The Gibson Barney Kessel shipped from 1961, but by the 1970s sales were dropping considerably, and production ceased by 1973, this being its penultimate catalog appearance. The Barney Kessel was, of course, the signature model for Jazz guitarist barney Kessel, and came in two models: the very fine Custom, with gold-plated hardware and bow-tie neck inlays; and the Regular, as seen here, with chrome hardware, crown headstock inlay and split parallelogram inlays,
A Gibson guitar designed by the great jazz guitarist himself with musical capability to match his tremendous technique and vital inventive playing. It offers the purist tone over the entire range with a special magnetic field in the bridge, pick-up to emphasise the highs.
Naturally, such a fine guitar was not inexpensive. August 1971 UK prices for the Gibson Barney Kessel were as follows:
code | model | price |
---|---|---|
54214 | Barney Kessel Regular | £539 |
54215 | Barney Kessel Custom | £607 |
Laminated spruce arched top and laminated maple back. Slim, fast low-action neck joins body at 14th fret. Three-piece curly maple neck, adjustable truss rod, 20 fret rosewood finger board with split block pearl inlays. Adjustable bridge. Powerful twin humbucking pick-ups... separate tone and volume controls can be pre-set. Three position toggle switch to activate either or both pick-ups. Gold-plated metal parts on custom model.
The suggested case for the Barney Kessel models was shaped-case 5908 (see cases, page 44).
$129
$9995
£6999
£135
$6650
€159