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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 L-5CES
Electric acoustic jazz guitar
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The L-5CES was a particularly fine instrument, and as such was made in relatively small numbers, and had a relatively high purchase price. Favoured by jazz musicians, most notably Wes Montgomery, it had a hand carved top; a feature of only the very best guitars. It was first available in 1951, and is still available today - either in sunburst or natural finish. Initially the pickups were P90 single coils, changing to Alnicos from 1953 to 1957. Thereafter the Gibson humbuckers came as standard.
As previously mentioned, the L-5CES was an expensive instrument - only cheaper than the Super 400 and Johnny Smith (and the Citation, when it was launched). After 1962 it was marked in price lists as a custom order instrument - but despite this, sales rose throughout the 50s, 60s and 70s.
The following description is taken from the 1970 Gibson electric-acoustics catalogue
L-5 CES - Cutaway
Professional musicians enjoy the fast neck action and quick response of the L-5 CES. This electric acoustic offers performance to match its rich, impressive appearance.
FEATURES: Carved top of select close-grained spruce. Carved back of curly maple with matching rims. Slim, fast low-action neck joins the body at the 14th fret. Five-piece curly maple neck, adjustable truss rod. Ebony fingerboard, pearl block inlays. Adjustable Tune-O-Matic bridge. Exclusive L-5 tailpiece. Powerful twin Humbucking pickups. Separate tone and volume control for each pickup. Three position toggle switch to activate either or both pickups. Gold-plated metal parts. Deluxe individual machine heads. 17" wide, 21" long, 3 3/8 " deep; 25 ½ " scale, 20 frets.
L-5 CES - Sunburst
L-5 CESN - Natural
600 - Faultless plush-lined case
ZC-6 - Deluxe zipper cover for 600 case
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Vintage advertisements for the Gibson L-5 CES
Electric Guitar advertisements originally published from 1964 onwards. Click on the images for larger copies.
Check out other vintage Gibson advertisements |  Gibson L-5 CES - The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery (1964)
This advertisement from 1964 uses the title of Wes Montgomery's highly acclaimed 1960 album 'The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery' - and highlights his use of Gibson jazz guitars. Montgomer...
|  Gibson L-5 CES - Wes Montgomery (1965)
In the mid 1960s, Gibson almost exclusively advertised itself as a brand, rather than specific products. And these adverts invariably featured virtuoso jazz guitarists that used a Gibson jazz box. ...
|  Gibson L-5 CES - Gibson, The Workingmans Guitar (1967)
Featuring Wes Montgomery playing an L5-CES
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Gibson jazz guitars for saleIf 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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