Gibson ES-330TD Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1960)
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Item # 11285
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Gibson ES-330TD Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1960), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # R6774-35 (FON), sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
This is a truly superb example of a first-generation sunburst ES-330TD from late 1960, the model's first full production year. This guitar has all the earliest features including a bound dot-inlaid rosewood fingerboard, rounder "Mickey Mouse" cutaway horns, black plastic P-90 pickup covers and "no-wire" ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge. The 1960 "R" coded factory order number is visible under the treble side F-hole; believe it or not when new these were not considered enough of a pro-grade guitar to merit a "real" serial number!
The ES-330 series debuted in 1959 but were not officially offered for sale until late in the year. The initial announcement in the October/November '59 GIBSON GAZETTE described them as "Thrilling modern instruments...Double cutaway body and thin silhouette make it wonderfully east to hold and play". They are pitched as replacing the ES-225 series, Gibson's first economy thinlines "within the next few weeks" indicating shipments of the 330's had just gotten underway. A total of 270 sunburst two-pickup models made it out of Kalamazoo before the end of the year priced at $250 (plus case); in 1960 1198 were shipped marking this as a very successful model, as it would remain for much of the 1960s.
The ES-330 has a classic set of mid-line Gibson features, but a distinctive feel. While grouped with the thin-line semi-solid 335 range this is actually a very different instrument to play. The slim single-bound body is fully hollow without any center block, making it much lighter and more resonant. This also led to another distinguishing feature of the 330, the neck joining the body farther in at the 16th fret to allow the joint to be stronger.
The neck profile on this guitar is the slim, flatter 1960 style, a new feature specific to this period. The headstock has a pearl Gibson logo, the tuners are single-unit enclosed Kluson deluxe with plastic buttons. Two P-90 pickups are mounted under black plastic dog-ear covers, which would be replaced with metal a couple of years on. They are controlled by the standard Gibson 4-knob one switch wiring rig, with a '50s style amber switch tip and the then-new metal-capped plastic bonnet knobs.
Despite being intended as "amateur' instruments early ES-330TDs are great-sounding, extremely versatile guitars and have been heard live and on record in many styles of music. Jazz great Grant Green used this model extensively on his most well-regarded early 1960s recordings, while Slim Harpo relied on one for his deep swamp blues. The ES-330 and its nearly identical sister guitar the Epiphone Casino were featured in countless '60s British invasion bands, including the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Manfred Mann, and many more. This is an exceptional example, one of the cleanest the early ES-330TD's we have seen, a light and handy guitar with a killer feel and sound.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
Overall this is a fantastic original guitar, not absolutely pristine but showing only very light wear for 60+ years on the planet. It remains beautifully original, never even having had a strap button added at the heel. The finish is very clean with no fade and only minimal checking; there is some scuffing and tiny dings, the top has one small touched-up spot near the rim just above the tailpiece. All hardware is original and complete with some minor plating wear; the tailpiece is the exact correct original style but at one time something else (possibly a vibrato) was mounted and a couple small extra holes remain in the rim hidden under the baseplate. This is not visible in any way, and even the original plastic endpin is still intact.
There are no other alterations at all; even the original frets remain in excellent shape with very light wear in the lower positions, and all hardware is original and correct. This is a very fine-playing and sounding guitar, very light and super comfortable. It is complete in the original pink-lined brown Gibson HSC, also nicely preserved with some general external wear. This is fairly rare as 330's were often not originally purchased with this (many came housed in chipboard!) as it added $47.00 to the price! They simply don't come a whole lot nicer than this! Overall Excellent + Condition.
This is a truly superb example of a first-generation sunburst ES-330TD from late 1960, the model's first full production year. This guitar has all the earliest features including a bound dot-inlaid rosewood fingerboard, rounder "Mickey Mouse" cutaway horns, black plastic P-90 pickup covers and "no-wire" ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge. The 1960 "R" coded factory order number is visible under the treble side F-hole; believe it or not when new these were not considered enough of a pro-grade guitar to merit a "real" serial number!
The ES-330 series debuted in 1959 but were not officially offered for sale until late in the year. The initial announcement in the October/November '59 GIBSON GAZETTE described them as "Thrilling modern instruments...Double cutaway body and thin silhouette make it wonderfully east to hold and play". They are pitched as replacing the ES-225 series, Gibson's first economy thinlines "within the next few weeks" indicating shipments of the 330's had just gotten underway. A total of 270 sunburst two-pickup models made it out of Kalamazoo before the end of the year priced at $250 (plus case); in 1960 1198 were shipped marking this as a very successful model, as it would remain for much of the 1960s.
The ES-330 has a classic set of mid-line Gibson features, but a distinctive feel. While grouped with the thin-line semi-solid 335 range this is actually a very different instrument to play. The slim single-bound body is fully hollow without any center block, making it much lighter and more resonant. This also led to another distinguishing feature of the 330, the neck joining the body farther in at the 16th fret to allow the joint to be stronger.
The neck profile on this guitar is the slim, flatter 1960 style, a new feature specific to this period. The headstock has a pearl Gibson logo, the tuners are single-unit enclosed Kluson deluxe with plastic buttons. Two P-90 pickups are mounted under black plastic dog-ear covers, which would be replaced with metal a couple of years on. They are controlled by the standard Gibson 4-knob one switch wiring rig, with a '50s style amber switch tip and the then-new metal-capped plastic bonnet knobs.
Despite being intended as "amateur' instruments early ES-330TDs are great-sounding, extremely versatile guitars and have been heard live and on record in many styles of music. Jazz great Grant Green used this model extensively on his most well-regarded early 1960s recordings, while Slim Harpo relied on one for his deep swamp blues. The ES-330 and its nearly identical sister guitar the Epiphone Casino were featured in countless '60s British invasion bands, including the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Kinks, Manfred Mann, and many more. This is an exceptional example, one of the cleanest the early ES-330TD's we have seen, a light and handy guitar with a killer feel and sound.
Overall length is 39 3/4 in. (101 cm.), 16 in. (40.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.).
Overall this is a fantastic original guitar, not absolutely pristine but showing only very light wear for 60+ years on the planet. It remains beautifully original, never even having had a strap button added at the heel. The finish is very clean with no fade and only minimal checking; there is some scuffing and tiny dings, the top has one small touched-up spot near the rim just above the tailpiece. All hardware is original and complete with some minor plating wear; the tailpiece is the exact correct original style but at one time something else (possibly a vibrato) was mounted and a couple small extra holes remain in the rim hidden under the baseplate. This is not visible in any way, and even the original plastic endpin is still intact.
There are no other alterations at all; even the original frets remain in excellent shape with very light wear in the lower positions, and all hardware is original and correct. This is a very fine-playing and sounding guitar, very light and super comfortable. It is complete in the original pink-lined brown Gibson HSC, also nicely preserved with some general external wear. This is fairly rare as 330's were often not originally purchased with this (many came housed in chipboard!) as it added $47.00 to the price! They simply don't come a whole lot nicer than this! Overall Excellent + Condition.