Gibson Custom Shop 1959 ES-335 Reissue Vintage Burst VOS

The Gibson Custom Shop '59 ES-335 Reissue VOS in Vintage Burst: the semi-hollow that invented the genre, rebuilt as it should be

The 1959 ES-335 isn't just a guitar; it's a benchmark. It was the year the thinline semi-hollow found its definitive form, with a tone warm enough for jazz, present enough for blues, and raw enough for rock. The Gibson Custom Shop 1959 ES-335 Reissue VOS in Vintage Burst is Gibson's most accurate reconstruction of that instrument, built by the Custom Shop with the materials, hardware, and pickups that made the original so special. For the guitarist who isn't looking for an approximation of that tone, but the tone itself.

The two Custombucker Alnico III pickups are unpotted, just like the original PAFs, and that makes all the difference. The sound is open and airy, with a warmth in the lower mids that makes the ES-335 so recognizable. The semi-hollow construction adds resonance and air that you won't find in a solid body, while the solid center block keeps feedback under control. Clean, it sounds full and round, with a slightly honky quality that directly evokes classic Chicago blues recordings. Turn up the amplifier, and the guitar responds with a natural, musical overdrive that feels like it's always been there.

The body is made of 3-ply maple/poplar/maple with a nitrocellulose VOS finish in Vintage Burst. The neck is solid mahogany with the Authentic '59 Medium C-profile and an Indian rosewood fretboard with pearloid dot inlays and 22 frets. The scale length is 628 mm. The ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge and Kluson Single Line tuners are nickel-plated. The electronics consist of two Custombucker Alnico III pickups, two volume and two tone controls with CTS 500k potentiometers and paper-in-oil capacitors, and a toggle switch. Supplied in the Brown/Pink Custom Shop hardshell case.

The Gibson Custom Shop '59 ES-335 Reissue VOS is an instrument that tells its own story the moment you play it.