Gibson unveils Custom Shop recreation of Chuck Berry's 1978 Wine Red ES-355
In celebration of the birthday of Chuck Berry (October 18), Gibson has unveiled a Murphy Lab-aged Custom Shop version of the rock and roll pioneer's 1978 Wine Red ES-355.
Staying true to Berry's original model's spec sheet, the new electric guitar sports an all-maple body with red spruce bracing and F-holes, a three-piece maple neck – with a profile that's been matched to Berry's original model – and a 22-fret ebony fingerboard with custom block inlays.
Electronics include a pair of Gibson 68 Custombucker Alnico 5 humbuckers, controlled via two volume pots, two tone dials and a three-way Switchcraft pickup selector. Other electronics include 500K CTS audio taper potentiometers and ceramic capacitors.
Other historically correct appointments include aged gold hardware, a Tune-O-Matic bridge, bound tortoiseshell pickguard, Maestro Vibrola, Grover tuners, a six-position Varitone switch, and a classic split diamond headstock inlay.
“Chuck Berry was a founding father of rock and roll,” Gibson wrote in a statement accompanying the news. “His stagecraft and musicianship laid the foundation for nearly every genre of rock and popular music. His playing, showmanship, and catalog of music helped launch many musicians' careers, and countless sidemen shared the stage with him. So did his trusted Gibson guitars.”
Limited to only 100 units worldwide, the Chuck Berry 1970s ES-355 is available now for $6,999, and comes with a certificate of authenticity.
For more information, head to Gibson.
Get The Pick Newsletter
All the latest guitar news, interviews, lessons, reviews, deals and more, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.
“Trump Guitars is not in any way officially connected with Gibson”: Trump Guitars backtracks after Gibson cease and desist and takes Les Paul-style guitars off the market
“Allows guitarists to use drop tuning while maintaining the same exact feel and comfort of a standard scale guitar”: Reverend Billy Corgan Signature Drop Z review