 The peak production year of the Gibson ES-345 was 1967 (1144 Sunburst and Cherry 345s shipped), and this is a typical '67 instrument. The neck is still one-piece mahogany; by the turn of the decade ES necks were made of a three-piece mahogany laminate, going to three-piece maple by the mid seventies.
Other 1967 features include the witch-hat knobs (newly switched from metal-insert bell knobs) and the centralised crown inlay on the headstock. Older guitars had this somewhat raised towards the Gibson logo.
Hardware is gold-plated throughout, although it is hard to see on the pickups of this guitar; gold plating is nowhere near as durable as chrome. The humbucking pickups have part numbers PU-345-1G and PU-345-2G (1965 Gibson parts list).
Images courtesey of justgreatguitars.com
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