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36-484: The Gibson ES-355 was created to be the fanciest of the Gibson thinline semi-hollow guitars. The first 355 appeared in 1958 as a mono ES-355TD. The majority of the 355s were manufactured as stereo guitars labeled ES-355TD-SV. The manufacture of the stereo versions appeared in 1959. Many guitarists did not appreciate the varitone and they disconnected the option so that the guitar could be played in mono. The guitar shipped in

72-491: A Bigsby vibrato tailpiece . In 1960 Gibson offered a sideways vibrola option. The rarest version are the versions with the Stoptail bridge . The top and back of the guitar is a laminate of maple and poplar, with a solid maple center block running from the neck to the bottom rim of the guitar. The neck is mahogany, and beginning in 1972, three piece maple. The tuners were either Grover Rotomatic, Kluson 'waffleback', or later in

108-542: A Bigsby, an ES-355 in Walnut finish with a Maestro vibrola and an ES-355 Black Beauty. ES-335 The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958 . It has a solid maple wood block running through the center of its body with hollow upper bouts and two violin -style f-holes cut into

144-447: A best-seller, and has been in continuous production since 1958. The first major update came in mid-1962, with the most visible change being the neck markers ; early models had dots (hence "dot neck"), later models had blocks. Some models (ES-347, ES-369) have a coil split switch, which allows the humbuckers to produce a "single-coil" sound. The ES-335 Pro, ES-335TD CRS, and CRR models had Gibson "Dirty Fingers" humbuckers, which had

180-761: A boom in the use of the EB-2 and its sibling, the Epiphone Rivoli , in the Merseybeat in England in the early sixties, production restarted in 1964, with a 2-pickup version called the EB-2D being added to the line in 1966. In 1972 the EB-2 line was discontinued. The CS-336 is a smaller version of the ES-335. The back and sides of this guitar are constructed from a single piece of carved mahogany, and its reduced size

216-455: A higher output than the standard pickups. The company has produced a number of signature guitars as well, such as Trini Lopez -inspired model (1964–1970) with narrow diamond-shaped soundholes replacing the f-holes , a Firebird-style headstock with all the tuners on one side, and slashed-diamond inlays. In September 2007, Gibson introduced the DG-335, designed with Dave Grohl . A variation on

252-401: A mono version or a stereo version and it was the finest of the Gibson 300 series ( ES-335 , ES-345 ). The guitar is made with an ebony fingerboard and mother-of-pearl block inlays. Other high end appointments included a lyre vibrola (beginning circa 1963), gold hardware, triple binding on headstock and top, with single binding on back and neck. . Many of the early versions of the guitar came with

288-626: A much less expensive version of the ES-335 under its Epiphone brand, called the Dot (referring to its dot-style inlay ). Other Epiphone semi-hollowbody style models include the Sheraton (a fancier version of the co-developed ES-335, released the same week, it can make equal claim as the first semi-hollowbody), the Riviera, and the Dot Studio, though some of those are modeled after other guitars in

324-439: A range of output potentials respectively. Coil taps on inductors are quite rare, but are sometimes used for band switching in tuning circuits. Coil pickups used with measuring instruments often feature coil taps to compensate for band rejection or equipment input impedance . They can also be used as a rudimentary method for telephone tapping . Single coil magnetic pickups found in electric guitars can be coil tapped to reduce

360-643: A stop-tailpiece and a custom Pelham Blue finish is used by Dave Grohl as his primary stage guitar; the Gibson Custom Shop produced a market version known as the "DG-335" in 2015. The Trini Lopez Custom came in a standard cherry sunburst finish, had a thicker body and cutout bouts with pointed tips instead of the standard rounded tips (similar to the Gibson Barney Kessel Custom guitar), a more ornate pickguard, and different locations for its two selector switches, but otherwise had

396-643: Is closer to that of the Les Paul . Also available, the CS-356 has gold plated hardware and multiple binding on the body, neck and headstock. In 2007, Gibson introduced the ES-339 with the size of the CS-336 and the laminate construction of the ES-335. Dave Grohl received an early 60s 335 from Axl Rose as a gift, which was handpicked by Slash. Grohl called it the “nicest I have ever played in my life”. His own version,

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432-515: The Gibson EB-0 .The pickup was actually a single coil with the polepieces on the lower edge of the black cover until mid 1959.The humbucking pickup has the poles in the center of a black cover. In 1959, a "baritone-switch" was added to filter the output from the neck humbucker and give it more of a guitar-like sound. The EB-2 was discontinued at the end of 1961, being replaced by the EB-3 . Due to

468-489: The Gibson Les Paul , a significantly different instrument from Les Paul 's early electric guitar experiment, "The Log", which consisted of a center block with detachable chambers on both sides, a neck, hardware, and a pickup attached. By 1958, Gibson was making a few solid-body models that had much lower feedback and better sustain but lacked the darker, warmer tone and unamplified volume of hollow bodies. The ES-335

504-728: The Matsumoku factory in Japan . Later Epiphones were constructed under contract with Samick in Korea. Since 2002, almost all Epiphones have been made in the 'Gibson' Qingdao plant in China. As of 2012, Epiphone also produces the ES-335 PRO, ES-339 PRO, ES-345 Stereo, ES-355, and the Lucille. The ES-335 Pro and ES-339 both feature coil-tapped humbuckers, activated by pull-push volume knobs;

540-465: The 1970s, Schaller. The top of the guitar featured two F Holes , and the maple center block to limit feedback that was often experienced with hollow guitars. The 355 was made with two humbucker pickups. PAF in the 50s, Patent # later in the 60s, and T-Top pickups in the 1970s. Another extremely rare version of the 355 is the ES-355TDN; which has a natural or blonde finish. The guitar did not achieve

576-597: The DG-335 is based on the Trini Lopez Standard specs, but in a different color and with a stop tailpiece instead of the Trini Lopez's trapeze tailpiece. Chris Cornell 335s are based on the Gibson ES-335. The Chris Cornell ES-335 Tribute was designed by Gibson and Chris himself based on the guitars he played in the 80's and 90's, mostly Gretsch Jet models, but in Gibson's own 335 style, using

612-515: The ES series. From 1958 to 1970, Epiphone guitars were produced in Gibson's Kalamazoo, MI factory, and shared the similar design, materials and electronics as their Gibson counterparts. The Riviera, Sheraton , Rivoli and Newport models shared similarities with the Gibson ES-335, EB-2 and EB-0 models, respectively. In 1970, Epiphone production ceased in the Kalamazoo plants and Epiphones were made at

648-554: The ES-347 (includes a coil tap, block markers on an ebony fretboard, fine tuning tailpiece and, on earlier models, a brass nut, and a greater sustain block), the ES-339 , essentially a 335 with the body reduced to Les Paul size; and the Gibson Les Paul signature bass . Although the ES-330 resembles the 335, it is actually fully hollow (as opposed to semi-hollow) and features two P-90 pickups (as opposed to 2 humbucking pickups), and it

684-644: The ES-355, gold hardware and a Bigsby tremolo, while the ES-345 Stereo has a Bigsby and VariTone control. The Lucille meanwhile, also features a VariTone control and, in keeping with BB King's Gibson signature model, no f-holes and a fine tuning stop bar tailpiece. Other models based on the 335 include the ES-333 , the ES-340 (the toggle switch has settings of the pickups in-phase, pickups out-of-phase and standby),

720-766: The Trini Lopez Gibson, the Grohl model has a stopbar tailpiece and Gibson's new Burstbucker humbuckers. Other signature models have included the heavily customized Alvin Lee "Big Red" 335. A $ 4,000 reissue of the 1963 model was a 2014 "Editor's pick" in Guitar Player magazine. Two Trini Lopez signature models—the Trini Lopez Standard and the Trini Lopez Custom—were initially produced from 1964 to 1971, and reissues have been produced periodically since

756-611: The character of Marty McFly in the 1985 comedy film Back to the Future . British guitar player John McLaughlin owns a Sunburst ES-345 modified with a Bigsby tailpiece and a scalloped fingerboard . He played this guitar in the One Truth Band and Trio of Doom . The ES-345 was discontinued in 1981, one year after the Gibson Lucille, which is based on the ES-355 (see below), was launched. The differences between

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792-427: The coil operates as normal (see transformer ). When a coil tap is connected to one end of the coil (or the end disconnected and reconnected to the tap), the section of coil between the tap and its connected end is bypassed - effectively reducing the number of turns in the coil. In a transformer , coil taps are often used on both the input and output coils, to compensate for differing supply potential and to provide

828-574: The electronic pickup circuit of the guitar in order to alter its resonant frequency and add "color" to the sound. The ES-345 also featured an optional stereophonic output jack, gold plated hardware, large split parallelogram fingerboard inlays (similar to ES 175), and a thicker three-ply edge binding than that of the ES-335. Notable users include Chuck Berry , B.B. King , Freddie King , Bill Nelson , Jorma Kaukonen , Fred Frith , Porl Thompson of The Cure , Steve Howe , Bob Welch , Elvin Bishop and

864-411: The first position of the fretboard. In addition to the headstock, binding is also applied to the fretboard and both the front and the back edges of the body. Rather than the rosewood fretboard on a 335 or 345, both variations of the 355 have an ebony fingerboard for a 'smoother' sound. Reissues use a richlite fingerboard. Early models of Epiphone's limited edition budget version had an ebony fingerboard but

900-404: The initial run. The Trini Lopez Standard has the same body shape and profile as the ES-335, with diamond-shaped holes in the place of the f-shaped holes, a Gibson Firebird headstock (of the ‘non-reverse’ style), split diamond inlays on the fingerboard, a trapeze tailpiece with a plaque with Trini Lopez's name, and a standard cherry red finish. A modified version of the Trini Lopez Standard, with

936-463: The later issues had a rosewood board. The ES-355 was available with a Vibrola vibrato unit or a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece . It was also available with a stereo output and Varitone tone filter circuitry. When fitted with the optional stereo wiring and Varitone, the model was known as the ES-355TD-SV. The best-known user of the ES-355 is probably B.B. King , whose trademark guitar, Lucille ,

972-503: The number of windings around the magnet. A tapped single coil pickup typically contains three wires: a ground, an output, and a tapped output - with the two outputs generally wired to a switch on the guitar. The guitarist can then choose between the loud, punchy, midrange-heavy sound of the entire coil, or 'tap' into the inner coil for a quieter, yet bright vintage tone with a more clear and detailed high end. Many guitarists mistakenly refer to humbucker coil splits as coil taps, however, this

1008-525: The same construction of a typical 335 with the 3ply maple top, maple center block, mahogany neck, rosewood fretboard, but with Lollartron™ pickups in the neck and bridge, resembling the classic look on the Filter'tron™ pickups, used extensively by Gretsch . Also they feature one model (Olive Dab Green) with a Bigsby B7 vibrato tailpiece and another (Satin Ebony) with a Tune O Matic tailpiece. Gibson also markets

1044-410: The same tailpiece, fingerboard, headstock, and electronics as the Trini Lopez Standard. The Gibson ES-345 (semi-hollow) was first produced in 1958 as an upscale version of the ES-335. Although the design is very similar to the 335, the 345 featured a multi-position "Varitone" switch located just above the lead tone and volume controls, which added various combinations of inductors and capacitors to

1080-428: The success that Gibson had hoped for. The ES-335 which was the stripped down version in the 300 series thinlines, was more popular. The 335 was lighter and simpler. The varitone circuit which was on the majority of 355s was not desired. Gibson ended production of the 355 in 1982. Gibson does produce a B.B. King Lucille model 355 and in 2008 produced an Alex Lifeson ES-355. In 2018 Gibson began producing an ES-355 with

1116-504: The top over the hollow chambers. Gibson has released numerous variations and models based on the ES-335. The ES-335 is manufactured at the Gibson Nashville facility, as of 2024. It was also produced at Gibson Memphis from 2000 until the facility closed in 2019. Until 1952, Gibson produced only hollow-body guitars, which are prone to feedback when amplified loudly. That year saw the introduction of their first solid-body,

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1152-507: The two models are: As of 2020, The ES-345 is back in production. Instead of the Varitone switch and stereo output, this new version differentiates from the ES-335 mostly in its traditional aesthetics, but does feature a thermally-engineered maple centerblock and quartersawn adirondack spruce bracing. The Gibson ES-355 (Thinline semi-hollow , Double pickups) was at the top of Gibson's range of thinline semi-hollowbody electric guitars. It

1188-414: Was an attempt to find a middle ground: a warmer tone than a solid body produced with almost as little feedback. Though semi-hollow-bodies like the ES-335 are essentially a compromise of earlier designs, they are for this reason extremely flexible, as shown by the ES-335's popularity in a wide range of music, including blues , jazz , and rock . Initially offered at a basic price of $ 267.50, it quickly became

1224-470: Was designed as the successor to the Gibson ES-225 . Coil tap A coil tap is a wiring feature found on some electrical transformers , inductors and coil pickups , all of which are sets of wire coils. The coil tap(s) are points in a wire coil where a conductive patch has been exposed (usually on a loop of wire that extends out of the main coil body). When the coil taps are disconnected,

1260-474: Was manufactured from 1958 to 1982, fitted with the Varitone Stereo option (SV), as the ES-355TD-SV released in 1959. This guitar is now available in reissues from Gibson's main line or custom shop. The headstock has a split-diamond inlay rather than the smaller crown inlay on the 335/345, in addition to a multiple-layered binding. The fingerboard inlays are inlaid mother-of-pearl blocks, beginning at

1296-435: Was the basis for a 1981 signature model. It has the optional stereo wiring and Varitone circuitry as standard. It differs from the ES-355 by having a maple neck instead of mahogany, the name "Lucille" on the headstock, and the lack of an F-hole on its top. The EB-2 was first produced in 1958 as the bass version of the ES-335. Having the same body as the ES-335, it held a 30.5" scale neck and hardware borrowed directly from

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