1959 Gibson ES-345 Sunburst "First Rack"

"First Rack" 59 345's are different from all 345's that followed. It's really the first three "racks" of 345's that have these special characteristics. Thin top like a 58 335, huge neck (.90" at the first fret and 1.02" at the 12th), "short leg" PAF, small varitone choke rout. I asked three burst owners to tell me what guitars qualified as "burst killers". They all said "none" but if I had to pick one, it would be a first rack 345. This example has some pretty figure in the top, a "short leg" zebra PAF in the bridge. The tuners are repro but the originals are in the case. They need to be re-tipped. Never had Grovers or other tuners, never had a Bigsby. The circuit has been modded to mono but the Varitone is still intact and fully functional. The mimeographed Varitone instruction sheet is in the case too (you never see these). It has been re-fretted and the nut was replaced (original included). Everything else is original. Thge bridge pickup was opened to reverse the phase (stereo Gibsons have out of phase pickups and that must be reversed for proper mono operation. Condition is 9/10. Case is original Stone of Brooklyn with its original key.