The First Quality Music Blog

Careful acoustic research has resulted in the full, rich and warm sound of this popular model. Two single coil pickups on a full size body are accented by a traditionally shaped sound hole. The 24 fret Rosewood fingerboard is punctuated by dot inlay fret markers, with full double cutaways permitting access to all the frets. Standard output is monaural through a single jack plate.

Body Style: Double Cutaway
Scale Length: 24.6″ (625mm)
Top: Arched Laminated Maple
Back And Sides: Laminated Maple Body, 17″ Wide, 2″ Deep
Neck: 3-Piece Maple
Pickups: 2 High Sensitive Filter’tron™ Pickups
Pickup Switching: 3-Position Toggle:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge And Neck Pickups
Position 3. Neck Pickup
Controls: Volume 1. (Neck Pickup),
Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup),
Master Volume,
3-Position Toggle Master Tone Switch,
Standby Switch
Width At Nut: 1-11/16″ (43mm)
Fretboard: Ebony, 12″ Radius (305mm)
Bridge: Ebony-Based Gold Rocking Bar Bridge
Tailpiece: Gretsch Bigsby B6G Vibrato Tailpiece
Hardware: Gold-Plated
Finish: Gloss Urethane
No. Of Frets: 22 (Plus Zero Fret)
Machine Heads: Grover Imperial™ Gold-Plated Die-Cast Tuners
Unique Features: Neo Classic Thumbnail Inlay Position Markers, Zero Fret, Simulated F-Holes, Double Muffler System, Bound Fingerboard and Headstock, Multiple Body Bindings, Gold-Plated Name Plate on Headstock, Gold Plexi Pickguard, Knurled Strap Retainer Knobs, Adjustable Truss Rod

Hollowbody
Single cutaway
25-1/2″ (648mm) scale length
Arched laminated maple top
Laminated Maple Body, 17″ Wide, 2-3/4″ Deep
3-Piece Maple neck
2 High Sensitive Filter’Tron Pickups
3-Position Toggle: Position 1. Bridge Pickup, Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups, Position 3. NeckPickup
Controls: Volume 1. (Neck Pickup), Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup), Master Volume, 3-Position Toggle Master Tone Switch
1-11/16″ (43mm) nut width
Ebony fretboard, 12″ radius (305mm)
Ebony-Based Space-Control Roller-Bridge
Bigsby B6GB Vibrato Tailpiece
Gold-plated hardware
Gloss urethane finish
22 frets
Grover® Imperial Gold-Plated Die-cast Tuners

Body Style: Single Cutaway
Scale Length: 24.6″ (625mm)
Top: Arched Laminated Maple
Back and Sides: Laminated Maple Body, 16″ Wide, 2.75″ Deep
Neck: 3-Piece Maple
Pickups: 2 Dynasonic™ Single-Coil Pickups
Pickup Switching: 3-Position Toggle:
Position 1. Bridge Pickup
Position 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups
Position 3. Neck Pickup
Controls: Volume 1. (Neck Pickup),
Volume 2. (Bridge Pickup),
Master Volume,
Master Tone
Width At Nut: 1-11/16″ (43mm)
Fretboard: Rosewood, 12″ Radius (305mm)
Bridge: Rosewood-Based Polished Aluminum Compensated Bigsby
Tailpiece: Bigsby B6CBVF Vibrato Tailpiece
Hardware: Polished Aluminum and Gold-Plated
Finish: Gloss Urethane
No. of Frets: 22
Machine Heads: Gold-Plated Grover V98G Sta-Tite™ Die-Cast Tuners
Unique Features: Aged Vintage Wide-Bock Pearloid Position Markers with Western Motif of Cactus and Steerheads and Fences, G Brand on The Body, Aged Fingerboard and Headstock Binding, Multiple Aged Body Bindings, Stained Maple Headstock Overlay, Inlaid Pearloid Steerhead and Gretsch Logo on Headstock, Bound Oversized F-Holes, Gold Plexi Pickguard with Chet Atkins Signature Signpost, Polished Aluminum Bigsby¨ Paired with Gold-Plated Hardware, Arrow Knobs, Knurled Strap Retainer Knobs, Adjustable Truss Rod

In the history of all music, there has never been a guitar associated with one musician quite like blues legend B.B. King is linked to his beloved Lucille – a custom-built Gibson ES-355 manufactured exclusively for the true “King of the Blues” since 1980. And B.B. King is not only the most renowned blues musician of our time; he’s also one of the most important electric guitarists of all-time. His singular bluesy style has influenced generations of players across genres, and his powerful and distinct songs have appeared on the charts more than 70 times, from blues to R&B to pop. He’s done it all, and at over 80 years of age he is still considered the hardest working man in show business, maintaining a pace many younger artists dream of keeping up with.

Standard appointments include all gold hardware, metal tulip tuners, a Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge and TP-6 tailpiece. As is customary with the ES-355 there are two volume, two tone knobs, and a three-way selector switch, Vari-tone switch, and both stereo and mono jacks.

This guitar was and is the most popular out of all the Chet Atkin models , they were introduced in 1986 . Its a thinline archtop , has a single rounded cutaway , two humbucker pickups , gold hardware , with a bigsby tailpiece and a wider classical-style neck. Mint condition.

American Standard Stratocaster guitars are beauties to behold in sound, look and feel. Features include hand-rolled fingerboard edges, alnico V pickups, staggered tuners, improved bridge with bent steel saddles and copper-infused high-mass block for increased resonance and sustain, tinted neck, high-gloss maple or rosewood fretboard, satin neck back for smooth playability, thin-finish undercoat that lets the body breathe and improves resonance. Excellent condition.

The Taylor Road show visited First Quality Music last Tuesday, May 25th. Taylor Representatives Barney Hill and Mark Seal brought several amazing Taylor instruments to showcase and let attendees try out. The day was littered with guitar demonstrations, question and answer sessions, and a Baby Taylor giveaway! We’d like to congratulate the winner of the giveaway, Joey and his daughter Emma, and thank Taylor for putting on another great show! We had around 85 people drop by for the event and had a great time – if you missed the Taylor Road Show, check out http://www.taylorguitars.com/roadshow/ to find the next appearance nearest to you.

Check out some pictures of the event below – for more video, check us out at http://www.youtube.com/FQMSVids.

I spent some time today taking a few photos of our Used & Consignment Inventory – we have a set of beautiful instruments that we don’t feature on firstqualitymusic.com which you might never see without stopping by our Retail showroom! If you’re interested in any of these pieces, please feel free to give us a call at 1(800) 635-2021 – We’d be glad to give you more information.

Paul Reed Smith Electric Guitar – McCarty Tobacco Sunburst – $1,899

Paul Reed Smith Electric Guitar – Custom 22 Whale Blue - SOLD

Gibson Robot Electric Guitar – Limited Edition 1st Production Run- $1,699

Larrivee L-05 Acoustic Guitar – $1,249

1999 Alvarez Yairi DY-100 Acoustic Guitar  - $1,799

1988 Santa Cruz Custom Brazilian Rosewood Acoustic Guitar – $5,999
This Instrument was featured as a Vault Friday piece – click here to check it out!

I.L. Guernsey Resonator Guitar – $2,149

Harlow Resonator Guitar – $2,149

Gibson F-5G Mandolin – $3,399

Gibson F-5 Master Model Mandolin – Signed by Danny Roberts – $12,999
This Instrument was featured as a Vault Friday piece - click here to check it out!

Welcome back to another Vault Friday! Each Friday I’ll venture into the Vault with one of our instrument specialists to showcase some of the cool stuff we’ve got hidden away in there.

We’ve got Corey back this week with another awesome Electric, the Music Man 25th Anniversary. This guitar has plenty of bells and whistles to achieve whatever sound your looking for. New for 2009, this guitar is a celebration of 25 years of music with Ernie Ball and Music Man.It features a lightweight body, dramatic styling, and an amazing set of electronics. It sports two Di Marzio humbucking pickups with ten distinct sounds, utilizing a 5-way lever pickup selector and series/parallel toggle switch. Visually, this guitar is a real beauty with a basswood chambered body, mahogany tone block, and a bound premium maple top.

You can learn more about the Music Man 25th Anniversary Electric Guitar here or by giving Corey a call at (800) 635-2021 Ext. 7142