Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)

Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)
Vintage

Gibson Barney Kessel Regular (1962)

Regular price $6,500.00
/

Weight

6lbs 10oz
Nut Width
1 11/16"
Scale Length
24 3/4"
Case
TKL Hardshell

  • Free UPS Ground Shipping On Orders Over $299 (Continental U.S. Only)

This site is protected by hCaptcha and the hCaptcha Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.


One of the coolest artist model guitars to come out of Gibson's Golden Era is undoubtedly the Barney Kessel model. This large hollowbody electric with twin "florentine" cutaways has a commanding stage presence and unique aesthetic that made it an instant standout among its archtop peers like the ES-175.

This is the first Barney Kessel to find its way into our shop - a reminder of the guitar's relative rarity in the lineup from 1961-1974. An earlier production build hailing from 1962, this BK shows off a very vibrant original Sunburst finish against the combination of Spruce top and figured Maple back and sides.

The parallelogram inlays find their way onto the Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard like they do on many of the electric archtops of the time, and this model is one of just a few to receive the wooden tailpiece badge with custom 'Barney Kessel' plaque attached. The larger, more dramatically flared headstock is also a look that's rather unique to the model, and keeps in line dimensionally with the body.

The Kessel was built on a Regular and Custom platform, of which this guitar is the former. The Custom has the more elevated aesthetic of "bowtie" fingerboard inlays and a custom musical note motif peghead inlay. Beyond that, the structural elements are virtually identical, including dual humbucking pickups, pickup selector, and individual volume/tone controls for each pickup.

As is often the case with many of these great professional-grade archtop electrics from the early 60s, this Barney Kessel Regular was harvested for its very valuable original parts, including what would've likely been PAF pickups (or early Patent # pickups) pickup rings, wiring harness, and knobs. This one fell victim to it, but efforts were made to restore some of its original tone and vibe.The guitar has a very high quality modern wiring harness installed, tied into a pair of original Gibson Patent # T-Top humbuckers that sound sublime! The pickup covers and rings and knobs are aftermarket, and the tuners are quality vintage style reproductions. The ABR-1 bridge is a replacement, but the pickguard and tailpiece are original.

Structurally speaking, the guitar is in excellent condition, with no evidence of cracks or damage. All body and fingerboard binding is intact. The input jack area - a common weak point on many of the guitars built in this stlye - is also stable.

The guitar is naturally robust and warm with excellent volume and sustain. It's woody and crisp, and the T-Tops pair very well with the guitar's natural acoustic properties. Jazz and Blues tones are a given here, but the guitar has enough focus and definition to work in more of a rock/country/folk context, volume-dependent of course. The slender C neck with the 1 11/16" nut width is a total joy to play as well.

It includes an aftermarket TKL form-fitting hardshell case that's in great shape.


Body

Style
Hollowbody
Body
Laminated Maple
Finish
Nitrocellulose
Color
Sunburst

Hardware

Pickups
Pat # T-Top Humbuckers (7.63k Neck / 7.46k Bridge)
Electronics
Repro Harness
Controls
Volume (x2) / Tone (x2) / 3-Way Pickup Toggle
Bridge
ABR-1 & Barney Kessel "Shield" trapeze tailpiece
Tuners
Gotoh Repro
Pickguard
Original
Knobs
Repro

Neck

Neck
Mahogany
Binding
White
Carve
Slim Taper C: .80-.87"
Fingerboard
Brazilian Rosewood
Radius
12"
Inlays
Parallelogram
Frets
Med Jumbo
Nut
Nylon (Replacement)
Scale Length
24 3/4"

Other

Condition
Light play and handling wear / Replaced parts
Serial #
51765
Weight
6lbs 10oz
Case
TKL Hardshell

Recently viewed