How about this then... We are totally thrilled to present to you a super rare (in fact I know of no other) 1963 Gibson ES-355 TDN in superb condition and factory blonde!

You do see ES-335's in blonde, you also see the occasional ES-345 in blonde (rare) and of course, ES-330's came in blonde but how many ES-355's have you seen an from the golden era..?

This was probably a one off, ordered by a special client back in 1963. It looks to have left the factory with one of the engraved truss rod covers that Gibson did for special orders. These had the owners name on them and for sentimental reasons they sometimes go missing so on this guitar at the moment is a 'Custom' TRC that looks wholly appropriate.

It also appears a Maestro trem was fitted at some stage due to the presence of filled extra screw holes by the strap button however what is more than likely the original Vibrola trem has now been fitted. and there are no extra holes visible on the top, however two are visible under the Vibrola. The Varitone knob has also probably been changed but there is a chicken head black knob in the case however the trem arm will not work properly if this is fitted under the current string tension (.010's).

Aside from that, it boasts undisturbed electrics with two great sounding and powerful PAF's - one has a PAF sticker and the other a PAT Number. Both are identical of course.

Stereo wiring is intact and it can be converted to mono if so desired. Weight is a not unreasonable 4.3Kg and it does have a good balance. One oddity with this is the serial number stamped on the neck is slightly different to what is on the label. We have come across this before and our best guess is Gibson was in a bit of a rush to get this out. Both numbers date from 1963 and there is absolutely no evidence of any neck repairs anywhere!

Playing wise, it just plays like butter all up and down the fretboard and is very fast and slick. There are a few patches of wear here and there but other all it really is totally superb.

So there you have it. Probably one of the rarest guitars we will see this year and it is still only February. This will of course be on our 2026 calendar when it comes out in December, in the meantime get up to Cheltenham and buy it now...!