I have a very nice ’59 Les Paul too, which is very
similar to the ’58, and a couple of other 335s, but
there’s just something about my ’58 Les Paul and
’59 335. It’s like my ’53 Super 400 – there are
certain things that just do it. A guitar will just
suit you. I can’t really explain it better than that.”Don Felder
“Back in the 60s, the sound of the day was that kind
of sustaining blues. Clapton had a lot to do with
that, but I remember seeing BB King when I was 14
or something and he had his Lucille at the time. It
wasn’t the Lucille model – of course it hadn’t come
out – but he had either a 335 or 355, whatever it was,I think it was red in those days, not black. And he
had a Super Reverb amp. I went up to the stage and
looked at his amp, and the volume was 10, the treble
was on 10, the mid and the bass, everything was just
turned up to 10 and he would turn up the guitar. And
it would sound great! You don’t need any pedals if
you’ve got the right guitar and amp. I think a lot of
tone is in your hands, how you fret the instrument,
how you pluck the string, the kind of pick you use.
It’s all in the hands of the beholder. Joe Walsh could
pick up the same guitar that I have, and it sounds
totally different to when I play it. It’s in the hands of
the beholder. Unlike piano, where you press a key and
it sounds the same no matter who’s playing it.”A BRIGHT ELUSIVE CHERRY
Mike Voltz, Gibson Memphis
“One of the big things that people are really looking
for in reissue 335s today is a colour-correct cherry.
We have that colour now, and it’s thanks to Warren
Haynes. We were going to reproduce his ’61 335. I
thought it would be simple. I used to do colour repair,
and I thought, Okay: this’ll be a piece of cake. Well, it
took us three months. We stained at least 50 samples
of wood. I was two months into it, and I went to
[guitar ageing expert] Tom Murphy and talked to
him. I said: ‘Tom, I’m dying.’ He says: ‘Oh yeah, you
can’t match that colour, I’ve got about...’ and he
puts his fingers out like he had maybe half an inch of
stain left. He says: ’That’s all I know that exists.’ I felt
better, because I was just feeling like an idiot.
“But the guy who was running our finish
department never gave up. He’d say: I’m done, it’s
perfect! And everyone would look at it and say, well,
it’s closer. But he persisted, and he came up with the
colour. He brought in the chemist from the outfit
that supplies all of our finishes and lacquers and they
just kept at it until they finally got it. It took three
months of solid work. But we have that colour now.”THE REVOLUTIONARY INSTRUMENT
Gibson catalogue, 1958
“This revolutionary new double cutaway, thin electric
Spanish guitar meets today’s needs for individual
performance, large or small ensembles, recording,
television and radio. Engineered after consultation
with leading players, the ES-335T presents a striking
appearance and sensational response. New body
construction, with solid fitting neck, pickups and
adjustable bridge, provides the solidity essential
for clear, sparkling, sustaining tone.”Luther Dickinson
“I think the 335 is the last great invention of the
electric guitar. They already had invented the
electric solidbody; they already had the electric
hollowbody. And then right at the apex of the
whole generation, they put the two together.
And there it was, you know?”BELOWFor many, the ES-335
represents the perfect middle
ground between the solidbody
Les Paul and Gibson’s
more ornate hollowbodies...
especially when equipped
with a Bigsby vibrato
AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE GIBSON ES-335
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