“A rare bird with unique details”: Gibson Custom's 1964 ES-345 Select models offer ‘woulda, coulda’ mods and lavish Mist finishes on a vintage-style hollow-body build
The special order axes marry 1964 ES-345 authenticity with fresh, head-turning colorways

Gibson has revealed a trio of Gibson Custom Select 1964 ES-345s. The idea behind the Custom Select range is to create a small-batch run of vintage-style Custom Shop models that offer unusual spec combinations and colorways. A sort of high-end ‘coulda, woulda’ mod build that might have emerged in the referenced era.
Here it’s the finishes that hit you first, and it’s hard to look past the ultra-cool pink hues of the Bronze Mist and the dazzling Sapphire Mist, whereas the trio is rounded-out by the comparatively understated Antique Pelham Blue. The latter is also bestowed with the Murphy Lab Light Aging treatment for a guitar that looks like it's lived a distinguished life before it has left the factory.
Both the Bronze Mist and Sapphire Mist options feature Dogear P-90 pickups in the neck position, and a Custombucker in the bridge. The Bronze Mist model comes with an ABR-1 bridge with a lightweight aluminum stop bar, while the Sapphire Mist instead opts for a Bigsby vibrato.
Historically, finding a Gibson with Dogear P-90s in the neck can be a task akin to finding unicorn droppings, and here both pickups are wired directly to individual Volume and Tone controls, omiting the standard Varitone circuit for a minimalist sleekness.
Meanwhile, the Antique Pelham Blue model doubles-up on the Custombuckers and sticks to the whammy-free ABR-1 bridge/stop bar.
All three guitars feature an authentic ’64 medium C-profile mahogany, long-tenon necks with a 12" radius, and 22-fret Rosewood fingerboards. They too stick to Gibson's tried-and-tested 24.75" scale length, while Kluson Double Ring tuners pepper their headstocks.
The P-90 models are wired in with 500k CTS potentiometers, and the double humbucker version mixes things up with 500K CTS Audio Taper potentiometers and Paper-in-Oil capacitors. They also employ nickel hardware across the board.
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The ‘64 models were typically finished with Gibson’s timeless Cherry or Vintage Sunburst and gold hardware, so it’s pleasing to see Gibson having a little creative license with these reissues.
Described as “a more ornate sibling of the ES-335”, Gibson originally launched the ES-345 in 1959, and much of that same recipe remains.
The semi-hollow guitar’s three-ply maple/poplar/maple body has been sandwiched together with original equipment from Gibson’s former Kalamazoo, Michigan factory, while Split Parallelogram inlays maintain the ‘64 charm.
The ES-345 has been the weapon of choice for a variety of players since, from the soulful blues of Freddie King to the British indie swagger of Oasis’ Noel Gallagher.
Available exclusively as a custom order through Made to Measure and Gibson Custom Select, this ES-345 pays homage to the 1964 variant and is pitched as “a rare bird with unique details”.
Gibson's new 1964 ES-345 Custom Select Reissues differ in price. The Bronze Mist guitar comes in cheapest at $7,199 and rises to $7,899 for the Bigsby model. The Antique Pelham Blue, featuring two Custombuckers, sits in the middle of the price range at $7,699.
Head to Gibson for more details.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
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