c.1939 Gibson ES-150 “Charlie Christian” Electric Hollowbody Archtop Guitar Black Nitro Pro Refin w/Case
Very Good Overall “Player Condition” With Repairs And Modifications From Original (See All Listing Photos).
Recent Professional Nitrocellulose Lacquer Refinish In Black Is Beautiful And In Excellent Condition.
There Are Professionally Repaired Cracks On The Top Beneath The F-Holes (2” To 3” In Length) And One To The Left Of The Neck From The Shoulder To The Pickup (Approx. 3” in Length) That Are Faintly Visible Through The Finish And Are Shown In Photos Close-Up As Best As They Could Be Imaged.
There Is Also One Small Cleated Back Crack (See Photos).
Gibson “Charlie Christian” Pickup Has Strong Output And Sounds Fantastic.
The Neck Is Perfectly Straight And The Frets Are Original And Are In Excellent Condition With No Issues Having Just Been Professionally Dressed. (See Photos).
The Neck Has A Chunky “V” Profile Characteristic Of The 30’s, With The Depth Measuring .99” At the 1st Fret And 1.1” At The 10th. Nut Width Is A Comfortable 1&3/4”.
The Top Has Sunk A Little Bit Over The Years (1/8” On The Bass Side And 1/4” On The Treble Side), But It Is Solid And Presents No Issue. We Know This Because It Has Been Set Up With Heavy .14 Gauge Strings And It Has Not Budged One Bit. The Action Is Set Very Low At 2mm Treble Side And 2.5mm Bass Side Measured At The 12th Fret- It Plays Perfectly And Effortlessly Without Any Issues (Even With The Heavy Strings).
Pots Are Non-Original Replacements.
The Black And Brown Radio-Style Knobs Are Original.
Pickguard Appears Original And Shows A Bit Of Deterioration In A Couple Spots, But Not Gassing Off Badly (See Photos).
Tailpiece Is An Original Gibson Parallelogram Tailpiece That Is Appropriate, But Dates A Bit Earlier Than The Guitar. The 1/4” Input Has Been Placed At The Bottom Bout Where It Was Originally Factory Located, But The Original Tailpiece And Input Receptacle Are Gone. The Large ES-150 Hole At The Bottom Bout Is There And The Guitar Could Be Brought Back To Stock If The Correct Parts Are Found (See Photos).
Brand New Aged Nickel Waverly Open Back Tuners Have Been Installed And Function Perfectly.
Bridge Is Of The Era, But Not Original To The Guitar.
The Heel Cap Is A Replacement And Is Installed On The Bottom Of The Heel At More of An Angle Than Stock, But Looks Great.
It Has A Newer Non-Original Gator Black Canvas Hard Case That Protects It Well.
Note That We Do Not Present This Guitar As An Investment-Quality Collector Piece, But Rather We Offer It As A Superb Playing And Sounding Charlie Christian ES-150 From The Original Era That A Gigging Musician Can Use Without Worry.