Debuting along with its sibling, the ES-335, in 1958, the ES-355 was Gibson's deluxe version of their ace new thinline electric, featuring gold hardware, classy multi-ply binding, plus Varitone control. And if that wasn't enough, from 1959 it also came in that whacky new-fangled stereo! But stereo guitar output didn't really catch on and Gibson quickly reverted to mono output only, resulting in almost every original stereo example seen on the vintage market having had its output bridged to standard mono, as is the case here.
Extraordinarily well cared for
This superb ES-355* comes to us direct from a well known Melbourne musician, and has been extraordinarily well cared for. There's some very light buckle-rash on the back, along with one small piece of touched up paint, (barely visible, but circled in pic # 8). The front is extraordinarily clean, the Ebony board looks like it was milled just last week!
Set against the crisp Ebony fingerboard is a nicely matched set of almost glowing white MOP block inlays, while the famous "fretless wonder" frets are also in great shape. For a guitar headed towards its 40th year, this ES-355 is in fabulous condition.
9lb 12oz / 4.35kg
If you've never picked one of these guitars up, don't get lulled into thinking that thinline equals light weight. The huge, full-length Maple centre-block, along with the Varitone control, added some serious weight to these semi-hollow bodies, this one tipping the Just Guitars digital scales at 9lb 12oz, (4.35kg)!
Keith Richards, BB King, Chuck Berry
We have just gone over the guitar from end to end and found absolutely nothing that needed attention – from the frets to the electronics, everything is in perfect working order. It's fresh out of the workshop with a new set of Rotosound 10s and makes, beautiful, fabulous music! The original Pat. No. humbuckers have real balls, but are also easily backed off to slinky and sexy smooth. The lovely thin neck will encourage you to play with speed and flair you never knew yourself capable of, putting you in the company of such fellow 355 players as Keef, BB King, (shown with his 355, over there on the right), and Chuck Berry.
Only 166 built!
Out of production from 1970 to 1975, Gibson built just 166 Wine Red ES-355 models when production resumed in 1976, making this killer guitar something of a rarity. Allowing for the majority of them being in the US really pulls the odds down of running into many in Australia. (Or anywhere, really. The day we listed this guitar, the industry's major vintage guitar database showed not a single 1976 model ES-335 available for sale anywhere in the world!)
Original
As a professionally used instrument, the bridge saddles were changed several years back to GraphTech 'String Savers', though the originals are in the case and can be easily switched back for full vintage spec's. Other than the changed saddles the guitar is all original, including its original hard shell case, (seen in pics 1 & 7). Click on the LISTEN button and hear just some of the amazingly wide-ranging sounds this fabulous vintage guitar is capable of producing!
Free courier delivery
Remember, all Just Guitars instruments include FREE COURIER DELIVERY to any address in Australia. If you have any questions regarding this awesome guitar, please call us TOLL-FREE on 1800 75 45 60.
*Full model name was the ES-355-TD SV; T for thinline, D for double pickups, S for stereo, V for Varitone
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