Gibson has partnered with Keith Richards for a Collector’s Edition version of the Rolling Stones legend’s 1960 ES-355.
It’s the latest example of Gibson partnering with a member of the rock royalty to replicate a particularly historic electric guitar. In the past, Gibson has given the red carpet replica treatment to Kirk Hammett’s Greeny, Jimmy Page’s EDS-1275, and the Back to the Future ES-345.
And while Richards' ES-355 might not seem like the most obvious choice for the next addition to the series, it is certainly more than deserving of its place as the newest Collector’s Edition Gibson guitar.
Aptly described as a “limited-edition love letter to one of the coolest guitars on the planet”, the semi-hollow stunner is a replica of the famed black ES-355 that Richards used in storied sessions for Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.
What’s more, the ES-355 has been a staple of Richards’ live guitar arsenal since 1997, and has been a main player in every one the Stones’ globe-trotting tours over the past few decades.
Two versions of the guitar have been reproduced, but the topline is both are painstaking recreations of the original, built with the aid of advanced 3D scanning, period-correct materials and construction techniques, and Murphy Lab aging to mirror the wear and tear of the source material.
