10 Interesting Facts About Gibson’s Legendary 335 Electric Guitar
The Gibson ES 335 semi-acoustic electric guitar is just one of those guitars that evokes countless fond and exciting memories of my early days, when I was first addicted to learning to play the guitar.
Countless bands and performers of the late ’50s and ’60s seemed to have a guitarist proudly playing these F-hole beauties. Old black-and-white TV clips on shows like Top of the Pops would clearly show the variety of genres. musicals that the 335 guitar could handle without difficulty. Blues, jazz, pop, and rock ‘n roll were very typical of the musical styles that guitarists played on the Gibson 335.
Listed below are 10 fascinating facts about this guitar:
1. The Gibson ES 335 was the world’s first commercial semi-acoustic electric guitar.
2. Until 1952, the Gibson organization only made full hollow body electric guitars. These guitars were definitely very often vulnerable to feedback squeaks when played through an amp at a higher volume.
3. The 335 is neither a solid nor a hollow body acoustic guitar. A solid block of hardwood runs through the heart of the entire body with hollow sides containing two F-holes that form the acoustic chambers. This served to alleviate annoying feedback.
4. The semi-acoustic style and design was a marriage of previous designs to create the best of both worlds, in other words, the mix of a solid and traditional acoustic body.
5. Two legendary PAF humbucking guitar pickups were used on the original models. These humbucker pickups were the same ones used in Les Paul models at the time.
6. The resulting electric guitar was exceptionally adaptable and, as noted above, catered to various musical genres. Well-known performers of various styles of music include: Larry Carlton, Chuck Berry, BB King, Alex Lifeson, Dave Grohl, Lee Ritenour, and Carl Wilson.
7. Production began in 1958 with a base price of $267. fifty
8. Hardwood used in construction includes: a solid maple center block with a maple plywood top and back, mahogany was used for the guitar neck (maple was used very rarely), and usually a rosewood fretboard, though sometimes ebony.
9. The most desirable model was what was called the ‘knit collar’ type. These employed dot fretboard inlays rather than block inlays. The 1958 and 1959 models with dot inlays and also stop tailpieces are considered the best.
10. 1962 saw the deployment of block inlays on the fretboard, replacing the dots and also the shape of the double cutaways evolved from the original ‘Mickey Mouse’ ear design to slightly more pointed.
That’s it. An excellent ES 335 is truly a joy to hold and play with and the product is still in production today. It’s really worth trying one out at your local music store, even if it’s just to experience it.