When Gibson’s legendary ES-335 was born in 1958, it was hailed as an innovated instrument – and was a guitar of an instant hit with players alike. The revolutionary design managed to offer guitarists the best of both hollow body archtop and solid body design since it had all the meat & potatoes of a classic jazz guitar; a maple block positioned at the center of the body help resist against acoustical feedback. Ingenious… and very clever, indeed.
Factor in the ES335’s sleek body design, single bar stop tailpiece, Les Paul look-a-like Tune-O-Matic bridge and a tone that was both powerful and precise. Now you can see why the instrument has found its way into the hands of ungodly players such as Eric Clapton, Larry Carlton, and Alvin Lee.
Despite the theory that you can’t have too much of a good thing, Gibson Guitars reissued the ‘59 ES-335 and all its glory so that guitarists who have always GAS for one can now trot-on-down to their local guitar store; rather than running the gauntlet of the astronomically priced vintage market. Gibson’s ES-335 are available in two different finishes – Faded Cherry and Antique Vintage Sunburst.
Expect to pay around $4,500 for one of these babies.
Let’s take a look at the spec:
Body
Plain laminated maple top, back and rims
16” (W) x 19” (L) x 1 5/8” (D)
Single-ply cream binding on top and back
Nickel Hardware
ABR-1 bridge, lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece
Available in Antique Vintage Sunburst and Faded Cherry (both in either standard gloss or VOS treatments)
Neck
One-piece mahogany neck with long tenon
22 fret Madagascar rosewood fingerboard
Pearloid dot inlays
Single-ply cream binding with tortoiseshell side dots
1959 rounded neck profile
24 3/4” scale length 1 11/16” nut width
Holly headstock veneer
Vintage tulip tuners
Electronics & Strings
’57 Classic humbucking pickups
CTS pots and bumble bee capacitors
2 volume, 2 tone, 3 way selector switch
Vintage Reissue .010 – .046 strings
For more details, visit www.gibson.com
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