Gibson ES-335 Acoustic Guitar: History, Features and Interesting Facts

Anyone who is even a little keen on guitars is probably familiar with the Gibson brand. These guitars are recognized by the best guitarists from all over the world and had, perhaps, the greatest influence on the industry as a whole, marching level with another giant of this sphere - Fender. The company's tools are a premium product, designed for professionals of different genres, providing a diverse, but always deep and rich sound. Versatility, beautiful design and attention to detail have become the hallmark of guitars, which bear the proud name of Gibson. In this material, we are talking about a guitar that won the hearts of all musicians of the last century - Gibson Memphis ES-335. This is a universal semi-acoustic guitar that gave a new life to rock'n'roll and rock music in general.

Specifications Gibson ES-335 Studio

The case is half-integral (one-piece version), half-acoustic (hollow version).

The neck is pasted.

The holes for the pins in the Gibson ES-335 were standard, in the role of the pins Kluson Deluxe performed.

The mensura is 24.75 (629 millimeters).

The guitar's deck is made of maple (there is also a core of maple).

The neck is made of mahogany.

The neck strap is made of rosewood.

Type of bridge - Tune-O-Matic.

Pick-ups - two humbucker (dual sensors).

Color solutions vary, the most common and popular option is the Gibson Memphis ES-335 Vintage Sunburst.

History of Guitar

The first guitar from the ES-335 series appeared in the distant 1958 and was built on the basis of its own guitar, Les Logs - The Log, which was created in the company Epiphone. The new model was significantly different from that of the guitar, primarily its more sophisticated and more thoughtful design. President of the company Ted McCarthy decided to place the maple core in a conventional hollow guitar in order to preserve the properties of the acoustic instrument and the whole body. The basic model was in a natural color scheme with two sensors and efs. Many musicians liked the guitar in the basic configuration, but there were many who started manually modifying the Gibson ES-335 guitar in their own way, adding additional sensors and other electronics. In the course of history, official modifications and various variations of the instrument appeared, which will be discussed below.

Model 330

Simultaneously with the base model ES-335, a cheaper version of this guitar - ES-330 - was released. Despite the fact that visually two instruments look almost identical, they have a number of design features that radically affect their sound. The first important difference is the absence of the maple core in the guitar, which makes it much easier, and the sound of "anplagged" (without amplification) is very bright and saturated. As pickups, single P-90 sensors are used. The sound of this model is bold and at the same time gentle, closest to the sound of the band The Beatles. And it's no accident, because it was The Beatles who bought the analog of this instrument under a different name - Epiphone Casino.

Model 345

Another modification, released in 1985, but already more expensive. In fact, it's the same thing, the design of the guitar is no different. The difference is in the presence of an additional multi-position switch, which allows the use of separate coils. This, in turn, makes it possible to diversify the sound of the guitar. Of the other interesting details, you can see the output stereo jack and gold-plated accessories. One of the owners of the guitar was the famous musician Freddie King, who inspired Eric Clapton.

Model 355

And this, as they say, is the top model in the basic ruler. This semi-acoustic guitar had a number of minor differences and one important element that distinguishes it from other variations on the ES-335 theme. It is a question of Bigsby tremolo, giving musicians even greater scope for creativity just due to the possibility of changing the tone right during the game. It was thanks to this feature that the guitar became the most popular in the series. Guitarists from around the world reacted to this novelty. One of the most famous musicians who preferred this particular model was Johnny Marr, as well as Bernard Butler and Noel Gallagher, who were admirers of Marr.

The model of King Lucille - the famous "custom"

The famous guitarist Bee King King played his entire life on various Guitar Gibson guitars until he bought his own instrument. Later, in 1958, King discovered an updated line of tools from the Gibson ES-355 series. This tool was the most suitable for his requirements. Slim neck, light weight, easy access to high frets. These elements have become fundamental when choosing a guitar. Later, it was this guitar that was the main for the emergence of the joint development of Gibson and BB King - Gibson ES King Lucille. In one of his interviews, King said that he has hearing problems and poorly hears low notes, but he distinguishes between high and loves much more, which is why the choice fell on the Gibson ES-355. A few years later, Gibson representatives came to Kingu and offered him to develop a personalized model ES-355. King asked the designers to remove the resonator holes, since he did not really like excessive feedback and wanted to control the noise level himself. Also, a string holder was replaced, which, during the game, scratched the hand of the musician, to a more convenient option, which also lacked a mechanism for micro-tuning. King was old-fashioned and liked to work with pins, tuning the instrument.

There is a beautiful legend that says that at one of King's concerts there was a fire. His culprits were men, during the fight, hit the barrel, filled with kerosene. The building ignited, evacuation began, and King left his favorite guitar in it. The next day, the musician learned that the squabble between the men was due to a girl named Lucille. Hence the name for the instrument arose.

Model Trini Lopez

This model was created by order of Trini Lopez in 1961, just in the era of his greatest popularity. Lopez asked to replace the efs on the guitar with diamond-shaped notches. The same thing was done with the marking of frets. The neck was replaced and in shape resembled a hockey stick (like Gibson Firebird). The same guitar was played by Noel Gallagher, who used it in Oasis from 2000.

Model Tom DeLonge, or Series ES in metal

Speaking of guitars from the ES-335 series, we first of all imagine bluesmen and jazz fans and certainly not metalworkers or rockers. The fault, of course, is the image of the guitar and the musicians themselves, and not some design features or inappropriate electronics. Gibson tried to change the situation by releasing a subscription model of Tom DeLong, which was equipped with only one sensor in the region of the string holder, clearly created in order to "cut" the metal on it. There were other modifications, even more "evil", with the same smooth features, but a completely different character. Similar at one time used the founder of the group Nine Inch Nails. Of the innovations used in these guitars, it is worth noting the presence of a new patch on the neck, very smooth, outwardly resembling rosewood, giving a great attack in comparison with the classical guitar version.

Many homegrown musicians were outraged by the fact that someone was trying to extract a heavy sound from a classic semi-acoustic guitar. Allegedly the tool is meant for someone else, and you should not torture him with heavy music. In fact, all their arguments and fears are unfounded, and far beyond the example of successful use of semi-acoustic guitars in heavy rock does not have to go. Suffice it to recall Wes Borland from Limp Bizkit, who produced a "fat" sound on his semi-acoustic Yamaha. Another stone in the garden of "metal" samples Gibson ES-335 - the absence of a certain sensor, but is not that what a real metal player needs? Playing with an overload, no one thinks about a certain sensor, as well as about all sorts of subtleties of tone settings. For the metal worker, the main thing is louder and more drivey.

Instead of concluding

So, what we get in the end. The legendary guitar, which originated as a good solution for bluesmen, eventually became imperishable classics, suitable for a variety of styles and directions in music, including such unexpected ones as metal and hardcore, no matter how hard it is to believe it. Gibson ES-335 is a unique, impressive instrument, the dream of all guitarists and just a great "workhorse" for all occasions, which also opens up a lot of space for musical experiments.