Rare 1961 ES-355 TD Mono
One of Just 117 Non-Stereo Examples

1961 Gibson ES-355 TD Mono.

One of just one hundred and seven ES-355TD Mono's made in 1961. This guitar weighs just 8.70 lbs. and has a nut width of just under 1 11/16 inches and a standard Gibson scale length of 24 3/4 inches. Laminated maple body with semi-solid construction and maple central block, one-piece mahogany neck with a medium profile, and bound ebony fretboard with 22 wide jumbo frets and inlaid pearl block position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl five-piece split-diamond inlay. Two-layer (black on white) plastic truss-rod cover. Serial number "39966" impressed into the back of the headstock. The body of the guitar is multi-bound on the top (seven-ply) and the back (three-ply). With an orange oval label inside the bass f-hole with style ("ES-355TD") written in black ink and the serial number "39966" stamped in black. Individual Grover Roto-Matic tuners with tulip-shaped metal buttons. Two original PAF humbucker pickups with black surrounds and outputs of 7.47k and 8.44k. On the underside of each pickup there is a small black rectangular label with "Patent Applied For" in gold. "Short" tortoiseshell pickguard with five-layer (white/black/white/black/white) plastic binding. Four controls (two volume, two tone) plus three-way selector switch for pickup selection, all on lower treble bout. Black plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs with metal tops. ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic non-retainer bridge with metal saddles and Gibson 'Sideways Vibrola tailpiece. All hardware gold-plated. There is no fading whatsoever to the deep red cherry color. On the back of the headstock is a small gold label "Petteruti's Twin City Music House" which is covering the part of the serial number. There is one very tiny area of surface loss on the back of the guitar (3/8 of an inch x 1/8 of an inch), some very fine finish checking, a few small surface marks on the side of the body and two small surface marks / indentations on the back of the neck behind the thirteenth fret. There is a small sliver of wood missing from the treble side of the top edge of the headstock (1/2 of an inch x 3/16 of an inch). There is also some slight loss of the gilt on the cover of the sideways vibrato. Having now been 'super critical' of the guitar, this very rare bird is still in exceptionally fine (9.00) condition. The 'Mono' versions have the advantage of being about one pound lighter than their 'Stereo' cousins. In fact this guitar should really be considered as a 'Super Deluxe ES-335 with block inlays, an ebony fretboard, split-diamond headstock, multiple binding and a sideways Vibrola tailpiece. Housed in the original Gibson black hardshell case with four latches and orange plush lining (8.75).

"The ES-355T (at first no final D) was perfected in the second half of 1958 as a deluxe variant of the ES-335T. By 1959 the model was commercialized in two versions: the ES-355TD fitted with a regular mono wiring and the ES-355TD/SV equipped with the Stereo Varitone circuitry pioneered on the ES-345T. During the 1960s the stereo model outsold the mono one which was ultimately phased out in 1970, while the ES-355TD/SV remained cataloged until 1981...The ES-355TD/SV is identical to the mono version in every respect save for its Stereo Varitone circuitry...On the SV model the two pickups are wired separately for stereo effect and require a special Y-cord to the amp. the Varitone is a 6-position rotary switch which, combined with the regular toggle switch, permits to pre-select 18 different tone settings. On the early ES-355TD/SV the circular plate of the Varitone switch is painted black but gold plated 'rings' became standard by 1960. Until the advent of walnut in 1969, the great majority of 355s (whether mono or stereo) were released in cherry red" (A.R. Duchossoir, Gibson Electrics -- The Classic Years, pp. 237-238).