Gibson Barney Kessel Custom Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1966), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 530802, cherry sunburst finish, laminated maple body and neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.

This is a cool example of one our favorite if slightly eccentric 1960's Gibsons, the relatively rare Barney Kessel Custom. It has a small repair to the upper side of the neck just below the headstock, a crack not a major break but is otherwise a very clean guitar. Another odd feature of this guitar is the pickups are magnetically out of phase, as was standard on the stereo guitars but not the standard mono. We don't know if this was a factory error (there were a lot of those at Kalamazoo in '66-68) or intentional but it gives the guitar an unusual range of sound. This Kessel Custom was a gigging instrument for some time for master jazz guitarist Ed Cherry, acquired by the last owner directly from him.

In the early '60s jazz guitarist Barney Kessel was on a hot streak, having just won the DOWN BEAT poll 3 years running. Around 1960 he was induced to abandon a prior endorsement deal with Kay (whose guitars he called "terrible") to go with Gibson, whose guitars he played anyway. How much input Kessel himself had in this subsequent design can be debated, but the result was certainly a distinctive instrument then and now.

The Kessel Signature model's most notable feature is a 17" wide, full depth body with a double sharp "Florentine" cutaway, a new idea at Gibson at the time. The model was offered in "Custom" or "Regular" format, differing mostly in cosmetic details. This 1966 Custom model is the more deluxe of the two with gold-plated hardware on the bright cherry sunburst finished body and special "Bowtie" and "Musical note" motifs to the fingerboard and headstock inlay, respectively. The top on this one has some lovely figure to the maple that would do a Les Paul proud. The long-scale neck is the 5-piece laminate maple used on higher-grade Gibsons at the time; the nut width is the slimmer profile adopted in 1965, coming in at 1 9/16".

This guitar has Patent # pickups as is typical for 1966 with the standard Gibson one switch, four pot wiring rig, topped off with gold-tinted clear plastic metal-capped knobs. As noted the center position on this rig has the pickups out of phase. Other hardware includes Kluson Sealfast "waffleback" tuners, a beveled-edge floating pickguard and a standard gold tailpiece with an engraved "Barney Kessel" plastic-and-rosewood plaque in the middle. By 1966 the model had a few notable differences from the earliest versions; the originally specified laminated spruce top had been replaced by laminated maple and large heel joint was shortened somewhat to improve high-fret access.

This is a somewhat rare guitar, with only 57 shipped in 1966, although the totals went up the couple of years following. The Kessel models were not a huge hit when new but were featured by a few notable 1960s players including Trini Lopez, who based his subsequent signature model on it, Bryan Maclean of Love (who played a nearly identical custom) and most notably Gene Cornish of the Rascals, who played several versions of the BK regular. Cornish was the model's most dedicated user, playing one through much of his career with the band and having several custom black-finished models made. This fancier BK Custom is still an unusual and visually striking guitar as well as a high grade, fine playing instrument.

Overall length is 43 3/4 in. (111.1 cm.), 16 7/8 in. (42.9 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).

Cosmetically this 60-year-old guitar shows only light general wear and remains in very clean condition overall. There is a small repaired crack to the bass side of the neck running down from just below the nut to the first center laminate at around the first fret position. The area has been lightly oversprayed which extends to the top of the headstock making the serial number a bit hard to read (it there though). This was a gigging guitar for some time and this repair was likely the result of a bang-up in the case along the way. There are no other cracks or structural repairs. The otherwise original finish has very little fade, retaining a strong red hue to the bright cherry sunburst and showing only small scuffs, dings and dents.

A few pieces of hardware have been replaced with correct style later reproductions; The adjustable bridge is a recent rosewood piece and the gold-capped knobs are reproes of the original Gibson pieces. The pickups remain original; the covers do not appear to have ever been off and the Patent Number stickers are intact on the baseplates. The gold covers show some heavier plating wear as does the tailpiece crossbar. Internally the "can" pots and braided wiring appear unaltered original although as noted the pickups are out-of-phase in the middle position. This is possibly original (the last Kessel Custom we had was the same) but also possibly purposefully altered to "Peter Green" spec, although there are no obvious signs of that. The two-pickup combination results in a bright, honky but not a displeasing sound similar to many period Guilds. The rest of the gold-plated hardware appears original, the tailpiece with the "Barney Kessel" signature block intact. For some reason the pickguard bracket is chrome and nickel, not gold. There is no orange label in the guitar, presumably it became detached somewhere along the way.

The guitar has been very neatly refretted with wire a bit taller than the original spec; these are in excellent condition showing hardly any wear and this is a fine player's guitar, a wonderful gigging or recording example. It resides in a period yellow-lined Gibson case with "Fragile" stickers on the outside and some extra carefully made foam liner pieces added for additional protection, but not permanently attached to the lining. Perhaps that was done after the headstock incident; the guitar is better protected for travel now. Very Good + Condition.