Albert-Richard 2 – 1201 Geneva – Switzerland
Call or email us +41 22 731 62 72 or infos@leadmusic.com

Leadmusic, Geneva - Switzerland
2 rue Albert-Richard, +41 22 731 62 72
CHF 7,990.00 VAT 8.1% included. Without shipping costs.
Information:

To be exact, I should have written “ex Earl Vogelsong and ex Joe Bonamassa”… But hey, to be perfectly exact I should have written ” Rhââââââ Lovely !!!!!!” So, Earl Vogelsong? Not necessarily the best known of Tennessee’s pro musicians, but he had a carreer. Earl was born in 1924, and has worked as a studio guitarist since the 1940s. Artists like Ferlin Husky and Jean Shepard, Hayloft Hoedown, The Buddy Earl Quartet, The Swing Kings or the Sonic Tones are bands in which he played. Some TV appearances can be found on Youtube. When he died in 2005, his instruments were sold and Joe Bonamassa acquired this splendid ES-300N. Then in 2022, I had lunch a few hundred meters from this guitar…

This guitar is from 1950, comes with its original hangtag with the mention of its serial number, and has one of the most spectacular maples for the back and sides. What a beauty, so many flames, bring out the Canadairs… In addition the beauty is blonde, which is rarer for ES… Really one of the most flamed backs seen on an ES, the fairies leaned on the cradle to that one… Well, then there is a musician named Earl Vogelsong who looked into it, and made some modifications… So, the original covers of the original pickups were painted white, which in the end gives a crazy and unique look. A second jack has been installed and connected to one of the pickup, so you can route them separately to their specific amp. Not stupid but not super useful in the end, though, given the balance of the powerful neck pickup… But above all, Earl took out his file and varnish and began to thin the profile of the neck. It’s not obvious in terms of comfort and the feel of the size of the neck. As I own or have had several Archtops from the 30s, 40s and 50s, I tell myself that either Gibson had equipped this guitar with a huge neck, or he removed a tiny bit of wood and stopped in his attempt… The finish on the back of the neck was also redone during this process, which gives the original Stinger of the headstock a unique look, slightly dull. The trapeze is original, but another trapeze was affixed for a time because there are holes for other screws on the edge, near the screws of the current original trapeze. The bridge is not original, but it is period correct and probably comes from a Gretsch, the base being in aluminium, painted black. This instrument has been refretted in its time, the frets are a bit low but were profilled and show no signs of wear and are still perfectly playable. No breaks, no fractures or other noticeable damage or repairs, this guitar only has these small modifications in the end.

Soundwise, this ES-300N is a marvel, especially on the neck pickup because it is huge, powerful and ample. The bridge pickup is not to be outdone, but hey, given its much lower position, it is clear that it is getting screwed by its twin affixed near the neck. Playing comfort is superb, easy and as it’s currently equipped with strings that are not too strong, this beautiful ES-300 allows you to play rockabilly, rock or other, while pulling bends.

The ES-300 were for a few years the top electric Gibson ES, or electric Archtop. Produced as early as 1940, the war effort soon forced Gibson to revise their copy, and by 1946 these instruments featured laminated maple. In 1947, the release of the ES-350s overshadowed the success of the ES-300s, and in 1952 Gibson withdrew this instrument from the catalog. Of the few 250 ES-300Ns, namely Natural (which over time ended up blond) built between 1940 and 1952, only a few are Dual Pickups. Often delivered with cheap laminated hardcase, our Gibson ES-300N comes with an original Lifton case that even has its original key, some goodies such as a January 1974 edition of the Guitar Player addressed to Earl Vogelsong, a letter of authenticity mentioning the origin of Joe Bonamassa signed by Eliot Michael and especially his extremely rare and original hangtag mentioning the serial number of this guitar. And that is super rare!!!

 

 


Specifications:
  • original 1950 ES-300N
  • highly figured maple back & sides
  • original P90 dogears painted in black
  • 7.18KOhms neck and 6.87 KOhms bridge
  • 3.08 kilos
  • first post-war block Gibson script logo with a joined dot on the headstock
  • original earliest Kluson Deluxe individual tuners with “keystone” buttons.
  • original individual volumes and master tone amber “hatbox” style with numbers
  • original nickel plated tailpiece is the same cast unit as the L-7
  • non original but 1950’s adjustable rosewood bridge with aluminium base paint in black
  • original harness was wired to 2 separate jack inputs for stereo use
  • original laminated, beveled edge pickguard
  • tiny amount of wood from the back of the neck was removed, and neck was resprayed
  • refretted long time ago
  • original Stinger
  • original Lifton case with its original key
  • original hangtag with matching serial number incl.
  • some goodies and case candies incl. such as a copy of January 1974 Guitar Player, some musical sheets and a cable