Hey, Ahab… here’s your white whale:

A genuine 1958 Gibson ES 355. One of 10 ever made and a true holy grail in its own right.

The 355 was officially released in 1959 and 10 prototypes were produced in 1958. According to the FON, this is no. 8

The 355 is considered the queen of ES guitars with its luxurious exterior and a smooth ebony fretboard with pearl inlays.

The guitar is all original and in excellent condition. It has all the desirable features you’d want from a first year semi solid ES:

- thin top

- Strong and well balanced PAFs

(N 7.78k / B 7.93k)

- Big, round neck

1st fret 21,4mm/0.84”

12th fret 24,3mm/0.99”

- long guard

- shallow neck angle

- factory low profile bridge

- Bigsby B7

And of course it’s factory mono since the varitone circuit wasn’t introduced until 1959

In addition it shows a number of features exclusive to the 58 355s or even this particular guitar:

- transparent red lacquer over unstained wood.
- waffle back tuners with nylon tips

- gold bonnet knobs

- 3 ply headstock binding

- headstock stinger

This guitar plays like a dream and the sound is absolutely spectacular. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a neck pickup like this before.

The red color is still dark and strong. Not as faded as most of the (very few) other 58s around.

The history of this guitar is documented back to the early 2000s. It used to be owned by singer / songwriter Aaron Lewis (ex. Staind) who had it in his collection for about 10 years.

If you want something truly special for your Gibson collection or just an extraordinarily sounding vintage guitar… this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Worldwide shipping available. Please get in touch for details and shipping options.

Hand delivery available in most of Europe.