1971 Gibson ES-335TD Sunburst

Very good condition featuring double cutaway semi-hollow laminated maple Electro Spanish body with sunburst finish, two F holes, bound top and back body edges, two humbucking pickups with black plastic pickup surrounds, two volume controls and two tone controls with black plastic witch hat knobs, three way pickup selector switch with white plastic switch tip, trapeze tailpiece, wired ABR-1 adjustable tune-o-matic bridge, set mahogany neck, bound rosewood fingerboard with small block pearloid inlays starting at the third fret, bone nut, Gibson open book peghead shape, black peghead face, with Gibson pearl logo and decorative crown inlay, multi-ply black and white plastic bell shaped truss rod cover, three per side double line Kluson Deluxe tuning machines with green plastic keystone tuner buttons, serial number and Made In USA impressed into the back of the peghead, two black plastic strap buttons, chrome plated metal hardware and 1990s Gibson hard shell case with brown Tolex covering and pink plush interior. 7lbs 7ozs.

This 1971 Gibson ES-335 is in very good cosmetic condition. This guitar shows signs of play wear and age throughout including some pick scratches on the pickguard, some tarnishing of the chrome hardware, some very faint scratches around the body edges and some very small dings around the peghead edges. This instrument has no cracks or repairs. The pickups in this guitar were replaced in 1992 with a set of Tom Holmes “PAFs”. This guitar has a “2” stamped on the back of the peghead but there is no apparent flaw.

This guitar belonged to a friend of mine who is a former Strings N Things employee. In 1992, the bridge pickup died and he had a mutual friend of ours, a former Gruhn repairman, replace the pickups. Our mutual friend was friends with and worked with Tom Holmes so he bought the pickups directly from Tom and then installed them. I myself am also an ex Gruhn employee so this is how I became friends with both of these gentlemen and how I wound up with the guitar. Sorry for the long story, but it’s pretty interesting to know how these early Holmes pickups wound up in this 335. The rest of the wiring harness is original. These early 90s Tom Holmes PAF pickups are unbelievable sounding. Woody, articulate and full, clean or dirty they completely shine. This is an absolutely outstanding sounding 335.

This guitar has a very nice feeling medium chunky, rounded neck profile with a 1 9/16” nut width. This neck thickness is thinner at the 1st fret and tapers larger toward the 12th fret. The original frets on this 335 show some play wear, have been dressed and have plenty of life left. This guitar has been set up and it plays excellent up and down the fingerboard with low comfortable action and great intonation. The truss rod is fully operational and this 335 is a fantastic player with a very lived in vibe - it’s hard to put down!

This guitar is housed in a 1990s Gibson hard shell case for safe travels. If you are looking for a dynamite playing and sounding vintage ES-335, this example is incredible.