1986 Gibson es-335 custom shop

[lavern23]

A friend of mine has the guitar pictured below.  It’s a 1986 es-335 and has custom shop written on the label on the inside of the guitar.  I’ve done some searching on the inter webs and don’t see any 80’s es-335 with this burst or with block inlays.  I’m figuring that’s what is making this a custom shop.  Any idea what the color and block inlays might do for the value?  Anyone got one that looks similar?

81746526 is serial #.  The pic he sent me is too large to share.

 

thanks in advance…

Edited January 18, 2022 by lavern23

[merciful-evans]

I dont think the Custom Shop was established until about 1993 so not sure what goes on there, but Gibson were producing 'specials' prior to that for certain. 

[SteveFord]

Looks like an ebony fretboard from here.

[lavern23]

81746526 is serial #.  The pic he sent me is too large to share.

[jdgm]

The Gibson company changed hands in 1986; Norlin sold it to a group of investors and the quality of the guitars then got a whole lot better.

I don't know exactly when in 1986 that was, but the guitar pictured may be one of the last Norlin Gibsons.

 

 

[SteveFord]

You should make him sell it to you.

I believe they made same extra fancy models right before the move to show what they could do.

[rct]

That's a Norlin Sunburst if ever I saw one, and I am not saying that in a good way at all.

rct

[lavern23]

Here is what we got back from Gruhn after they contacted Gibson…

We certify the instrument described below is, in our opinion, a Gibson Custom Shop ES-335 model thinline semi-hollowbody electric archtop guitar, made in the year 1986.

 

Description: In preparation for this appraisal, we contacted Jason Davidson, Director, Product Development & Consumer Service, Gibson Archives Curator at Gibson Brands, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee. Mr. Davidson indicated that this instrument is a “one off” Gibson Custom Shop guitar, and was not a customer special order, but rather a demonstration piece, possibly made for trade show purposes. Loss of records for that period makes location of specific information impossible. Serial number: 81746526 – die-stamped on peghead rear with “Made in USA” logo and handwritten on interior white-oval paper label, visible through the bass-side f-hole. This guitar received its serial number at the mid-point of production on Monday, June 23^rd1986 and was the 26^th instrument to be numbered at the Nashville facility on that day. Upon examination, we note that this guitar appears cosmetically and structurally to be in fine condition. This instrument was made with double-cutaway thinline semi-hollowbody with laminate maple top, back and sides, cherry sunburst finish, f-holes, elevated multi-ply beveled-edge black plastic pickguard, Nashville style tune-o-matic bridge, stop-bar tailpiece, two humbucking pickups with metal covers and black plastic mounting rings, four “bonnet style” black plastic control knobs, three-position toggle-type pickup selector switch, one-piece mahogany neck with adjustable truss-rod (and without a volute), classic “open book” peghead shape, pantograph-cut mother-of-pearl “Gibson” logo and crown peghead inlay, gold-color “Custom Shop Original” logo on peghead rear, individual Grover Rotomatic tuners with metal buttons, multi-ply beveled-edge bell-shaped black plastic truss-rod cover, 22-fret ebony fingerboard with large rectangular mother-of-pearl inlays (i.e., like a Gibson Les Paul Custom fingerboard), single-ply white edge binding on fingerboard and body top and back, and gold-plated metal hardware. We were unable to make an in-hand assessment of the pickups, potentiometers, selector switch and wiring harness, but for the purposes of this appraisal we assume them to be correct (no diagnostically relevant photos of these interior components were provided to Gruhn Guitars). The instrument is currently housed in the original hard-shell case with textured black vinyl exterior covering and blue plush interior lining.