It could be said that Gibson had revisited Les Paul’s original ‘log’ guitar concept, with a solid block running through the centre of the body and hollow wings. But the most innovative feature was only visible through the f-holes. Gibson successfully adapted its traditional archtop aesthetic using a double-cutaway body outline with a neck set low into the body like the Les Paul models. Indeed, many players consider the ES-335 to be the greatest electric guitar design of all time.įamiliarity has blunted the impact that the ES-335 must have made in 1958. But, in many ways, the ES-335 was the most revolutionary of the lot. Gibson came up with some novel ideas during the Ted McCarty era, with the korina trio and reverse Firebird models being the most radical from an aesthetic perspective. It’s not the fanciest of Gibson’s thinline doublecuts, and it wasn’t the most expensive in the range, but the ES-335 has proved to be the most popular and collectable. The ES-335 remains an all-time classic ES-335 But always check that the parts haven’t been pilfered to restore or fake more desirable Gibson models. When you consider you’re getting the same hardware, electronics and neck profile as a pre-1956 Les Paul Goldtop for a fraction of the price, you might conclude that the ES-225 remains a bit of a bargain. The single-pickup models from that year often have a rosewood bridge, which offers less vibrance and sustain.ĮS-225s with the earlier bridge arrangement may surprise you with their feedback resistance and ample sustain, thanks in no small part to a thick maple block glued under the top between the braces. Models from 1959, the final year of production, feature Gibson’s smaller trapeze tailpiece, along with an ABR-1 mounted on a floating rosewood base. Don’t be, because the strings are top-wrapped, as intended, and it’s a fantastic-sounding piece of hardware. Some may be put off by the tailpiece – an elongated version of the type used on the earliest Les Pauls. The sunburst evolved from tobacco to more of a reddish three-tone ’burst towards the late 1950s.
So, an ES-225TN would be a single pickup version with a natural finish and the ES-225TDN would be a natural finish with two pickups. All the models had a T suffix for thinline, with a D added for double pickups and N for a natural finish. The first models had a single, centrally mounted P-90, and in 1956 Gibson launched a two- pickup version.įeaturing a hollow laminated-maple body with a bound rosewood fretboard, there were two colour options – sunburst and natural. Introduced in 1955, the ES-225T was Gibson’s first thinline and could be regarded as a transitional model connecting the deep jazzboxes and the thinline double cutaways. There are plenty to choose from, including outliers such as the Byrdland, ES-350 and various ES-125 models, but here we’ll confine our focus to the big hitters in Gibson’s thinline range.
The company transitioned to making superb solidbodies within an impressively short timeframe but, in meeting customer demand for sustain and feedback-resistance while staying true to the Gibson aesthetic, ES thinlines are some of the company’s greatest designs. Gibson’s reputation as a premium guitar manufacturer was established by its traditional archtops.
READ MORE: How to buy a vintage Fender Strat.But when contemporary pop, rock and blues players think of Gibson’s ES guitars, they are usually thinking of thinline models rather than deep-bodied jazzboxes. Originally used to distinguish guitars that were designed to be played in the conventional manner rather that flat on the lap in the Hawaiian style, the ES designation simply meant ‘Electric Spanish’.
Gibson’s ES series is almost as old as the company itself.