1959 Gibson ES-355T Cherry A-29413 | The Music Emporium 

Until May 2024, this guitar spent its entire life in California. It was originally special ordered by a gentleman named Ulysses Apffel, who once co-managed the historic Southern California Music Company with his older brother John Apffel as far back as the early 1940s. "Uly", as he's referred to in the original Gibson ledgers, seemed to have owned the guitar only a few years until his death in 1962.
It's believed that John took ownership of the guitar until his own passing in 1967, where the guitar was likely sold by the Apffel family. It was then acquired by the most recently known caretaker back in 1968 from a used music shop before finding its way into a family friend's hands and ultimately here at TME.
In the early days of 355 production, it was commonplace to see 335/345 body and neck blanks already prepped for production moved into an ES-355 build. Considering this guitar is listed in the ledger by its lonesome and not with a large batch of semi-hollows would indicate the likelihood of not only a custom order, but the unique nature of the body build. History has shown us that it's more common to find the large pearl dot stopbar stud bushing covers outfitted on an ES-345 body. With this being a bonafide 355, it's likely this guitar started life as a 345 and was used to fulfill the custom order. There are too many production variables from Gibson to say definitively that this was the case, but it's certainly plausible!
Either way, when it comes down to the guitar being...well...a guitar, this is where 50s Gibsons make their mark. The thinner top construction yields an incredibly lively acoustic tone and response, even with the Bigsby in place! These also have shallower neck angles which reduces break angle and most certainly impacts the feel and tone of the guitar. Chords are full with ringing sustain and a lightness in the top end that many great archtops exhibit from the same period. When you add in a pair of PAFs to the mix, this guitar just punches in an entirely different weight class.
We're not sure if we've seen gold plating worn off of a guitar's hardware quite like this one. This 355 was most definitely a daily driver for its prior owner, who spent decades working his live music scene. There are glimpses of the gold plating in certain areas such as the crevices of the Bigsby script, tuning machine edges, and on the underside of the ABR-1 bridge and PAF covers, respectively. It's about as forensically intriguing as you'll find a vintage with some honest and true play wear - looking at a player's lifelong dedication to their craft through their instrument.
You can see the beginnings of what was once a deep Cherry red finish hidden underneath the pickguard and Bigsby - an indicator that this guitar wasn't ever without the two the time it was being played. These "tan lines" give you a sense of just how much these early Cherry finishes faded before Gibson made changes to the recipe that prolonged the vibrancy in their legendary red finish.
A set of 1960s reflector knobs replaced what would've been the original black bonnet knobs some time ago, and since they're a part of the guitar's unique history, we elected to leave them on the guitar. The original wiring harness was also changed out at some point, but an original vintage correct harness was reinstalled with the exact spec potentiometers used in these guitars, and with date codes consistent with early 1959 Gibsons we've had come through the shop (ES-355T and LP burst included).
The original Lifton hardshell case has done a remarkable job of keeping this amazing semi-hollow safe all these years, still with its original working latches, leatherette exterior and pink lined interior mostly intact. The handle shows years of contact wear by way of complete lack of leatherette dye in the grip area - still stable and functional, however!
Nearly 60 years off the market, this ES-355 returns to the modern guitar world as a shining example of Gibson's electric guitar manufacturing prowess. It's a marvelous sounding and looking top-tier semi-hollow that could stake a sizable claim in any vintage stable.
View this guitar on our website: themusicemporium.com/products...
Thanks to Lyle Brewer for the wonderful playin!

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