As student models go, you wouldn’t mind taking delivery of anything coming out of Kalamazoo during the 50’s and this very early 1953 ES-125  certainly punches above its weight.

The accouterments are basic, the only real adornment is the binding around the body. The neck and pickguard are unbound and the headstock has the simple silk screened logo. What you do get here is a great sounding and stylishly understated electric guitar in the spirit of the classic archtops of the period.

The sunburst finish on this guitar has weathered well and is still quite vivid as is the back. There are scratches and bumps as you expect but no signs of repair. 

The hardware and the rosewood bridge are in great condition as are the plastics. The faux-tortoise shell pickguard hasn’t warped. The original frets and fretboard are in good shape without any extreme wear. There are a few scratches here and there which isn’t surprising but all in all this is a very clean guitar. The tuners are reproductions. 

Inside, the electronics are all correct. There is an added strap button hole on the side of the upper bout and the tuners are modern, direct replacement Klusons.

The guitar comes with a hardshell case.

There’s jazz, blues and roots all hiding in here. Even with a single P90, there's plenty of tonal scope and it's a joy to play plugged in or acoustically. 

These student models are a way of accessing these fabulous Gibson tones without the higher price tags of the other more desirable models, grab them before they fly away.