“Big Red has always been a grounding instrument and comforting reminder of where I come from,” says Marcus King.
Gibson has shaped sound across generations and genres and has emerged as the most relevant, played, and loved guitar brand around the world. Gibson is proud to release Marcus King’s second signature guitar, the Gibson Marcus King ES-345 electric guitar in Sixties Cherry. The Marcus King ES 345 guitar is based upon an original family heirloom of King’s and handmade by the expert luthiers and artisans of Gibson in Nashville, TN. It is now available worldwide at www.gibson.com.
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“Big Red has always been a grounding instrument and comforting reminder of where I come from,” says Marcus King. “This guitar always brings me back home to the joy, curiosity, and obsession I had for guitar from the beginning. I’m always tremendously honoured and humbled when I take Big Red out of the case. It still feels like my grandfather’s guitar, and I approach it with the same respect as I did when he first let me play the guitar when I was a young boy. I know he’d be very proud to know that Gibson and I were delivering this feeling to a new audience of players, and I am so excited for another generation of players to feel what I feel; seeing and playing this guitar always feels like taking your dad’s car out for a Sunday drive. A hot red Coupe Deville with the top down, baby.”
The Greenville, South Carolina-born, Nashville-based Marcus King is renowned for his soulful voice, guitar skills and diverse influences. Marcus comes from a musical family and began playing guitar at a young age. His father, Marvin King, is a blues guitarist, and his grandfather was a country musician.
“A hot red Coupe Deville with the top down, baby.”
The Gibson Marcus King ES-345 is a reflection of his own family’s sonic heritage, a personalised version of the classic model that was handed down from Marcus King’s grandfather to his father and finally to him as he launched his family’s musical legacy to stages worldwide. Originally released as a Custom Shop model, the new Marcus King ES-345 is inspired by his main guitar, a 1962 ES-345 that was handed down to him by his family. This modern version captures the look and vibe of his original, with only the features that King finds essential, including mono wiring, a pair of Custombucker humbucker pickups, a fixed Vibrola tailpiece for improved tuning stability, and a stud anchor cover customised specifically for Marcus King. All of the standard ES-345 features that you’d expect are also present, including the 3-ply maple/poplar/maple body, solid maple centre block for improved sustain and feedback resistance, and gold hardware, including an ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and Grover Rotomatic tuners with kidney buttons. The mahogany neck features a Rounded profile that averages .875” at the first fret and .975” at the 12th fret. The Indian rosewood fretboard is adorned with acrylic split parallelogram inlays and equipped with 22 medium jumbo frets. A Graph Tech nut adds to the tuning stability, and the guitar is finished in a classic and stunning Sixties Cherry. A Gibson hardshell guitar case is included to keep the Marcus King ES-345 safe when it is stored or in transport.
For more info, specs and further reading, keep reading at Gibson.
