An Absolutely Mint
1959 ES-335TD

One the very last of just 267 Sunburst ES-335TDs (shipped in mid December 1958) but with all the specs of a '59.This fifty-year-old beauty weighs just 8.00 lbs. and has a nice, fat nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Laminated 'flamed' maple body with single binding on the top and back and semi-solid construction with maple central block. One-piece mahogany neck with a wonderful medium-to-thick typical early '59 neck profile, bound Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 22 original ('59 style) jumbo frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl crown inlay. Individual 'single-line' Kluson Deluxe tuners with single-ring Keystone plastic buttons and "D-169400 PATENT NO." stamped on the inside. Two "double-black" PAF humbucker pickups with black plastic surrounds and outputs of 7.78k and 7.67k. Each pickup has a small rectangular black "Patent Applied For" label on the underside. The pickup "rings" are the original black plastic stamped underneath "MR 491" and "M-69 7" (neck pickup) and "MR 490" and "M-69 8" (bridge pickup). "Long" five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard extending below the bridge. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch for pickup selection, all on lower treble bout. Gold plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic non-retainer bridge with metal saddles and separate stud tailpiece. With the original Gibson orange oval label inside the bass 'f'-hole, the style ("ES-335TD") written in black ink and the serial number ("A 28732") stamped in black. Inside the treble 'f'-hole the FON (factory order number) "T 5971" is stamped in dark blue. This two-owner example with that oh so perfect '59 neck profile is in absolutely mint condition with the exception that the tuner-tips (which had crystalized) have been replaced with 'Uncle Lou' premium tips. A spectacular example with a lightly flamed maple top in mint (9.50) condition. Quite simply the best we have ever seen. Housed in the original Gibson four-latch brown hardshell case with pink plush lining (9.25).

The last owner purchased the guitar thirty-two years ago (1976) from a long gone music store in Hollywood called Mel's Music.

The serial number of this guitar is "A 28732". The last number issued by Gibson in 1958 was "A 28880". Serial number "A 28576" was shipped from the GIbson Factory on December 1st, 1958. The original production run of "Dot- Neck" ES-335's was as follows: 1958 - 267 guitars; 1959: 521 guitars; 1960: 405 guitars; 1961: 466 guitars; and 1962: 133 guitars. (a total of 266 guitars were shipped in 1962 but the change from "Dot-Neck" to "Block-Markers" was made in mid-1962 - so an educated guess as to the number of 962 "Dot-Necks" would be 133.

"Introduced in 1958, the ES-335T (originally no final D) truly ranks among the all-time Gibson classics, not only because of its enduring popularity but also because of its semi-solid construction which pioneered a new style of electrics" (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 231).

"There were indeed a number of firsts in the early days of the electric guitar, but in retrospect only few of them can be considered as true milestones. The double cutaway thinline pioneered by Gibson in 1958 genuinely rank amongst the great original designs. Their graceful shape was truly innovative at the time and spawned several imitations such as Gretsch's revamped Chet Atkins series or the Guild Starfire. But perhaps the most important hallmark of the new thinline was their semi-solid construction. Indeed Gibson's prime objective was to design an instrument that would combine the advantages of both solid and hollow body electrics and therefore appeal to a variety of players, regardless of their musical style" (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 77).