1957 Gibson ES-125D Sunburst

Bay Area Vintage Guitars is proud to present this rare 1957 Gibson ES-125D. It is an exceptional guitar and is in excellent condition after 65 years of loving care.

According to “Gibson Electrics, the Classic Years,” at least one batch of 35 to 40 guitars was produced, and this variant was never mentioned in Gibson’s brochures nor itemized in shipping totals. This one is #14 of these rarities.

This beautiful guitar features a laminated maple arched top and back; the maple top allows for a yellower sunburst shading while the rest of the body maintains a chocolate brown finish. The body linings and neck are Mahogany, and the fingerboard and bridge are Rosewood. There is a tune-o-matic bridge on this one that looks correct, even though most others have a rosewood, non-adjustable bridge. My luthier determined that it has the patina and wear that would make it period correct.

The guitar is all original from the neck, frets, finish, P90 pickups, and electronics. Not as much finish checking as you'd expect, most likely due to the original owner keeping it in a climate-controlled California home environment.

There is only minimal player wear with only a very fine hairline crack that is near the pickguard (see photos). There are some light dings on the headstock, near the bridge mount, and a rubbed area on the treble side of the guitar where it likely sat on a stand of some kind. No repair work of any kind. The neck and original frets are fantastic and offer an excellent low-playing action. The back of the neck is in excellent playing condition with no neckwear.

The Gibson ES-125s are true classics made famous by countless musicians, from Bill Frisell to Joe Pass to Tracy Chapman.

The guitar comes in a Lifton-era-correct hard shell case.

We respond in a timely manner, so please ask any questions before purchasing. Thank you for looking!