The flame maple top, back and sides of this ES-335 Dot reissue stand out on first encounter, but equally impressive is the overall build quality from a time in the mid 1990s when Gibson’s Nashville factory was very focused on quality control. In addition to being beautiful and well finished, the pickups are two Gibson Classic ’57 Humbuckers with nickel covers & black bezels, reading Bridge – 7.78K ohms; Neck – 7.52K ohms, plus all the original wiring harness. The bridge pickup tone pot has been replaced but otherwise all is as it left the factory.
All hardware is original and correct, including the ABR-1 bridge with a retaining wire and metal saddles, and the stop tailpiece embedded through the top into the centre block. Tuners are ‘Gibson Deluxe’ stamped Klusons with aged ‘tulip’ buttons and the knobs are gold top hat Gibsons as per original specification. The bound fretboard is an exceptionally fine dark rosewood, with original frets in almost unplayed condition, all with fret end binding nibs as per original spec. The neck on this 335 is particularly comfortable, with traditional early 60s 1-11/16″ nut width and a smooth medium C profile. Through an amp we have no trouble finding all the great tones that a 335 is famous for, from cool jazz to warm blues and full-on crunchy rock. As befits a top-of-the-line Gibson, this guitar comes with its form-fit pink-lined brown Gibson hard case, with Owner’s Manual and QC checklist card etc in the case pocket. Approaching 27 years old, yet in as-new condition, this is a great 335 at a very good price.
