Gibson ES-330T Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1959)
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Item # 11910
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Gibson ES-330T Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1959), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # S1037-12 (FON), sunburst top, dark back and sides finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, brown tolex hard shell case.
This guitar is fairly well worn in but a cool player's example of an early first-year sunburst ES-330T. This plain "T" model was the relatively short-lived single pickup version of the popular ES-330TD, introduced in 1959 but phased out in the early 1960s. It has all the cooler first-generation features including bound dot rosewood fingerboard, rounder "Mickey Mouse" cutaway horns on the body, nickel hardware and a black plastic P-90 pickup cover. The nickel-plated ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge is the first "no-wire" pattern with nickel saddles. The single-bound body is fully hollow with a deep rich sunburst and the neck joins at the 16th fret.
The ES-330T And ES-330TD debuted in late 1959 as lower-budget additions to the ES-335 line launched the year before. 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 easy to hold and play". They were right too! In 1959 349 of these sunburst finished, single pickup 330s were shipped out of Kalamazoo. The more versatile double pickup ES-330TD prospered but this single pickup 330T only lasted into the early 1960s, last shipped in 1963.
The distinctive feature of the original ES-330T is that single P-90 mounted in the middle of the body, something Gibson first tried in 1955 with the ES-225. It is controlled with 1950s style amber plastic "bonnet" tone and volume knobs. This center pickup placement gives a smooth midrangey tone, obviously not as versatile as the twin pickup ES-330TD, but with a distinctive sound all its own. This is simply a superbly easy-handling, lively sounding and great-playing guitar, super lightweight and still with the round backed 1959 style neck, slimmer than some but not the wide, flat version seen on most 1960-61 guitars. This is not the cleanest or prettiest one of these we have had, but a guitar you'll pick up and play for a bit and suddenly it's a couple of hours later, even if you don't plug it in!
Overall length is 43 1/8 in. (109.5 cm.), 16 1/8 in. (41 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 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.).
This is a well-played guitar, a bit of a relic showing evidence of some hard use and some repro parts. There is moderately heavy checking overall, and the sunburst finish has aged to a darker amber over the top. There is what looks like very old overspray over parts of the face, the back of the neck and headstock, not polished out professionally but not highly intrusive. This has been worn through again on the back of the neck, much of which is now down to the bare wood. The remainder of the finish overall has dings and dents while the face has one larger area of lacquer missing in the typical armwear area. The headstock shows heavy checking and some chipping to the corners.
The hardware is something of a mixed bag. The pickup is an excellent more recent vintage P-90 (not marked by the maker) which sounds great. The original plastic pickup cover is worn into a bit on the top edge; the pots and wiring appear original. The ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge is original but for some reason has had the treble side undercut over the wheel. The tailpiece, knobs, truss rod cover, pickguard and bracket are original, the tuners are correct style repros. A period Gibson strap button was added at the heel long ago, and is oddly worn down.
The guitar has been neatly refretted with the fingerboard trued, with some visible filled divots. This guitar is an excellent player, the wear and parts substitutions do not affect function at all. This is a real player's piece, not for the "clean freak" but we like to think some soul is played into this one. The brown HSC is a correct style re-issue. Overall Very Good Condition.
This guitar is fairly well worn in but a cool player's example of an early first-year sunburst ES-330T. This plain "T" model was the relatively short-lived single pickup version of the popular ES-330TD, introduced in 1959 but phased out in the early 1960s. It has all the cooler first-generation features including bound dot rosewood fingerboard, rounder "Mickey Mouse" cutaway horns on the body, nickel hardware and a black plastic P-90 pickup cover. The nickel-plated ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge is the first "no-wire" pattern with nickel saddles. The single-bound body is fully hollow with a deep rich sunburst and the neck joins at the 16th fret.
The ES-330T And ES-330TD debuted in late 1959 as lower-budget additions to the ES-335 line launched the year before. 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 easy to hold and play". They were right too! In 1959 349 of these sunburst finished, single pickup 330s were shipped out of Kalamazoo. The more versatile double pickup ES-330TD prospered but this single pickup 330T only lasted into the early 1960s, last shipped in 1963.
The distinctive feature of the original ES-330T is that single P-90 mounted in the middle of the body, something Gibson first tried in 1955 with the ES-225. It is controlled with 1950s style amber plastic "bonnet" tone and volume knobs. This center pickup placement gives a smooth midrangey tone, obviously not as versatile as the twin pickup ES-330TD, but with a distinctive sound all its own. This is simply a superbly easy-handling, lively sounding and great-playing guitar, super lightweight and still with the round backed 1959 style neck, slimmer than some but not the wide, flat version seen on most 1960-61 guitars. This is not the cleanest or prettiest one of these we have had, but a guitar you'll pick up and play for a bit and suddenly it's a couple of hours later, even if you don't plug it in!
Overall length is 43 1/8 in. (109.5 cm.), 16 1/8 in. (41 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 5/8 in. (4.1 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.).
This is a well-played guitar, a bit of a relic showing evidence of some hard use and some repro parts. There is moderately heavy checking overall, and the sunburst finish has aged to a darker amber over the top. There is what looks like very old overspray over parts of the face, the back of the neck and headstock, not polished out professionally but not highly intrusive. This has been worn through again on the back of the neck, much of which is now down to the bare wood. The remainder of the finish overall has dings and dents while the face has one larger area of lacquer missing in the typical armwear area. The headstock shows heavy checking and some chipping to the corners.
The hardware is something of a mixed bag. The pickup is an excellent more recent vintage P-90 (not marked by the maker) which sounds great. The original plastic pickup cover is worn into a bit on the top edge; the pots and wiring appear original. The ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic bridge is original but for some reason has had the treble side undercut over the wheel. The tailpiece, knobs, truss rod cover, pickguard and bracket are original, the tuners are correct style repros. A period Gibson strap button was added at the heel long ago, and is oddly worn down.
The guitar has been neatly refretted with the fingerboard trued, with some visible filled divots. This guitar is an excellent player, the wear and parts substitutions do not affect function at all. This is a real player's piece, not for the "clean freak" but we like to think some soul is played into this one. The brown HSC is a correct style re-issue. Overall Very Good Condition.