| Gibson CS-336 | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Gibson |
| Period | 2001 — present |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Semi-hollow |
| Neck joint | Set |
| Scale | 24.75" |
| Woods | |
| Body | tonally carved mahogany |
| Neck | mahogany |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Fixed |
| Pickup(s) | 2 Humbuckers |
| Colors available | |
| Various ("Tangerine Burst" pictured) | |
Contents |
The Gibson CS-336 is a semi-acoustic electric guitar manufactured by Gibson Guitar Corporation's Custom, Art & Historic Division ("CS" is an abbreviation for "Custom Shop"). Introduced in 2001[1], the CS-336 was the Custom Shop's first "tonally carved" guitar, meaning that the back, center block, and sides are carved from one single piece of wood (mahogany). This solid block of wood is mated to a carved maple top to produce an instrument with exceptional resonance and a woody tone though the archtop-style sound chambers. After over 100 years, the CS-336 also represented the realization of company founder Orville Gibson's goal to produce an instrument with one-piece back-and-sides construction.
The CS-336 is a scaled-down version of another highly regarded guitar, the Gibson ES-335. Guitarists have long appreciated the ES-335 sound, but some found the instrument too large or heavy for comfortable extended playing. The CS-336 preserves the same body lines as the ES-335 but is scaled down to roughly the same size as a Gibson Les Paul for greater playing comfort. Many guitarists opine that the result produced by the CS-336 makes for a perfect combination: the form factor of a Les Paul and a sound that combines the best of the solid-body Les Paul and the semi-acoustic ES-335. The 336 also incorporated other subtle improvement suggestions from 335 players (such as moving the output jack to the side of the guitar).
In 1996, Gibson's Custom Shop introduced the ES-336 ("ES" is an abbreviation for "Electric Spanish"). The ES-336 had a one-piece mahogany back and a contoured maple top. When the CS-336 was introduced five years later, it added the center block and top bracing as an integral part of the back and top pieces (the final step in creating a tonally carved instrument).
ES-335: Introduced in 1958 and the key shape basis for all models listed below.
ES-336: Introduced in 1996, this model was replaced by the CS-336 in 2001.
CS-336: the subject of this article; Gibson's first "tonally carved" guitar.
CS-356: constructed in the same manner as the CS-336, with a range of "upscale" appointments such as gold-finished hardware.
ES-339: same shape as the 336 and 356 models, but not a tonally carved instrument - it has a laminated maple top, maple centerblock, and spruce contour bracing. This combination makes the ES-339 a lighter and less expensive guitar than the CS-336. The neck profiles on the CS-336 and ES-339 also differ. The ES-339 offers either a 1959 neck profile (a rounded, chunkier neck) or a slim 30/60 neck.
Each CS-336 is checked and adjusted by one of Gibson’s Plek machines before it leaves the Custom Shop. This precision computerized tool machines the frets to an accuracy of 0.001mm (1/100mm) or 0.00039 inch, far more precise than similar work done by hand. Key features of the CS-336 include[2]:
- An overall body size that is 13 inches wide, 16 inches long, and 1 11/16th-inches deep.
- Two Gibson ’57 Classic humbucking pickups
- Gibson two-tone pot, two-volume pot, a three-way selector switch control configuration and ABR-1 bridge
- Nickel hardware
- Single-ply binding on body’s top and back
- One-piece mahogany neck with 22-fret rosewood fingerboard
- 24.75" scale length, 111⁄16-inch-wide (43 mm) nut.