NAMM 2026: Gibson has turned loose all the considerable forensic guitar-making powers of the Custom Shop’s Murphy Lab to recreate one of rock ’n’ roll’s most iconic electric guitars, Keith Richards’ 1960 ES-355.
Using 3D scans, Tom Murphy’s team has recreated every spot of wear and tear on the Rolling Stones guitarist’s Ebony finished, Bigsby equipped original, and Gibson has got the man himself to sign the f-hole labels for a limited run of 100 Collector’s Edition instruments.
A further 50 are signed on the headstock and the f-hole label, and are available exclusively via Gibson.
These, of course, are megabucks releases. Expect to pay £17,999/$19,999 for the Collector’s Edition model at your local dealer. Meanwhile the Gibson exclusive is priced at a positively oligarchical £25,999/$29,999.
But these are nonetheless a fraction of what you would pay for a vintage equivalent, and are ostensibly high-end electric guitars for the collector’s market – we would fully expect these to be an appreciable asset for anyone lucky enough to own one. They’ll also get one heck of a guitar.
As signature guitars go, this is hard to top. There’s something about the ES-355 in Ebony, the gold hardware, the tuxedo stylings of the split diamond headstock inlay, the multi-ply binding and block inlays on the ebony fingerboard, the Bigsby B7 giving it some rock ’n’ roll wobble.
With all that lacquer checking and the gold looking very much like it has spent 65 years being exposed to air, smoke, and sweat, the mojo is off the charts.
Gibson has outfitted these with a pair of Custombuckers, each of which has an aged Alnico V magnet for that time-machine tone. These are hooked up to a pair of volume knobs, a pair of tone knobs, with CTS 500K audio taper pots and paper-in-oil capacitors.
My six-string stuff has always been, you know, a great Gibson – that’s where I feel the most comfortable
Switchcraft jacks and switches as standard. There are Grover Rotomatics with “milk bottle” buttons. The controls are True Historic black ‘Top Hats’ with dials, just like the original; everything is just like the original.
That’s the idea. Gibson describes it as “a love-letter to one of the coolest guitars of all time”.
“Is there a more iconic guitar player on Earth than Keith Richards?” says the brand. “For more than six decades, the ‘Human Riff’ has been the heartbeat of The Rolling Stones, inspiring millions of fans and musicians the world over to get out of their seats and rock ’n’ roll.
“It’s impossible to imagine the popular music landscape without the monolithic presence of Keith Richards looming over it with impossible cool, godlike nonchalance, and, of course, impeccable taste in guitars.”
This, of course, is not just a love letter to Richards’ instrument. It’s really another of Gibson’s time-capsule tributes to the Golden Era of guitar manufacturing, a vintage instrument born anew, with period-correct appointments such as the long neck tenon and the medium-wide fretwire.
As for the key dimensions, it’s totally on brand with a 24.75” scale, 12” radius fingerboard. It has a 41.28mm bone nut. The neck profile again harks back to the 3D scans; it is the same shape as Richards’ guitar. The body is 3-ply maple/poplar/maple with a weight-relieved maple centre block to nix feedback and red spruce bracing.
“This is my standard-tuning six-string; this is the other side of my thing,” says Richards, speaking to Stones producer Andrew Watt on the Gibson TV YouTube demo. “My six-string stuff has always been, you know, a great Gibson – that’s where I feel the most comfortable. And also with the sound. Put it through just about any amp, and it will sound the way you want it, because this has so much more room for expression.”
Inside the case there is a leather guitar strap and a black scarf with white skull print just like Keef’s. Just add a knitted watchcap and that’s your Halloween look sorted.
These guitars ship in custom hard-shell guitar case, lined with blue velvet, and they are available now. Get ‘em while they’re hot. Head over to Gibson and the Gibson Gazette for more details.
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