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The Gibson ES 335 semi-acoustic electric guitar is just one of those guitars that evokes countless fond and exciting memories of my earlier days, when I was first addicted to learning to play the guitar.

Countless bands and performers of the late 50s and 1960s seemed to have a guitar player proudly playing these F-holed beauties. The old black and white TV clips on shows like Top of the Pops would clearly show the assorted musical genres that the 335 guitar could tackle without difficulty. Blues, jazz, pop and rock ‘n roll were very typical of the musical styles that guitarists played on the Gibson 335.

Listed here are 10 fascinating facts about this guitar:

1. The Gibson ES 335 was the world’s very first commercial semi-acoustic electric guitar.

2. Until 1952 the Gibson organization were only making entirely hollow bodied electric guitars. These guitars were definitely very often vulnerable to feedback squeals when played through an amplifier at greater volume.

3. The 335 is neither a solid body or a hollow acoustic guitar. A solid block of hardwood runs through the heart of the entire body with hollow side’s that contain two F-holes forming the acoustic chambers. This served to relieve the annoying feedback.

4. The semi-acoustic style and design was a joining together of previous designs to create the best of both worlds, in other words the mixture of a solid and traditional acoustic body.

5. Two legendary humbucking PAF guitar pickups were made use of in the original models. These humbucker pickups were the same as used on the Les Paul models at that time.

6. The resulting electric guitar was exceptionally adaptable and as pointed out earlier suited to various genres of music. Recognized players of varied styles of music include: Larry Carlton, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Alex Lifeson, Dave Grohl, Lee Ritenour and Carl Wilson.

7. Production started in 1958 with a basic price of $267. 50.

8. The hardwood employed in the construction includes: a solid maple middle block with a maple plywood top and back, mahogany was used for the guitar neck (maple was used extremely rarely) and usually rosewood fretboard although sometimes ebony.

9. The most desirable model was what became referred to as the ‘dot neck’ type. These employed dot inlays in the fretboard rather than block inlays. The 1958 and 1959 models with dot inlays and also stop tailpieces are considered the very best.

10. 1962 saw the roll-out of block fingerboard inlays, replacing the dots and also the shape of the double cutaways evolved from the original ‘Mickey Mouse’ design ears to a little more pointed.

So that’s it. An excellent ES 335 really is a joy to hold and play and the product is still produced today. It really is worthwhile testing one out in your local music shop, even if it is just to experience it.

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