A 1961 Gibson ES-335 TDC anyone?

Debuting in 1958 with its iconic design, the ES-335 and its siblings formed the trifecta spearheading the Gibson semi acoustic range. 1960 saw the introduction of the cherry finish that became a defining feature of Gibson guitars to come. 

Resplendent in its rare, almost unfaded finish, this guitar looks too good. A great example of that classic cherry colour, this guitar has been well cared for and is in great condition. Both front and back are free of any real wear. The back has a few marks but nothing too severe. 

The neck has suffered a headstock break and has been refinished with the serial number having been retained but the headstock too has been refinished. This is all done very professionally and looks good and neat.

This also looks to have had other tuners on though currently it has correct Kluson Single line Double Ring tuners. The fretboard is in good condition and having been refretted, the frets have plenty of life left in them.

The hardware is in great condition too. As you can see from the pictures the bridge has been shaved down at some point. There is evidence of another tailpiece so the bigsby is not the only addition. 

The plastics are in great shape. Pickguard is an early short type, the shallow dish reflector knobs are in great condition. Electrically everything looks correct with both strong PAF pickups looking to be undisturbed. 

The guitar comes with a correct Gibson black Tolex case with black lining.

Both pickups on this guitar sound great and are very evenly balanced. The neck pickup really accentuates the wood tones without losing any definition whilst the bridge pickup really delivers that bite that you only really get from a classic and original PAF pickup.

If you’re looking for an ES guitar then you can’t go much wrong with this one. Cherry red vintage ES guitars from  1960/61 like this are very rare and pretty desirable; they may not hang around very long…