Gibson 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue VOS (Vintage Natural)

Even amid its rapid-paced innovation and invention of the late 1950s, Gibson remained a guitar maker steeped in tradition. After revolutionizing the guitar world with the solidbody Les Paul Model, Gibson made a bold return to its roots by offering an electric guitar that encompassed the benefits of a solidbody guitar, but in the image of an acoustic archtop. The result was the ES-335, which was first released in 1958, but would eventually reach its most desirable form one year later in 1959. Now, more than 50 years after reaching this zenith in semi-acoustic guitar design, Gibson Custom is proud to reintroduce one of the most celebrated guitars in its history, the 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue. It is truly an instrument born in the image of its inspiration. Available in your choice of Faded Cherry or Vintage Sunburst gloss finish, the 1959 ES-335 Reissue comes with a custom shop reissue case and Certificate of Authenticity.

The ES-335's design and construction, revolutionary for its day, gave it a "best of both worlds" appeal that suited it to any imaginable genre of music, from jazz to rock, blues to country. The 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue accurately retains the original construction, with the solid maple center block for superb sustain and resistance to feedback, and arched laminated maple top, back, and sides for added hollowbody-like warmth. The glued-in quarter-sawn mahogany neck with long tenon has a one-piece rosewood fingerboard with a 12" radius and a width of 1 11/16" at the nut, along with classic 24 ¾" Gibson scale length. In addition to these details, the 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue also benefits from elements of the Gibson Custom 20th Anniversary Specifications being introduced for 2013. These include more accurate Kluson Deluxe machine heads, hot-hide glue neck fit, a period-correct Historic Truss Rod assembly with no tubing, accurate body and fingerboard binding color, and Aniline dye for the neck of guitars finished in Faded Cherry, and Gibson Custom's outstanding new Custom Bucker PAF reproductions. The result is a "Dot Neck" that is more true to the original of 1959 in look, feel, and tone than ever before.

A period-correct hardware set that includes an ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece completes the '59 specs, and adds to the 1959 ES-335 Reissue's considerable sonic bite through a pair of Custom Bucker pickups. Made with Alnico III magnets and unequal turns of 42 AWG wire in each of their two coils, like the legendary Gibson PAF humbuckers, the Custom Bucker offers that legendary blend of warmth, depth, and bite found in the most desirable vintage humbucking pickups. The entire package is superbly playable right out of its Custom Shop hardshell case thanks to a trip through one of Gibson's state-of-the-art Plek machines before leaving the Custom Shop floor.