Gibson ES-335

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Gibson ES-335

Manufacturer	Gibson
Period	1958 — present
Construction
Body type	Semi-hollow
Neck joint	Set
Woods
Body	maple (laminated); usually maple center block
Neck	mahogany on most models in most periods; sometimes maple
Fretboard	rosewood on most models, ebony on some
Hardware
Bridge	Fixed
Pickup(s)	2 Humbuckers
Colors available
Various

The Gibson ES-335 was the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, released by Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1958. It is neither hollow nor solid; instead, a solid wood block runs through the center of its body, but the sides are hollow, sporting violin-style f-holes. [1]

1 Origins
2 Models and variations
3 "Lucille"
4 Other ES-335 players
5 External links

[edit] Origins

Its origins may lie in the one of the World's first solid-body electrics: Les Paul's experimental "The Log", which was simply a block of wood with a neck, electronics, and the sides of an Epiphone archtop guitar screwed on. The ES-335 features a refined and improved version of the same basic approach.

The ES-335 and other semi-hollowbody guitars have a rather distinctive, "woody" sound, mellower than solid-bodies, but retain their high sustain and low feedback. Due to their sonic flexibility, 335s have found popularity in nearly all genres of popular music, including jazz and rock.

[edit] Models and variations

The 335 was an important landmark in electric instrument technology. Its innovative body design was complemented by a slim, comfortable neck with excellent access to the upper frets. At a basic price of $267.50 it quickly became a best-seller, and has been in continuous production since 1958.

The Trini Lopez Standard, manufactured 1964-1970, was based on the ES-335. It had narrow diamond-shaped soundholes replacing the f-holes, a headstock with all the tuners on one side, and slashed-diamond inlays reminiscent of the "slash cuts" used by Rickenbacker on its American semi-hollowbody models. Other models based on the 335 include the ES-340 (the toggle switch has settings of pickups in-phase, pickups out-of-phase, and standby), ES-345 (wired for stereo capabilities), the ES-347 (includes a pickup tap that adds jangle), the deluxe ES-355, and the EB-2 electric bass. Interestingly, although the ES-330 resembles the 335, it is actually fully hollow (as opposed to semi-hollow) and features two P-90 pickups (as opposed to 2 humbucking pickups).

Gibson also markets a much less expensive version of the ES-335 under its Epiphone brand, called the Dot (referring to its dot-style fret markers). Other Epiphone 335-style models include the Sheraton, the Riviera, and the Dot Studio.

[edit] "Lucille"

B. B. King was the first well-known guitarist to make the 335 his main guitar, or rather the fancier ES-355, called "Lucille", almost exclusively through his career. His endorsement with Gibson began in 1980, with his signature "Lucille" model, which is basically a black ES-355 without f-holes. One minor difference with the "Lucille" model is the maple neck - usually mahogany on ES guitars. It makes for a somewhat brighter attack. This model also features the six-position Varitone switch, which adds different value capacitors in the circuit acting as a notch filter, with each position on the switch shifting the center of the notch from higher to lower frequencies. The pickups are also wired to provide both stereo and mono connections, with two output jacks on the lower bout.