As one of the great jazz musicians of his generation, it was absolutely fitting that Gibson designed a top-of-the-range signature model for Barney Kessel.

Alongside his work as a member of the famous ‘Wrecking Crew’ group of first-call US session players, he is considered one of the finest ever jazz guitar players with a special talent for chordal work and solo guitar arranging.

The futuristic design and very high quality craftsmanship of his signature guitar (built by Gibson between 1961 and 1974) features a maple hollow bound body, double Florentine cutaway, twin humbucking pickups and a 20 fret rosewood fingerboard.

There is something very special about not only the looks of this guitar, but also the wonderfully rich tones that you can coax from the twin Gibson pickups and it’s no surprise that even non-jazzers love this particular guitar.

Blues legend T-Bone Walker favoured this model in the 1960’s for it’s ability to produce searing, raw blues tones and we certainly can’t argue with that viewpoint.

These Gibson signature guitars are increasingly popular with collectors and players and as Barney sadly passed away in 2004, the interest has only increased over the last decade since his death.