We may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through our links.
There’s a new generation of guitar heroes keeping the flame of blues, country, and classic rock-n-roll burning. And at their fore is 29-year-old Marcus King, the Greenville, SC-born blues-rock phenom whose star is already 10 feet high—and rising.
With his incredible soulful vocals and mind-shattering guitar chops, King was made in the mold of the great Muscle Shoals southern soul-rockers of the ‘60s and ‘70s. And he’s even got the axe to back it up: “Big Red,” his grandfather’s Cherry Red 1962 Gibson ES-345 that was passed down to him when he started playing as a youngster.
“Big Red has always been a grounding instrument and comforting reminder of where I come from,” says King. “This guitar always brings me back home to the joy, curiosity, and obsession I had for guitar from the beginning.”
And now, Gibson has honored King by introducing his own signature ES-345 inspired by “Big Red,” that includes all of King’s “essentials,” including mono wiring, two Custombucker pickups, and a fixed Vibrola tailpiece. Topping it all off is a custom Marcus King stud anchor cover.
Plus, of course, you get all the Gibson ES-345 trappings: a 3-ply maple/poplar/maple body with solid maple center block, gold ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and kidney-button Grover Rotomatic tuners. Add to that a rounded profile mahogany neck, plus an Indian rosewood fretboard (with acrylic split parallelogram inlays) that's furnished with 22 medium jumbo frets. And did I mention it's Cherry Red? Sixties Cherry Red, to be exact.
“It still feels like my grandfather’s guitar, and I approach it with the same respect as I did when he first let me play the guitar when I was a young boy. I know he’d be very proud to know that Gibson and I were delivering this feeling to a new audience of players, and I am so excited for another generation of players to feel what I feel,” King told Gibson. “Seeing and playing this guitar always feels like taking your dad’s car out for a Sunday drive. A hot red Coupe Deville with the top down, baby.”
The Marcus King ES-345 is available at Sweetwater and Gibson.com.
Comments
Loading…