Maybach Capitol

For your consideration is an essentially brand new Maybach Capitol '59.

As you can see, this is Maybach's take on the venerable 1959 Gibson ES-335, but without the variability in quality that Gibson is unfortunately famous for.

I listed the country of manufacture as Germany, because Maybach is a German company, but I believe that they use a team of luthiers in the Czech republic. Because the Germans are responsible for it, though, you can be sure that it has all the perfection in fit and finish you would expect from them.

The pickups are Amber Spirit of '59 PAF-style humbuckers. I would describe them more clear and less warm on the PAF spectrum. If you want to soften the attack, I would lower the pickups slightly, but I am selling this exactly as it came from the factory.

This is exceptionally lightweight at 6.6 lbs.

The reason I'm selling is a bit dumb, but we like what we like. As you can see, the natural finish shows off a gorgeous flame. I realize, though, that for 335s, I prefer more of a plain top. If the wood on the front matched the wood on the back, it would be perfect for me. But the front flame is impressive.

The "Natural Vintage" finish is also lightly relic'ed from the factory. As you can also see, the relic job is so light that it raises the question, "Why bother?" Here, I suppose you get all the benefit of knowing that the guitar received extra time in someone's hands to do the light relic without it looking like it was dragged behind a truck.

These are fantastic guitars, but they're so close to ES-335s that they're not sold new in the US to avoid Gibson's legal team. I bought mine from a shop in Spain, so I paid both the high shipping fees from Europe and whatever the pre-2025 tariff was. I have no idea what it is now, but I suspect it's substantial.

This Capitol has been played only a handful of times. Unfortunately, I haven't bonded with it, and such a great instrument needs to go to someone who will make some noise with it.

Thanks for looking.