1961 Gibson ES 335

Sometimes a guitar comes into the shop that stops us dead in out tracks…

This original short guard Gibson ES335TDC from 1961 with its stunning vibrant

original cherry finish which shows a lifetime of character, original PAFs, no breaks

and a factory Bigsby B7 (The tell-tale earth wire to the end pin is present and

correct)is one such instrument.

From the Gibson’s much celebrated ‘golden era’ weighing in at just 7.87lb, this

1961 ES335 is a beautifully resonant instrument retaining with rich sustain and a

dynamic range reserved for the very finest examples of the era.

The neck has no breaks, and the profile is a dream to play, deeper than some

other examples from 1961 that we have had. The guitar has had at least one re-

fret in its life and shows evidence of some minor blow out, however benefiting

from a great set up by our in-house technician plays beautifully with a rich

unplugged sustain which translates beautifully when plugged in.

The original PAF pickups are some of the sweetest harmonically lush sounding

original PAFS we’ve encountered. Testing as 7.74kohms (Bridge) and; 7.39kohms

(Neck) they sit right in the sweet spot for vintage PAF tones, vocal midrange

punch and power aplenty at the bridge, sweet and flute like at the neck, roll off the

tone for instant Clapton, bring it back for BB! Utilising the controls in the middle

positions gives endless shades of tonal variance from funk to Motown, to sweet

jangle to biting Freddie King.

Easy to see why dot neck 335’s are so highly regarded as the pinnacle of

arguably the greatest Electric guitar design of all time.

Moving on to its electronics, the volume pot for the neck looks to have been

replaced; however, all other electrical components, switch, pots do look to be

original along with the original ABR-1 bridge and saddles. We think that the pickup

hight adjustment screws and thumbwheels have been replaced, and the guitar

has a period correct set of mirror top knobs along with some period correct all

black knobs in the case, perhaps a previous owner fancied a change in its past?

The original Kluson single-line double-ring machine heads have some age-related

celluloid rot and are in the case with some excellent repro tuners have been fitted

and aged up to look the part. This is very common when looking at vintage

Gibsons from this period and is good practise. The original top nut has also been

replaced, probably with the re-fret.

Its original nitro cherry finish is in good shape with the expected wear from a

lifetime of playing, its often said the best guitars are the most played ones and

this one has been well loved and played, no surprise when it sounds so good.

Our 1961 Es335 TDC is just a first-class vintage instrument that could be the

crown jewel of anyones collection.

It’s often said that a good 335 can do it all and that saying has never been more

true than applied to this guitar.

As is standard practice with any new arrival in store, this very cool 1961 Cherry

Gibson ES-335TD has been through the trusted hands of our team in our onsite

workshop to ensure it is in tip-top shape for its new home and owner!

Our stunning 1961 Cherry Gibson ES-335TD comes in its original Lifton case with

pink lining and with 'AXIS' insignia from its previous owner.

We are an appointment-only store. All instruments are handled by Motomusic employees only.

We are always happy to consider quality part exchange instruments here.

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