Gibson Marcus King ES-345

A royal reimagining of an ES classic - and it might just take the crown as the best signature guitar of the year

- DARYL ROBERTSON

EVERY GUITARIST DREAMS of having an instrument that bears his or her name, and with not one but two models under his belt, Marcus King is living that dream before even hitting 30. Back in 2021, the South Carolina-born virtuoso was honored with a Custom Shop recreation of a treasured family heirloom: a rare Sideways Vibrola-equipped 1962 ES-345 named "Big Red" that was passed down from his father, who got it from his father. Fast-forward to mid 2025, and this quirky model takes center stage again, now as a Nashville-made variation.

Unlike the Custom Shop's detailed reproduction, this new version skips the features King finds unnecessary. The result? A streamlined ES-345 that keeps the spirit of the original, but without the fluff. As you'd expect, this new model features a 3-ply maple and poplar body, solid maple center block, quarter-sawn Adirondack spruce bracing and a mahogany neck. The fingerboard is adorned with split-parallelogram inlays and 22 medium jumbo frets.

Now, here's where it diverges from a traditional ES-345: the stereo wiring is gone and the Varitone is axed. And while it looks like it sports the classic Sideways Vibrola, it's actually a fixed tailpiece in disguise. Also on board is an ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge, Grover Rotomatic tuners and a Graph Tech nut.