As student models go, you wouldn’t mind taking delivery of anything coming out of Kalamazoo during the 50’s and this very early 1960 ES-125 T certainly punches above its weight and has all the desirable late 1959 appointments.

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 thinline 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 is evidence of some repair on the neck heel, probably it has been re-glued. This does not look like a complete reset as there is no evidence of any finish being disturbed on the top.

The tailpiece has been repaired in the usual place they break and the rosewood bridge is 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.

Inside, the electronics are all correct and the single pickup works really well with all the bite, growl and warmth you expect from vintage P-90.

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.