When Gibson announced the launch of its third Gibson Garage location in Miami over the summer, the firm said it would also be tapping into the city’s rich culture. Now it’s putting its money where its mouth is by collaborating with the estate of Gustavo Cerati for what it’s calling “one of the most significant collector instruments in Gibson history.”
The resulting Gibson Custom Gustavo Cerati ES-335 electric guitar is limited to just 60 pieces and is available exclusively at the Miami store, which opened its doors last week. A 1965 reissue, it's a tribute to the late Soda Stereo frontman’s prized workhorse and honors “one of the most influential artists in Latin American music.”
Built by Gibson Custom and aged by the Murphy Lab, the ES-335, of course, has a Cherry finish and is loaded with a B7 Bigsby trem, factory double pickguards, and Grover tuners to mirror the guitar that starred in Soda Stereo’s 1996 MTV Unplugged performance. It also appeared on some of the band’s biggest tours and at Cerati’s 2007 Live Earth performance with Shakira.
Cerati, who released seven albums with the legendary Argentine rock band outfit and a series of solo albums before his passing in 2014, bought the original guitar in New York in the mid ’90s. It had already been modded with a second pickguard, leather back pad, and Bigsby, which the Murphy Lab has naturally replicated here.
Couple those details with Murphy Lab aging processes that have already given reissues for Jeff Beck’s Yardburst Les Paul, Mick Ronson’s David Bowie-era LP, and fooled Peter Frampton – and there’s an artifact-like attention to detail here.
Born in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires in 1959, Cerati fused a love of the Beatles and the Police with his roots to make Soda Stereo a global success story. He sold over 10 million solo albums and won six Latin Grammy Awards.
The result of Gibson’s collaboration with the Cerati estate, the firm believes, has produced “a museum-quality, yet fully playable collectible designed to endure both musically and historically.”
The Gibson Custom Gustavo Cerati 1965 ES-335 is available only at the new Gibson Garage in Miami and comes with a custom hardshell case.
