Up for sale, a 1959 Gibson ES-330 TD in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case. A one family owned Gibson hailing from the ES-330's introductory model year, this example boasts the model's earliest features, including dot inlay on the fretboard, "Mickey Mouse" ear body horns, black plastic pickup covers, nickel-plated hardware, and most importantly, the larger distinctive 1959-centric neck carve. The introductory model year is also notable for being the only year to retain the fuller neck profile carve associated with golden age Gibsons.

Recently restored to factory spec, this ES-330 retains the original nitro lacquer finish save for a top-only refin in a correct late ‘50s burst gradient courtesy of Riggio Custom Guitars, along with vintage spec hardware and plastics where needed.

Tonewoods include a fully hollow thinline maple body, mahogany neck, and Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, and this instrument a broad, relaxed natural acoustic tone with both sonic depth and the immediacy due maple as a tonewood, featherweight at 5lbs 14oz. The original pair of P-90 pickups deliver the midrange growl and glassy, dynamic qualities of this hotly wound design, with rich, textured bark when digging in hard. The pickups clean up nicely for complex chord work with a lighter touch, and each position on the three-way pickup selector is distinct. This ES-330 TD has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 10-46 strings, low action, and accurate intonation.

Neck Specs:

• Wood: Honduran mahogany
• Shape: 1959 C (chunky, shy of “baseball bat”), measuring .870” 1st fret, .980” 12th fret
• Fretboard: Brazilian rosewood, dot inlays
• Frets: Medium jumbo, leveled/crowned, faint wear beneath the plain strings on frets 1-5
• Scale Length: 24 3/4”
• Nut: 1 11/16”, nylon
• Tuners: Kluson Deluxe single-line (replacement, aged)

Body Specs:

• Wood: Maple
• Pickups: P-90 x2, Neck 8.5k ohms, Bridge 8.1k ohms
• Harness: Modern CTS 500k pots, switch (original pots and switch included, Centralab pots date to 47th week of ‘59)
• Controls: Volume x2, Tone x2, Three-way pickup selector
• Hardware: No-wire ABR-1 bridge (replacement, aged), trapeze tailpiece (original)
• Plastics: Five-ply pickguard and gold bonnet knobs (replacement), “dogear” pickup covers (original)
• Serialization: S-prefix FON dates to ‘59 (treble-side F hole)

While the walnut gloss on the back, rims, and neck profile are original, the Sunburst gloss on top was masterfully executed by Joe Riggio, carefully aged to match the rest of the body with vertical checking and a few small nicks. The original finish on the back and sides exhibits slightly tighter checking, with light buckle scuffing central to the back and a few small scuffs and nicks along the perimeter. The gloss on the neck profile has a worn-in, easy-playing feel, with modest palm wear through the gloss and a few shallow chips buffed smooth through play.

The original hardshell case paired with the guitar when sold new is included. As cases were paired at the dealer level in this era, it’s not uncommon to see some variation. This specific case (dark gray/blue interior), was generally seen with early Epiphone Casinos, but as the two models share the same form factor and factory, this ES-330 was paired with this case when sold to the original owner.