ES-140 D ? 1964 natural/blond finish ?

jaw444 · Not So Newbie Joined: 13 Jul 2008 Posts: 5

I was at a shop yesterday and they had a guitar i liked. The guy said it was an ES-140D from 1964. He quoted me a price for it. It had a light finish which i think is called natural. He said it was a rare guitar, and all original except for a repaired headstock crack.

I went home to look for it on the web, and in Gruhns Guide and in the 2008 Vintage Guitar Price Guide, and i can't find anything about it.

I found that there are various ES-140s. They are 3/4 sized guitars. the first ones made started around 1950 and were full bodied, over 3 inches deep. There was a sunburst version and a natural version. In the mid 50s they were discontinue and they started making the ES-140T which is a thinner body, less than 2 inches deep. These were made from the mid 50s til 1968. The guides report they only came in sunburst. From 1956 to 1958, there was an ES-140TN, which had the natural finish. Only 57 were made.

Maybe the guy at the store had the year wrong. I checked with him several times because i kept forgetting the exact year, but i know it was the 60s, and he said it was 1964 each time.

He also clearly said it was an ES-140D. I asked him that a few times, to be sure i remembered the model. But maybe he was mistaken and he meant to say T instead of D.

I am trying to find out if anyone knows anything about a 140D, or whether there were any 140TNs (natural) made in the mid 60s.

They come with single P90s and a single cutaway. There's one on eBay right now, i mean, an ES-140T, but it's a sunburst. It's priced right, as far as the estimates in the price guide go. The price of the rare natural finish ones from the late 50s given in the price guide is quite a bit less than the price i was quoted.

thanks any info, or if no info, any ideas about where to find the info. Would the Gibson company be able to answer these questions?

herb · Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 6:57 pm Post subject:

Welcome to the forum! Very Happy

Everything I have says the last ES140TN was made in 1958. I show that ES140T's were made and shipped through 1970, with 65 made in 1964. If that one is a '64; the finish was stripped off it. If the price is way under market; that and the headstock repair are why. If it is not under market value; it should be. My guess is this guy is just full of crap and doesn't know half of what he's talking about. I would guess the finish got stripped when that repair was made. There is no ES 140D (D would indicate double cutaway). If it is an original natural finish; it can be no newer than 1958.

jaw444 · Not So Newbie Joined: 13 Jul 2008 Posts: 5

Jack Daniels · Growing Lion Joined: 29 May 2004 Posts: 879

Look around the binding for signs of a dark finish being there first. Also look in the f holes for signs of overspray. Herb's information is about as close to what I know to be true too.

I had the thick bodied sunburst one for a while. Single black p90. A friend of mine had one and had a 24.75" scale neck put on it and a second pickup. I loved his so much, I did the same thing. It basically was a fat bodied Les Paul shapped guitar by the time I was done. It sound good, played great and was easy to play sitting down.

JD

herb · Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2008 3:27 pm Post subject:

See what they're bringing on ebay; that's all it's worth - less $500 for the broken headstock and less another $1000 for the refin. (if it is a refin.) And that's if you really want it. Otherwise walk away from it. That's my $.02. Your mileage may vary.......

jaw444 · Not So Newbie Joined: 13 Jul 2008 Posts: 5

Jack Daniels · Growing Lion Joined: 29 May 2004 Posts: 879

Well, if accoustically is what you want...get the fat body. The rest just don't have a lot of tone/body/projection.

I am quite surprised they really go for that much money. As a 3/4 size, they pretty much are really a student model with a reduced sized scale. Some of the normal scale student models still have some value.

Anyway, let us see pics if you buy one.

Joe

SunDog · Tadpole Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 20 Location: Arizona

I find that the reviews on www dot harmony-central dot com are a treasure trove of info. Check it out!

SunDog

SAguitar · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:10 am Post subject:

Personally, I gave up on the reviews at Harmony-Central a long time ago. Too many people over there give rave reviews of something seemingly just because they own it, without having the experience behind it to justify their opinions. I'd rather get my information based on more knowledgeable judges. Just my two cents! Cool

jaw444 · Not So Newbie Joined: 13 Jul 2008 Posts: 5

I like to read reviews on Harmony Central. As you suggest, you can take indivdual opinions with a grain of salt, but i still find useful information. I'm especially interested in critical information, and just generally anything specific people have to say as opposed to broad generalizations.

I didn't find the ES-140 on Harmony Central. Maybe i'm looking under the wrong name.

herb · Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:22 pm Post subject:

I'm with SA; only I won't be so "politically correct" about my opinion of Harmony Central reviews. They're personally biased and usually without knowledgeable foundation; usually based on someone's feelings and untrained ears. I quit reading them years ago, too; for me they were a complete waste of time.

Jack Daniels · Growing Lion Joined: 29 May 2004 Posts: 879

I would offer that the limited membership of this forum probably knows more about Gibson Guitars than 99% of those who post opinions on HC. There are some pretty knowlegeable folks on the forums over at HC, but the reviews suck today. If you can find old reviews on HC, they were probably done by the old timers that actually know something. Now, every 12 year old with a computer and a guitar is posting a review. Heck, I think you should be able to tune a guitar before you can post an opinion on them. The only thing I use HC for is to find specs on amps. For example: "It has a volume, treble, mid, bass and presence knob". You can't screw that up..I hope.

Several of the regulars here are top resources for the information you seek. Herb, Stan, JCP and Owtatune to name a few. (sorry if I forgot to name a few others of you, it was not on purpose). I think between about 6 or 7 of us, we probaly have owned and played just about every model of guitar Gibson ever made.

JD