An Original "Dot-Neck" 330

This very light (6.30 lbs.) guitar has a nice, fat nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Single-bound laminated maple body, one-piece mahogany neck with a typical early sixties thin profile. Brazilian rosewood fretboard with 22 original jumbo frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo. Two-layer (black on white) plastic truss-rod cover. Individual single-line Kluson Deluxe tuners with white plastic oval buttons (stamped on the underside "D-169400 / Patent No". Serial number ("19906") impressed into the back of the headstock. Two very hot P-90 pickups with black plastic covers and outputs of 8.28k and 8.41k. The black plastic covers are stamped on the underside "UC 450-1 / 1" and "UC-450-1 / 2 respectively. Five-layer (black/white/black/white/black) plastic pickguard. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way pickup selector switch, all on lower treble bout. Black plastic bell-shaped knobs with metal tops. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic non-retainer bridge with metal saddles and very early (possibly originally fitted) 'short' Bigby vibrato tailpiece. All hardware nickel-plated. Inside the bass 'f' hole "ES-330-TDC" is stamped in black. This beautiful guitar is in exceptionally fine-to-near mint condition. The rich cherry red is totally unfaded and the neck, fretboard and frets show almost no sign of wear whatsoever. There is a miniscule amount of belt buckle scarring on the back of the guitar (which is very difficult to see) and a small amount of fine finish checking - otherwise this is as near mint an example as one could wish for. When we removed the Bigsby tailpiece, we noticed one additional (filled) tiny screw hole (hidden by the tailpiece) which would have been the third (lower) screw on the standard ES-330 Trapeze tailpiece. This would suggest that the Bigsby was most likely added as an afterthought - either at the Gibson factory, or by the original dealer. Housed in its original Gibson five-latch brown hardshell case with pink plush lining (8.50).

Known affectionately as the "poor man's dot neck guitar," "the ES-330 was numerically speaking, the biggest seller of the double cutaway series in the late fifties and early sixties even if it was not a real semi-solid guitar!" (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics from the Origins up to 1961, p. 158).

"Built with the same body shape as the ES-335T, but not the same semi-solid construction, the ES-330T/TD were originally introduced in 1959 as a replacement for the single cutaway ES-225T/TD. The single pickup version was phased out in 1963, but the ES-330TD remained in production until 1972. Two main variants are usually distinguished up to the mid-60s...The first variant is characterized by a dot-inlaid fingerboard and black plastic-covered pickups...The ES-330TD was originally offered in sunburst and natural finish but in the course of 1960 the popular cherry red was substituted for natural...In mid-62 the fingerboard was enhanced with small pearloid block inlays and at the end of the year the the pickups were fitted with metal covers. The transitional instruments made during the second half of 1962 therefore feature block markers and black plastic-covered pickups" (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, p. 230).