Gibson Barney Kessel
The Gibson Barney Kessel (1961–1974) is a signature model guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Company. The guitar was a signature model for the popular Jazz musician Barney Kessel. The guitar was not popular and in 1974 Gibson discontinued production.
Gibson Barney Kessel
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- electric guitar.
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The Gibson Barney Kessel (1961–1974) is a signature model guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Company. The guitar was a signature model for the popular Jazz musician Barney Kessel. The guitar was not popular and in 1974 Gibson discontinued production.
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wikidata · Q115632993 · wikipedia · Gibson Barney Kessel
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Key facts
Key facts
• Title — Barney Kessel • Manufacturer — Gibson Brands • Period — 1961–1974 • Bodytype — Semi-hollow body thinline • Scale — 25 1/2" • Woodbody — Spruce and Maple • Woodneck — Mahogany • Woodfingerboard — Brazilian rosewood • Bridge — Rosewood • Pickups — Humbuckers • Colors — Sunburst
History
History
In 1960 Barney Kessel was a popular guitar player and the Gibson Guitar Company pursued him; wanting to put his name on a jazz guitar signature model. The Barney Kessel artist model was released in 1961 and was produced until 1974. The guitar was available in two versions: a regular model and a Custom model. When the guitar debuted in 1961 the Barney Kessel regular retailed for $395 and Barney Kessel custom retailed $560.
Specifications
Specifications
The guitar was a hollow-body intended for Jazz music. The body featured a double cutaway design. The guitar had a spruce top, maple sides and back, two Humbucker pickups, a mahogany neck and a Brazilian rosewood fretboard with double-parallelogram inlays on the regular version and bowtie inlays on the Custom model. The custom was considered to be the deluxe version and it had more elaborate inlays and gold plated metal parts. Both the regular and custom models featured a wooden badge fitted in the trapeze tailpiece which had Barney Kessel's name engraved on it. The bridge was wooden and constructed from rosewood.
Notable players
Notable players
• Barney Kessel • Nile Rodgers • Pat Smear • Blake Mills • Ed Cherry • Trini Lopez
Reception
The Barney Kessel artist model did not sell well. The shipping numbers show that 1968 was the best year for sales of the guitar (371). By 1974 Gibson stopped producing the guitar because jazz was no longer popular and Gibson's relationship with Kessel was strained. At times Barney Kessel played the model with a piece of tape covering the Gibson logo on the headstock. Over the years many of the Barney Kessel guitars have been stripped for parts, since individual parts are worth more than selling the guitar whole. Gibson produced 1117 Barney Kessel regular and 740 Barney Kessel custom during the twelve years. Sales in the 1970s were far less than the 1960s.
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Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Music Radar. Old gold: 1961 Gibson Barney Kessel. 17 August 2018.
- 2.Bastian, Jim. Gibson and Barney Kessel. Premier Guitar. 11 July 2007.
- 3.Vintage Guitar and Bass. Gibson Barney Kessel Gibson artist-series electric acoustic guitar. 2022.
- 4.Thompson, Art. "I Only Play One Guitar": Nile Rodgers Riffs On His Famed Hitmaker. Guitar Player. 7 June 2022.
- 5.Dunn, Matt. These Are Guitars and Gear Used by the Foo Fighters. Ultimate Guitar. 1 March 2021.
- 6.Von Bader, David. The Lone Troubador. Premier Guitar. 31 January 2019.
- 7.Frank Vignola's Guitar Night with Ed Cherry, May 7 2025, Birdland Theater
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