Gibson ES-330 TN Model Thinline Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1959), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # S1019-17, natural lacquer finish, laminate maple body, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
This is a very rare, lovely and incredibly well preserved first-generation blonde ES-330TN from 1959, the model's debut year. This guitar remains almost immaculately clean and all original sporting the earliest features including a bound dot-inlaid rosewood fingerboard, rounder "Mickey Mouse" cutaway horns and a black plastic cover on the single center-mounted P-90 pickup. The rarest feature is the natural finish; this option was quickly discontinued in 1960 in favor of the then-new cherry; well under 200 total of these single pickup "N" models were ever made. The factory order number on this one indicates a build date around mid-1959 suggesting this is one of the very earliest examples.
Although they debuted in 1959 the ES-330 models were not officially released to dealers until the fall. The initial announcement in the October/November '59 GIBSON GAZETTE described them as "Thrilling modern instruments" adding "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 were just getting underway. Only 82 single pickup natural finish models made it out of Kalamazoo before the end of the year, with a further 88 in 1960.
The ES-330TN was considered a student model with a classic set of mid-line Gibson features but a distinctive feel. While the ES-330 models were grouped with the semi-solid 335 range they are actually a very different instrument to play. The slim single-bound body is fully hollow without any center block, making it much lighter. This also led to another distinguishing feature, the neck joining the body farther in at the 16th fret to allow the joint to be stronger. The single center-mounted pickup on this "TN" model was a holdover from the ES-225, and this quirky layout only lasted a few years into the 1960s.
The neck profile on this guitar is the round "'59 style" but slimmer back-to-front than many '59s. The unbound headstock has a pearl Gibson logo; the tuners are single-unit enclosed Kluson deluxe with plastic buttons. The single P-90 pickups is mounted halfway between the neck and bridge under a black plastic dog-ear cover, with amber plastic bonnet knobs on the tone and volume controls. This 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. It retains a lot of acoustic character at lower volume, and expands into a honky midrange bark when cranked.
This is simply a superbly easy-handling and great-playing guitar, super lightweight and with an extremely comfortable neck. It is also quite rare, one of the few blonde ES-330TN's we have seen, and amazingly clean to boot. While many folks ignore the single-pickup 330s, this is one of those guitars 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 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.).
This is a VERY clean and original guitar overall, showing only the lightest wear. Over the last 60+ years the guitar appears little played, and obviously well cared for. The all-original finish has some very minor scuffs and dings, the only really notable wear or damage is a small chip in the back upper edge of the headstock, and a couple of small dinks on the front edge. All hardware is complete and original; the nickel plating shows some very light wear.
There are no alterations, never even a strap button added to the heel as was very common. The original frets show hardly any wear and this 330 plays great and sounds fantastic, a super friendly guitar tom play even with its one pickup. This beautiful blonde resides gloriously resplendent in the original brown HSC, with a period Bobby Lee strap and Montgomery Ward string box in the pocket. Excellent + Condition.
