Gibson ES-335TD Cherry 40334 (1961)

We're not sure what's in the air, but lately we've been acquiring some pretty special vintage ES-335s. We're not mad about it, either. An old 335 is arguably one of the most versatile electric guitars ever made, and when you get your hands on a PAF-loaded Dot Neck like this '61 Cherry-finished monster, the results speak for themselves.

Sure, Clapton's '64 ES-335 might be the most famous Cherry semi-hollow, but don't forget the likes of Alvin Lee, Ritchie Blackmore, and Warren Haynes, all of whom rocked Cherry dot necks like this '61 you see before you.

We've joined in on the "Burst Killer" conversation surrounding vintage 335s from time to time. In our opinion, you can't give every one of these guitars that association. Some are sweeter and airier, some have more rawness and sizzle, and others have a warmer, rounder archtop-like voice ('58s and early '59s, we're looking at you!). But this 335 couldn't fit the Burst Killer mold any better if it tried. It was immediately apparent after plugging this guitar in for the first time that it had a surprising amount of heft in the low end and low mids, with a powerful fundamental that brought forth incredible definition. We've handled many great 50s Les Pauls have the same kind of character and voice.

That doesn't take away from the guitar's dynamic response, however. And that's what a really great 335 will do. Balance out power and punch with air and openness that allows the guitar to breathe tonally and extend control to the player and their technique. This 335's got it in spades.

The guitar has remained in fabulous condition its entire life. It hardly shows any lacquer checking, with the one noticeable area being on the back of the neck behind the nut. Only until recently did it undergo a change. The longtime previous owner had issues with the original Kluson tuners and their buttons decomposing, so (in his naiveté) he tossed them in favor of a modern set of tuners. We retrofitted a proper set of vintage style Klusons back on the headstock along with some conversion bushings, and it's presenting much better. You might also be wondering what the deal is with the stopbar. Well, it's not uncommon to find 335s from this period with wraparound style stop bar tailpieces. It's essentially the same piece of hardware, just with the addition of some hex adjustment screws on the ears and a thinner string lip on the back side of the bar. We elected to leave it as-is since it's a part of the guitar's history.

We also identified an additional ground wire that was unnecessarily added to the back of the bridge tone pot. We resoldered the ground buss connection in the same original location of the back of the pot and removed said ground wire. The remainder of the harness is untouched throughout. It's got a fresh set of Jescar 45100 frets installed on the beautiful braziian rosewood fingerboard, with a nice straight neck and comfortable medium low action that make for optimum playability.

One special little wrinkle with this 335 is in the PAFs. The original stickers on the baseplate are double-stamped, which is the first time we've seen this anomaly! Undoubtedly original to the pickups (they passed all the necessary tests), it makes for an interesting idiosyncratic detail in the history of this great Gibson.

The guitar is accompanied by its original black Lifton hardshell case. Expedited Shipping Required.