Gibson ES-330TC Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1960-61), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, cherry lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, black hard shell case.

This is a nice playing example of an early cherry-finish Gibson ES-330T from the 1960-61 period, the initial year of production. The ES-330T (with no "D") was the relatively short-lived single pickup version of the popular double-pickup ES-330TD, itself one of Gibson's big successes in the early-mid 1960s.

In comparison to its twin pickup sibling the cherry single-pickup ES-330 is a rare guitar with only 582 total produced from 1960-'63. All of 37 cherry finish 330Ts are listed as having been shipped in 1960; this option replaced an even rarer natural version towards the end of that year. Try as we may we can find no trace of an ink-stamped factory order number in this guitar, nor is there an impressed serial number on the back of the headstock (a practice started in February of '61). This combined with the features dates the guitar to the end of 1960 or the first month or two of 1961, one of 214 registered shipped that year.

Regardless of exactly when it was sent out into the world, this guitar shows first-generation 330 features including the bound dot inlaid rosewood fingerboard, rounder "Mickey Mouse" cutaway horns on the body, and a black plastic P-90 pickup cover. The nickel-plated ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge is the first "no-wire" pattern with nickel saddles. The single-bound body is fully hollow with a deep cherry finish and the neck joins at the 16th fret, in common with all early ES-330 variants.

The distinctive feature of the original ES-330T is the single P-90 pickup mounted right in the middle of the body. This center pickup placement was used by Gibson on just two midline models, the ES-225T and ES-330T as a sort of tonal compromise between the standard neck or bridge placement options. It gives the guitar a smooth midrange-rich tone, obviously not as versatile as the twin pickup ES-330TD, but with a distinctive sound all its own. When not pushed too hard through an overdriven amp it has an interesting acoustic-y character; we have found some players used to gigging with an amplified flat-top have been quite taken with this model.

This early 330TC is also simply a superbly easy-handling and great-playing guitar, super lightweight and comfortable in any context. The neck has the slim, flat profile seen on most 1960-61 Gibson guitars specific to this period. While not one of the most collected of vintage Gibsons, this is a very friendly instrument to play, and extremely well-preserved.

Overall length is 43 1/8 in. (109.5 cm.), 16 1/8 in. (41 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

Overall this is a nicely original 65 year old guitar showing some typical wear and tear but nothing too serious. The finish shows moderately heavy checking over most of the instrument, with dings, scrapes and chips overall but no really heavy finish loss. The headstock edges are more heavily chipped and worn; there is some light moisture wear to the back of the neck behind the lower frets and sone shallow dings and dents. The fingerboard binding has some minor repair with several cracks and small patched-in pieces along both sides.

The only structural repair is the seam on the treble side headstock wing has been resealed just off the top edge. The tuners are correct style repro Kluson Deluxes; something else was mounted there previously but their removal left only some minimal scarring. Apart from this the hardware remains original except for a period strap button on the heel; this is an almost ubiquitous addition on this model. There is general wear to the nickel plating, and the top edge of the original pickguard shows some odd scarring possibly from an attempt to straighten the typical slight upward warp. The volume knob has lost its "Volume" stencil but it is still intact on the tone knob.

The guitar has been neatly refretted with appropriate wire and the fingerboard trued. This is a fine-playing and cool sounding Es-330 complete in the worn original Gibson alligator-grain chipboard case, with a later HSC provided for better protection as well. Overall Very Good + Condition.