The History of the Gibson ES-335TD

In 1958, with jazz and the blues fully amped up, Gibson debuted the ES-335TD as the original ‘Thinline’ ‘Double-pickup’, double-cutaway, semi-hollow archtop.

It was a logical conclusion to the rich history of Gibson’s ‘ES’ (Electric Spanish) lineage that began in 1936 with the Charlie Christian-endorsed ES-150.

Over the next couple of decades, Gibson worked towards something of an apex with the ES-335TD via a series of profound design concepts.

In 1949, the ES-175 was introduced with a single cutaway, gaining double pickups in 1953 as the ES-175D.

In 1954, the Byrdland (an amalgamation of the names Billy Byrd and Hank Garland), which was in its early incarnation documented as the L-5 Special Thin Model, profiled a reduced body depth.

This was shortly followed by the ES-350T in 1955 (later renamed ES-350TD), which also featured a reduced body depth, cutaway and double pickups.

As an addition to a well-established line of f-hole archtops, the ES-335TD broke further ground with its double cutaway and semi-acoustic/center-block features, augmented by Gibson’s new and improved noise-cancelling PAF humbucker pickups.

Along with increased access to the upper frets enabling guitarists to easily hit notes and bend strings high up the neck, its solid maple center-block snugly housed and surrounded both pickups, firmly suppressing the feedback that had plagued archtop players for years.

The ES-335TD thus employed the solidbody signature feature of recessing pickups into a small cavity (a tried and tested method since Gibson released the Les Paul in 1952), while enjoying some of the natural acoustic resonance of a traditional archtop.

Part solidbody/part acoustic, the innovative ‘semi-acoustic’ hybrid guitar successfully balanced the best of both worlds.

The original ES-335 (released in 1958 as the ES-335T) sported a one-piece glued mahogany neck with a Brazilian rosewood ’board and dot inlays, joining the body at the 19th fret. The body measured 16 inches across and consisted of an arched, single-bound laminated maple top and back.

It was mounted with a Tune-o-matic bridge and stop tailpiece (Bigsby optional) and finished in either Sunburst or Natural (ES-335TDN). The iconic Cherry finish (ES-335TDC) was offered later in 1959.

Some design adjustments were subsequently made throughout its production, although it hasn’t altered radically since its introduction, with reissues catering for notable preferences in specification, without needing to invest in the highly collectible original vintage models. (Interestingly, the ES-335 is worth considerably more on the vintage market than equivalent-year ES-345s and ES-355s, although both of these models were pricier than the ES-335 upon original release.)

Along with the ES-335’s ability to push the envelope in terms of gain and a warm, plangent fullness of tone, it struck a very happy medium between feedback and sustain, endowing players with a flexible and colorful palette of sounds at their fingertips.

It was famously embraced by blues players and as a particularly dynamic instrument has also enjoyed popularity within a diverse range of guitar styles since its arrival, with ES-335 signature models having been produced by Gibson in association with artists as diverse as Trini Lopez, Eric Clapton, Larry Carlton, Chris Cornell, Lee Ritenour, Roy Orbison, Tom DeLonge, Alvin Lee (“Big Red” ES-335), Andy Summers (1960 ES-335) and Dave Grohl (DG-335).

With an expressive, vocal characteristic, the ES-335’s continued popularity and longevity since its introduction in 1958 speaks in volumes.