Gibson ES-335 Pro Cherry Red 1980 Vintage Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar

This is a Gibson ES-335 Pro in Cherry Red finish. Made in the USA in 1980, this guitar comes from a short-lived run of guitars that were available between ‘79-‘81 which took the Jazzy reputation of the ES-335TD and lightly moulded it into a more rock & roll image. This included the use of Gibson’s high output ‘Dirty Fingers’ open-coil humbucking pickups- much more powerful than the ‘Super Humbucking’ pickups found in the standard model. Other updates included the use of a StopBar tailpiece instead of the customary trapeze and black Speed Knobs alongside dot inlays. Whilst the model itself was only available for a short time, many of it’s features have found their way into the standard ES-335 specification.

Naturally, a set-neck construction is employed and comprises a Laminated Maple body with a Maple centre block, 3pc Laminated Maple neck and 22 fret Rosewood fingerboard. Gold/Chrome hardware is fitted including a StopBar tailpiece, ‘Nashville’ style TOM bridge and Gibson sealed tuning machines. Please read the ‘Further Notes’ section of the Luthier Report below for more information on the hardware. A pair of Gibson ‘Dirty Fingers’ open-coil humbucking pickups are installed, and are wired to a 3-way toggle switch and independent volume/tone controls.

The Maple neck plays very well, with a profile which might be described as a rather slim ’D’ shape. There is a slightly flattened area to the centre rear which promotes ergonomic thumb positioning in all registers. Being on the slimmer side, the neck is well set up for fast, articulate playing - perfect for lead payers. The Rosewood of the fingerboard is pleasant under the fingers, with a nice dark appearance and tight grain pattern that adds a sense of luxury to the playing experience. Whilst very well-preserved, the years of playing that the neck and fingerboard have seen add a real ‘mojo’ to the instrument which is very inspiring in the hands.

Dirty Fingers pickups were introduced in the late 1970s and manufactured with three powerful ceramic magnets to produce maximum output. These pickups have overwound yet balanced coils with double adjustable pole pieces, shielded four conductor wiring for series, parallel, or split coil operation, and are fully wax potted to eliminate microphonic feedback. In this instrument they deliver a powerful and throaty tone, which easily drives your amp into a saturated distortion. The Bridge position is nice and bright, working beautifully for rock riffing & rhythm playing. The neck position is rounder, sounding fantastic on lead lines and solos. Whilst this instrument doesn’t make use of the coil-split potential of the pickups, the traditional Gibson control layout delivers plenty of tonal versatility right on the instrument.