CHUCK BERRY
“Brown Eyed Handsome Man” - Photo (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
"The 1955 Gibson “Maybellene” ES-350T was the very first six-string in Chuck Berry’s catalogue to become heavily attached to his image, not only it was used at the height of his career during his early years in the 1950s, but it was the guitar used to record his breakthrough singles and records. It is unclear how Chuck first got his hands on this 350T, some speculate he acquired it from the record company after working three jobs in St. Louis and earning some cash after his first few gigs Johnnie Johnson’s Trio. Other sources however suggest that he paid for it after a long term with Johnson’s Trio, who had access to high-end gear at the time, hence, being allowed to play in open bars during the early 50s.
Most of Chuck Berry’s songs would have snarky guitar intros with riffs that are now used by modern-day guitarists as rock templates. All of his songs produced by Chess Records were played using his Gibson 1955 ES-350T. Many musical historians regard the ES-350T as the guitar that “established the bends and stops of rock n’ roll music”, and Chuck had a flair for double stops in his guitar solos that became iconic with this early version of the Gibson Byrdland as we know it.
The ES-350T was first produced by Gibson to feature their all-new patent-applied-for (PAF) humbucking pickups. The Custom dog-ear P90 neck and bridge pickups gave the Maybellene the unique effect of a winding antique clock – unapologetically and neatly springy. The dual humbuckers were had two coils producing currents in opposite directions, a mechanism that canceled out the annoying hum often heard in single-coil pickups in older models. The pickups had two 500K CTS volume and tone knobs and 3-way switchcraft selectors.
The Maybellene was used in the studio production and countless performances of Johnny B. Goode, Chuck Berry’s 1957 song with one of the most influential riffs in guitar history.
The 23-inch-scale piece featured a signature ‘55 Medium C-Shape. The tailpiece was an engraved wire loop trapeze and the truss rod was 2-way adjustable. It had 22 narrow/tall frets with double parallelogram inlays, Kluson single line single ring tuners, and a Switchcraft output Jack. It was the guitar that shaped Chuck’s career and formed the basal sound profile of Rock & Roll."
Christopher D. Schiebel - Guitar Lobby
