Truly an instrument born in the image of its inspiration

Gibson has always been a guitar maker steeped in tradition. After shaking up the music world with the solidbody Les Paul model, which was introduced in 1952 and evolved into its final form throughout the course of mid-to-late 1950s, the company made a bid to return to its roots by offering an electric guitar that wrapped up the benefits of a solidbody, but in the image of an acoustic archtop. The result was the ES-335, which was first released in 1958, but reached its most desirable form a year later in 1959. It’s no secret that original guitars from this year of production have attained astronomical heights on the collector’s market, in many cases surpassed only by the ’58-’60 Les Paul Standard (and super-rare Flying V and Explorer). Now, 50 years after reaching this zenith in semi-acoustic guitar design, Gibson Custom is bringing these guitars back to the guitar world with the introduction of the 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue, available in Antique Vintage Sunburst and Antique Natural finishes with either standard gloss or V.O.S. treatments, and strictly limited just 250 guitars in each finish option.

With its arched top and f-holes, the ES-335 bore recognizable links to its predecessors among Gibson’s archtop acoustic-electrics, but a quick probe inside its double-cutaway thinline body with solid center block revealed it as a brave new design. More subtle in its advancement of the template than some other models released alongside it in 1958 — including the Flying V and Explorer in the Modernistic Series, and the Heritage Cherry Sunburst Les Paul Standard — it was in many ways no less revolutionary, and also more acceptable to players who were hesitant to strut too far ahead of the pack.

Semi-Hollow and Feedback Resistant
The new ES-335 had the advantage of possessing some of the familiar ES features, and in particular was only a few steps away from thinline hollowbody models like the Byrdland and ES-350T of 1955. But that chunk of maple that ran down its middle to render it a semi-acoustic made a world of difference to its performance. The solid wood meant the ES-335 could carry a tune-o-matic bridge and stopbar tailpiece, or the fully anchored Bigsby vibrato that was available as a factory option, all of which worked together to produce a quick response, great note definition and the kind of sustain that couldn’t be had from any fully hollow archtop on the market, thinline or full bodied. To top it all off, plugging up the center of that body achieved impressive resistance to feedback, a major pest to archtop players of the day.

An Overnight Success
While its more radical stablemates in the Modernistic Series were just too far out for many players to appreciate at the time, and the Les Paul had yet to really set the rock world on fire, the ES-335 was an immediate success. It was taken up quickly by adventurous jazz and country players who recognized its advantages, rapidly proving itself equally at home in the hands of blues, pop and rock players too. One of the most versatile electric guitars ever produced, it has been a Gibson mainstay ever since.

This limited production model from Gibson Custom captures this desirable classic in greater detail than any “reissue”-style guitar previously produced. It is truly an instrument born in the image of its inspiration. Starting with the traditional plain laminated maple top, back and sides, with single-ply crème binding on both the top and back, the 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue is true to the original’s ’59 specs in almost every detail. Its one-piece, 24-¾ inch scale length mahogany neck features a long tenon, a 22-fret Madagascar rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot inlays and a rounded ’59 neck profile. In addition to its period-correct look, the 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue recreates the legendary tone of the original model by utilizing a pair of Gibson’s renowned ’57 Classic humbucking pickups, which is the closest thing to original “PAF” pickups on the market today. High-quality CTS volume and tone potentiometers with “bumble bee” capacitors offer a fundamental electronics package, thus insuring the guitar’s unique tone is captured and delivered with the utmost accuracy and originality. Other traditional appointments include vintage tulip tuners, a holly headstock veneer and all nickel hardware, including an ABR-1 bridge and lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece. The 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue is available in Antique Vintage Sunburst or Antique Natural finishes, in either standard gloss or V.O.S. treatments. Each guitar comes with a custom shop reissue case, certificate of authenticity and is strictly limited to just 250 guitars per finish.