Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1962 ES-330 Reissue - vintage burst

For fans of vintage Gibson guitars, 1959 was a pivotal year in the brand's history, with the appearance of such influential instruments as the Les Paul and the ES-330. The latter is often compared to the Epiphone Casino, which was not introduced until 1961.
In this 1962 version, the ES-330 has a D-type neck profile, and the fretboard markers are "Small Blocks". After an eight-year hiatus in production, the ES-330 is back in regular production! The GIBSON Custom Shop Historic Collection 1962 ES-330 Reissue (62ES330VOVBNH1) is an alternative to the ES-335 in a "fully hollow thinline body" version, without the internal Maple block of its parent. This feature gives the ES-330 an acoustic dimension, with a naturally more open and resonant sound.

The body is a three-piece Maple/Poplar/Maple, with a set neck "long neck tenon" in solid Mahogany (Authentic 1961 D profile) and a Rosewood fingerboard (22 medium-jumbo frets). As on the original period models, the neck joins the body at the sixteenth fret.

The ES-330 also features a duo of P-90 Dogear single-coil pickups. On the 1962 ES-330 Reissue, the neck pickup is fitted with Alnico 3 magnets and the (under-wound) neck pickup with Alnico 5 magnets, for optimum complementarity and tonal balance in all switch positions (three-position switchcraft).
Each pickup has its own volume and tone controls, with CTS potentiometers and high-end "Paper-in-oil" capacitors.
The hardware is vintage nickel, with a Historic No-wire ABR-1 bridge, Trapeze tailpiece, nylon nut and Kluson® Deluxe tuning machines.

Enhanced by a beautiful nitrocellulose lacquer, VOS hardware treatment, multi-ply pickguard and "True Historic Gold Top Hat With Dial Pointers" buttons, the Gibson 1959 ES-330 Reissue looks like a vintage example that's made it through the decades without a hitch!

The ES-330's "fully hollow" design doesn't predispose it to the high saturation levels of the Hard-Rock or Metal registers. On the other hand, backed by the sublimely warm and responsive P-90 pickups, it works wonders on clear and moderately distorted sounds. If you're into Americana, Blues, 60s Pop, Country, Jazz, Vintage Rock and the like, the 1959 ES-330 Reissue is sure to please.