NMM 10027.  Electric arch-top guitar by Gibson, Inc., Kalamazoo, 1941. Model ES-300.  Serial number 97274.  Board of Trustees, 2003. The ES-300, with an offset, adjustable pickup, replaced the ES-250 with blade pickup in 1940. Promising "clear, singing treble strings together with deep, booming bass," the new pickup did not live up to expectations. The angle of the offset was reduced in 1941, but the design was not revived after production was halted in 1942, due to the war. In 1945, the ES-300 was reintroduced with a P-90 pickup and a second was added in 1948, but the model was discontinued in 1952. By that time, solid-body electric guitars and Gibson’s own, more slender Thinline instruments were beginning to overshadow the older, large-bodied electric arch-tops in terms of market share. However, among niche customers, such as jazz musicians, electric arch-tops remained the guitar of choice. This instrument is currently in the NMM exhibition, You Gotta Know the Territory:  The Musical Journey of Meredith Willson, at the Meredith Willson Museum, Mason City, Iowa. Lit.:  A. R. Duchossoir, Gibson Guitars:  The Classic Years (Milwaukee:  Hal Leonard, 1994), p. 113. George Gruhn and Walter Carter, Electric Guitars and Basses (San Francisco:  GPI Books, 1994), p. 58. Return to Gibson Electric Guitar Checklist National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD 57069 ©National Music Museum, 2006 Most recent update: October 23, 2007 You are the 1,924th visitor to this page since December 14, 2006 The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page