sounding guitar at that. I’m confident you’ll love this rare 1941 Gibson ES-300!