History speaks for itself. The ES-335 is one of the most important guitars of all time. Right from its introduction in 1958 as the world’s first semi-hollowbody electric guitar it has been a mainstay of players eager to balance the gorgeous, round, mellow tones perfect for jazz and blues with the edge and sustain of a full-blooded solidbody.

Countless music legends have immortalized Gibson’s ES-335.

Two ‘57 Classic humbucking pickups and stopbar tailpiece.

Grover kidney-shaped tuners.

Today the Gibson Custom Shop creates exacting duplicates of the ES-335 as it first left the Kalamazoo plant in 1958. That year just 267 were built, but the original vintage 335s grew steadily in popularity, peaking in 1967 thanks largely to Eric Clapton’s high-profile use of a cherry ES-335 in the band Cream.

Body and Finishes
The Custom Shop ES-335 is available with many finish options, reflecting the color choices that have evolved over the model’s 50-year history. In Satin finish, trans black and cherry colors are available, with a plain maple top, back, and rims. Ebony is available only in plain maple. With the figured maple top, back, and rims option, cherry, tri-burst, antique natural, light burst, and vintage sunburst colors are available. Wine red, trans brown, Beale Street Blue, and cinnamon burst finishes are also available in limited quantities, along with gold hardware, for figured and for plain maple models.

Regardless of color, the ES-335 retains its classic proportions: 16 1/2-inches wide, 20-inches long, and 1 3/4-inches deep. The neck is one-piece mahogany beneath a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearloid inlays and a single-ply binding. Additionally, there’s single-ply binding on the top and back.

Hardware
All hardware is nickel, and there’s a classic ABR-1 bridge with a lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece. Neck length is 24 3/4 inches with a 1 11/16-inch nut width. Satin finish models have vintage style tulip shaped tuners, while figured and plain tops come with Grover kidney-shaped tuners. All Custom Shop ES-335s have powerful ‘57 Classic humbucking pickups, two volume pots, two tone pots, and a three-way pickup selector switch. They are strung with Gibson Brite Wire .010 strings and come safely nestled in a black levant case.

Famous Players
Spanning numerous decades, the ES-335 has been in the hands of countless musicians. From Chuck Berry’s numerous performances to Alvin Lee’s incendiary performance at Woodstock to Police’s 2008 tour in NYC, the ES-335 has been the instrument of choice for any players seeking gorgeous, round, mellow tones, tempered with the edge and sustain of a full-blooded solidbody electric like the Les Paul.

Nitrocellulose Finish
Applying a nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson guitar is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. A properly applied nitro finish requires extensive man hours, several evenly applied coats, and an exorbitant amount of drying time. But this fact has never swayed Gibson into changing this time-tested method, employed ever since the first Gibson guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish dries to a much thinner coat than a polyurethane finish, which means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. A nitro finish is also a softer finish, which makes it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can’t do the same on a poly finish. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous in nature, and actually gets thinner over time. It does not “seal” wood in an airtight shell–as a poly finish does–and allows the wood to breathe and age properly.

All VOS (Vintage Original Spec) series guitars will use a proprietary process that includes unique steps for staining, wet-sanding, and hand-rubbing; subsequently the guitars reflect what a well-cared for 40-year-old guitar looks like. The result is a remarkable patina that will delight even the most discriminating enthusiast.

Gibson Custom ES-335 Dot Electric Guitar, Antique Natural, Figured Maple

History speaks for itself. The ES-335 is one of the most important guitars of all time. Right from its introduction in 1958 as the world’s first semi-hollowbody electric guitar it has been a mainstay of players eager to balance the gorgeous, round, mellow tones perfect for jazz and blues with the edge and sustain of a full-blooded solidbody.

Countless music legends have immortalized Gibson’s ES-335.

Two ‘57 Classic humbucking pickups and stopbar tailpiece.

Grover kidney-shaped tuners.

Today the Gibson Custom Shop creates exacting duplicates of the ES-335 as it first left the Kalamazoo plant in 1958. That year just 267 were built, but the original vintage 335s grew steadily in popularity, peaking in 1967 thanks largely to Eric Clapton’s high-profile use of a cherry ES-335 in the band Cream.

Body and Finishes
The Custom Shop ES-335 is available with many finish options, reflecting the color choices that have evolved over the model’s 50-year history. In Satin finish, trans black and cherry colors are available, with a plain maple top, back, and rims. Ebony is available only in plain maple. With the figured maple top, back, and rims option, cherry, tri-burst, antique natural, light burst, and vintage sunburst colors are available. Wine red, trans brown, Beale Street Blue, and cinnamon burst finishes are also available in limited quantities, along with gold hardware, for figured and for plain maple models.

Regardless of color, the ES-335 retains its classic proportions: 16 1/2-inches wide, 20-inches long, and 1 3/4-inches deep. The neck is one-piece mahogany beneath a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearloid inlays and a single-ply binding. Additionally, there’s single-ply binding on the top and back.

Hardware
All hardware is nickel, and there’s a classic ABR-1 bridge with a lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece. Neck length is 24 3/4 inches with a 1 11/16-inch nut width. Satin finish models have vintage style tulip shaped tuners, while figured and plain tops come with Grover kidney-shaped tuners. All Custom Shop ES-335s have powerful ‘57 Classic humbucking pickups, two volume pots, two tone pots, and a three-way pickup selector switch. They are strung with Gibson Brite Wire .010 strings and come safely nestled in a black levant case.

Famous Players
Spanning numerous decades, the ES-335 has been in the hands of countless musicians. From Chuck Berry’s numerous performances to Alvin Lee’s incendiary performance at Woodstock to Police’s 2008 tour in NYC, the ES-335 has been the instrument of choice for any players seeking gorgeous, round, mellow tones, tempered with the edge and sustain of a full-blooded solidbody electric like the Les Paul.

Nitrocellulose Finish
Applying a nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson guitar is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. A properly applied nitro finish requires extensive man hours, several evenly applied coats, and an exorbitant amount of drying time. But this fact has never swayed Gibson into changing this time-tested method, employed ever since the first Gibson guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish dries to a much thinner coat than a polyurethane finish, which means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. A nitro finish is also a softer finish, which makes it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can’t do the same on a poly finish. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous in nature, and actually gets thinner over time. It does not “seal” wood in an airtight shell–as a poly finish does–and allows the wood to breathe and age properly.

All VOS (Vintage Original Spec) series guitars will use a proprietary process that includes unique steps for staining, wet-sanding, and hand-rubbing; subsequently the guitars reflect what a well-cared for 40-year-old guitar looks like. The result is a remarkable patina that will delight even the most discriminating enthusiast.

History speaks for itself. The ES-335 is one of the most important guitars of all time. Right from its introduction in 1958 as the world’s first semi-hollowbody electric guitar it has been a mainstay of players eager to balance the gorgeous, round, mellow tones perfect for jazz and blues with the edge and sustain of a full-blooded solidbody.

Countless music legends have immortalized Gibson’s ES-335.

Two ‘57 Classic humbucking pickups and stopbar tailpiece.

Grover kidney-shaped tuners.

Today the Gibson Custom Shop creates exacting duplicates of the ES-335 as it first left the Kalamazoo plant in 1958. That year just 267 were built, but the original vintage 335s grew steadily in popularity, peaking in 1967 thanks largely to Eric Clapton’s high-profile use of a cherry ES-335 in the band Cream.

Body and Finishes
The Custom Shop ES-335 is available with many finish options, reflecting the color choices that have evolved over the model’s 50-year history. In Satin finish, trans black and cherry colors are available, with a plain maple top, back, and rims. Ebony is available only in plain maple. With the figured maple top, back, and rims option, cherry, tri-burst, antique natural, light burst, and vintage sunburst colors are available. Wine red, trans brown, Beale Street Blue, and cinnamon burst finishes are also available in limited quantities, along with gold hardware, for figured and for plain maple models.

Regardless of color, the ES-335 retains its classic proportions: 16 1/2-inches wide, 20-inches long, and 1 3/4-inches deep. The neck is one-piece mahogany beneath a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearloid inlays and a single-ply binding. Additionally, there’s single-ply binding on the top and back.

Hardware
All hardware is nickel, and there’s a classic ABR-1 bridge with a lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece. Neck length is 24 3/4 inches with a 1 11/16-inch nut width. Satin finish models have vintage style tulip shaped tuners, while figured and plain tops come with Grover kidney-shaped tuners. All Custom Shop ES-335s have powerful ‘57 Classic humbucking pickups, two volume pots, two tone pots, and a three-way pickup selector switch. They are strung with Gibson Brite Wire .010 strings and come safely nestled in a black levant case.

Famous Players
Spanning numerous decades, the ES-335 has been in the hands of countless musicians. From Chuck Berry’s numerous performances to Alvin Lee’s incendiary performance at Woodstock to Police’s 2008 tour in NYC, the ES-335 has been the instrument of choice for any players seeking gorgeous, round, mellow tones, tempered with the edge and sustain of a full-blooded solidbody electric like the Les Paul.

Nitrocellulose Finish
Applying a nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson guitar is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. A properly applied nitro finish requires extensive man hours, several evenly applied coats, and an exorbitant amount of drying time. But this fact has never swayed Gibson into changing this time-tested method, employed ever since the first Gibson guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish dries to a much thinner coat than a polyurethane finish, which means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. A nitro finish is also a softer finish, which makes it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can’t do the same on a poly finish. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous in nature, and actually gets thinner over time. It does not “seal” wood in an airtight shell–as a poly finish does–and allows the wood to breathe and age properly.

All VOS (Vintage Original Spec) series guitars will use a proprietary process that includes unique steps for staining, wet-sanding, and hand-rubbing; subsequently the guitars reflect what a well-cared for 40-year-old guitar looks like. The result is a remarkable patina that will delight even the most discriminating enthusiast.

Gibson Custom ES-335 Dot Electric Guitar, Vintage Sunburst, Plain Maple

The ES-335 Fat Neck was introduced by the Gibson Custom Shop in 2008. For players who prefer a larger, heavier neck with a rounded profile for any reason–playing technique, larger hands, resonant characteristics, or just a true vintage look and feel–this historic reissue is the perfect instrument.

Countless music legends have immortalized Gibson’s ES-335.

Two ‘57 Classic humbucking pickups and stopbar tailpiece.

Headstock with rich holly veneer and vintage tulip style tuners.

History
The Fat Neck is patterned on the run of 521 ES-335s produced by Gibson’s original Kalamazoo factory in 1959. This distinctive six-string still has all the same winning tonal qualities as the Custom Shop 335s modeled in 1958: warm, darker, mellow rounded tones perfect for jazz or blues, supercharged with the edge, sustain, and plain authority that comes with semi-hollowbody design.

In keeping with the vintage ’59s, the ES-335 Fat Neck not only boasts the correct rounded ‘59 one-piece mahogany neck profile, but the slightly smaller body of the originals and vintage lightweight maple centerblock construction. The Fat Neck’s body measures 16 inches wide, 19 inches long, and 1.7-inches deep.

Body and Finishes
Each Custom Shop ES-335 Fat Neck has a plain maple top, back, and rims with a three-ply maple body construction and that vintage lightweight maple centerblock. Models are available in antique red finish, antique natural, antique ebony, and antique vintage sunburst. The pearloid dot inlays give the guitar its distinctive moniker, and they are balanced by a single-ply cream binding along the neck, top, and back.

Neck and Hardware
All hardware is nickel, and there’s a classic ABR-1 bridge with a lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece. True to the original ES-335s, the neck has the rounded 1959 profile and a 24-inch scale length with an 1 11/16th-inch width at the nut. The headstock has a rich holly veneer and the tuners are vintage tulip style.

As with many other iconic Custom Shop reproductions of great Gibsons from the ’50s and ’60s, the 1959 ES-335 Fat Neck model has two ‘57 Classic humbucking pickups, two volume pots, two tone pots, and a three-way pickup selector switch. The guitar sports Gibson Brite Wire .010s strings.

Nitrocellulose Finish
Applying a nitrocellulose finish to any Gibson guitar is one of the most labor-intensive elements of the guitar-making process. A properly applied nitro finish requires extensive man hours, several evenly applied coats, and an exorbitant amount of drying time. But this fact has never swayed Gibson into changing this time-tested method, employed ever since the first Gibson guitar was swathed with lacquer back in 1894. Why? For starters, a nitro finish dries to a much thinner coat than a polyurethane finish, which means there is less interference with the natural vibration of the instrument, allowing for a purer tone. A nitro finish is also a softer finish, which makes it easily repairable. You can touch up a scratch or ding on a nitro finish, but you can’t do the same on a poly finish. In addition, a nitro finish is very porous in nature, and actually gets thinner over time. It does not “seal” wood in an airtight shell–as a poly finish does–and allows the wood to breathe and age properly.

All VOS (Vintage Original Spec) series guitars will use a proprietary process that includes unique steps for staining, wet-sanding, and hand-rubbing; subsequently the guitars reflect what a well-cared for 40-year-old guitar looks like. The result is a remarkable patina that will delight even the most discriminating enthusiast.

Gibson Custom ES-335 Dot Electric Guitar, ‘Fat-Neck,’ Antique Vintage Sunburst

The 50th Anniversary Les Paul Korina Tribute is a rare and unique edition to a definitive electric guitar. The Gibson Korina guitar is made from a very lightweight and musical wood called korina wood, that has come to be known as a rare and legendary tonewood among manufacturers and players alike. Here’s your chance to own a special edition of a landmark Gibson Custom guitar that changed the sound of rock and blues. The Korina Tribute electric guitar has an early ’50s neck profile that is rounded for comfort. The rosewood fingerboard has Gibson’s distinctive trapezoid inlays. The stop tailpiece is lightweight aluminum, and the tuners are vintage tulip style with push-in bushings, just like the original.This anniversary edition Les Paul employs Burstbucker pickups, custom wound to emulate the original late ’50s Gibson humbuckers. CTS potentiometers are used for volume and tone, as well as the bumblebee capacitors, custom-made for Gibson to replicate the original electronics. The Korina Tribute electric guitar receives a Custom Shop VOS finish: a thin layer of nitrocellulose lacquer applied, sanded, and buffed with the same methods that were used in 1958. Nitrocellulose lacquer continues to evaporate insuring the thinnest possible finish that will never dampen vibrations and supports complex musical waveforms. Prized for enhancing the musical tone, you’ll find a nitro finish on nearly all vintage and collectable American guitars.

Gibson Custom 50th Anniversary Korina Tribute Guitar, Antique Natural Gold Hardware

Here’s your chance to own a landmark guitar that changed the sound of rock and blues, the 50th Anniversary 1958 Les Paul Standard. Gibson is producing only 200 of this limited edition.Everything that made the original great is found on this special commemorative edition. The figured maple top is carved to original spec with a solid Honduran mahogany back. The neck is also one-piece mahogany with the historically correct long neck tenon for sustain. The early ’50s neck profile is rounded for comfort. The rosewood fingerboard has Gibson’s distinctive trapezoid inlays. Side position markers are tortoise, just as on the ‘58. The stop tailpiece is lightweight aluminum, and the tuners are vintage tulip style, with push-in bushings, just like the original.This anniversary ‘58 employs CTS potentiometers for volume and tone, as well as the bumblebee capacitors, custom-made for Gibson to replicate the original electronics. Speaking of electronics, we can’t leave out the Burstbucker pickups, custom wound to emulate the original late ’50s Gibson humbuckers.The thin nitrocellulose lacquer finish material and methods as the same as was the practice in 1958. Nitrocellulose lacquer continues to evaporate insuring the thinnest possible finish that will never dampen vibrations and supports complex musical waveforms! Prized for enhancing the musical tone, you’ll find a nitro finish on nearly all vintage and collectable American guitars.The guitar’s nitrocellulose finish is carefully aged by guitar guru Tom Murphy and looks like a carefully maintained 50-year-old guitar! The highly involved antiquing process is done by hand, one guitar at a time, by guitar artisan Murphy. It’s not a chemical process, but a very time consuming and tedious job that includes a multitude of elaborate steps. Through much trial and error, Murphy has developed an amazing ability to re-create the checked and chipped finish of a true vintage instrument with great success.