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Latest vintage guitar updates
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1964 Gibson Melody Maker - a classic vintage guitar
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 A closer look at a Gibson Melody maker from 1964. The Melody Maker is one of Gibson's best ever selling guitars - despite it's comparatively low price it didn't skimp on Gibson tradition: well-built instruments, constructed from the finest materials. The body and set neck are both of South American mahogany whilst the fingerboard is South American rosewood. With a sunburst nitrocellulose finish the Melody Maker certainly looked the part. In fact the Melody Maker had more in common with many higher end Gibson instruments than guitars of a similar price bracket made by other manufacturers. The circuitry was simple; just a volume and tone control for one single coil pickup. See also Gibson Melody Maker shipping figures
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1966 Kalamazoo KG2a electric guitar
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 Details and information on the Kalamazoo KG2a electric guitar. The beat boom of the mid 1960s heralded a huge demand for electric guitars; youngsters up and down America were looking for affordable, well-built solid-bodies, with modern looks and a great sound. Gibson, better known for it's high-end jazz guitars, responded by producing the KG guitar and KB bass lines, under the Kalamazoo brand. They were initially modelled on the Fender Mustang, though soon took the shape of the Gibson SG, which was rapidly rising in popularity. The resulting instruments used modern composite wood technology, Fender style construction and actual Gibson hardware. They looked good, played well, and sold in large quantities. See also Kalamazoo KG shipping figures, a 1966 Kalamazoo KG1 (single pickup) and listen to the Kalamazoo KG soundclips.
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Gibson / Monzino (Italy) guitar catalogue, 1971
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 Gibson / Monzino guitar catalogue, 1971. America saw numerous promotional publications from Gibson in the first years of the 1970s, but new models were coming and going at such a rate, that some never made it into print. Just one US catalogue was printed in 1971: the Low Impedance for High Performance mini-catalogue, which contained just the Gibson Les Paul Recording guitar, and the Gibson Les Paul Triumph bass. However other countries were producing their own literature, capturing a snapshot of the Gibson range not seen in print in the US. This brochure was printed by the new Italian distributors, Monzino, and shows several instruments yet to be seen in US catalogues (the SG range in particular) and one that would never make it: the Gibson SB400 bass.
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Gibson Victory MV series
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 The Gibson Victory MV (multi-voice) guitars were launched towards the end of 1981, with a production period lasting just over two years. There were two models, the Gibson Victory MV2 and the Gibson Victory MVX. Both were very fine passive guitars with maple bodies and set maple necks. They had coil-tapped pickups for either humbucking or single coil sounds, but neither managed to give Gibson the Victory they required in terms of sales.
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1969 Gibson SG Special
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 The Gibson SG came in several varieties; and the Special is a typical 60s Gibson in many ways. Naturally, it has a mahogany body with a set mahogany neck, in true Gibson style. The pickups are typical Gibson single coil P90s, and the control layout, too, is classic Gibson. Have a closer look, or check out the SG Special soundclips of this guitar, through various vintage amps.
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1979 Gibson ES-175D
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 A closer look at a 1979 Gibson ES-175D. By the late 1970s, the ES-175D had followed the path of most Gibson guitars and changed it's mahogany neck, in favour of a maple neck with volute. It didn't last long, and the neck was again mahogany by 1983. Details of the changes in the ES-175D over time are detailed in the ES-175 timeline.
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Older updates here
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Gibson Crest
Thinline electric acoustic guitar
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Crest description and pricing |
1970 Gibson Crest |
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 From the 1970 Gibson thinline catalogue
 The progressive guitarist will enjoy the new look and sound of this professional instrument. Beautiful suspended gold humbucking pickups not only contribute to the unique tonal capabilities of the instrument, but also highlight the seasoned bookmatched rosewood top, rims and back
| Jazz strings suitable for the Gibson Crest |
The Gibson Crest, was only available for a brief period in the late sixties and early seventies. This was a very special guitar, made from rosewood, rather than the typical maple of other thinlines. Like the high-end ES355TDSV it featured gold hardware, split diamond headstock inlays, and was bound throughout. Unlike other thinlines at the time (335, 340, 345, and 355), the Crest had no central maple block running down its centre (like the 330) which meant it had to use floating bridge, pickups and tailpiece. Electrically it was much the same as the ES330, or ES355TD, having a 3 way switch, 2 tone and 2 volume controls. (Crest at the Gibson pot database)
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The following description is taken from the 1970 Gibson thinline catalogue
CREST
The progressive guitarist will enjoy the new look and sound of this professional instrument. Beautiful suspended gold Humbucking pickups not only contribute to the unique tonal capabilities of the instrument, but also highlight the seasoned book matched rosewood top, rims and back.
FEATURES: Double venetian cutaway, deluxe matching rosewood finger rest. Rosewood fingerboard with attractive inlays. Pearloid binding on top and back, adjustable rosewood bridge. Ebony finished head veneer with attractive inlay. Beautifully designed Crest tailpiece. Attractive inlaid marquetry on back of instrument. Gold-plated special design Humbucking pickups with separate tone and volume controls which can be pre-set. Toggle switch to activate either or both pickups. Neck joins body at 15th fret. Gold-plated metal parts. 19" long, 16" wide, 1 5/8" deep; 24 3/4" scale length, 22 frets.
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A Closer Look
Have a closer look at the Gibson Crest
Shipping Figures
| Model \ Year | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | total |
| Gibson Crest |
Pricing
The price of the Crest did not change between 1969 and and its last price list (Nov 71) entry; it stayed at $895. The table below compares the Crest with several other Gibson products from the Sept 1969 price list
Citation
S-400CES
Byrdland
ES355TDSV
Crest
Les Paul Custom
SG Custom
ES335TD
SG Standard
Melody Maker
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$2500
$1225
$950
$915
$895
$575
$525
$445
$335
$179
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Back to the GIBSON INDEX | comment If you are looking for specific vintage guitars for sale, you may have to keep an eye on numerous vintage guitar stores, classifieds websites and ebay listings. Below are just the auctions - Vintage guitar stores tend to advertise theirs in their ebay online vintage guitar stores - have a look because there are some different listings.
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