Gibson Custom ES-330 1959 Reissue Vintage Natural HR

Essential Information About the Gibson Custom ES-330 1959 Reissue Vintage Natural HR Guitar

• 100% Hollow Thinline Body (no center block): more acoustic volume, more air, and a very "alive" resonance under the fingers.


• Two Matched P-90 Dogear Pickups: an Alnico 3 bridge and an underwound Alnico 5 neck pickup for a natural balance between bite and warmth.


• "1959" Feel: one-piece mahogany neck with Authentic 1959 profile, neck joint at the 16th fret, and rosewood fingerboard with vintage radius.


• Premium Finish: glossy nitrocellulose lacquer, VOS treatment on nickel hardware, and included Lifton hard case.

1959, a Pivotal Year: The ES-330 Reborn in the Historic Reissue Collection

For vintage guitar enthusiasts, 1959 remains a legendary year at Gibson. It is also the year the ES-330 appeared, a model often compared to the Epiphone Casino but historically earlier (the Casino would not arrive until 1961). With this ES-330 1959 Reissue, Gibson Custom brings back an iconic silhouette in the Gibson Custom Historic Reissue Collection, reinstating it as a catalog reference after a long production hiatus.

The idea is not to offer "just another semi-hollow," but to recapture the spirit of the original ES-330: a lightweight, expressive, highly resonant guitar with the added authenticity of historically accurate details (nickel hardware, historic ABR-1 bridge, multi-ply pickguard, True Historic Top Hat knobs, nitro finish, and VOS aging).

Who This ES-330 Is For: From Inspiring Home Playing to Controlled Stage Performances

Thanks to its strong acoustic response and comfortable thin body, this ES-330 is an excellent guitar for long playing sessions without fatigue: an instrument you easily pick up daily to work on repertoire, compose, or simply enjoy some "couch" playing.

It will particularly appeal to intermediate to advanced guitarists seeking a true personality: clear attacks, singing mids, and natural dynamics both with pick and fingers. Blues, Americana, country, jazz, '60s pop, roots rock: the ES-330 can shift from a broad, woody clean tone to a rich overdrive, as long as gain levels remain moderate.

Like any fully hollow body, it requires a bit more control on stage: positioning relative to the amp, right-hand dynamics management, and gain adjustment. This is not a limitation but its nature: in return, it offers an organic feel and expressiveness rarely found in more "contained" guitars.

An Open and Vibrant Tone: The Hollow Body + P-90 Recipe

The sonic heart of this ES-330 is its fully hollow maple/poplar/maple (3-ply) construction. Unlike an ES-335, the absence of a center block frees the body: the result is a more airy tone, a breathing attack, and surprisingly present acoustic projection for an electric guitar. Chords stand out with great clarity, and notes have that natural "bloom" that invites softer playing... then deeper dynamic exploration.

The P-90 Dogear pickups reinforce this identity: staying in the single-coil spirit (definition, grain, dynamics) with more body and midrange than a typical Fender-style single coil. The bridge pickup, standard winding with an Alnico 3 magnet, delivers bite, snap, and strong presence for riffs and pick-driven lines. The neck pickup, underwound with an Alnico 5 magnet, maintains the expected warmth while avoiding excess muddiness: ideal for jazzy chords, singing melodies, and bluesy lines that need to stay articulate.

The electronics follow a traditional approach: 2 volumes and 2 tones (one set per pickup), wired with CTS potentiometers and Paper-in-Oil capacitors, plus a 3-position Switchcraft toggle selector. The result: fine tonal sculpting is possible, from woody clean to creamy crunch, or gently taming the high end without muffling the guitar.

Recommended Compatible Accessories

To get the best out of this ES-330, you can pair it with a 6.35 mm instrument jack cable (standard) and a set of electric guitar strings suited to Gibson scale length. The included Lifton hard shell case remains the ideal solution for transport and storage while respecting the model's "vintage correct" spirit.

Technical specifications

Category	Hollow body	Strings	Steel
Left handed	No	Nbr of strings	6

Type	hollow body (fully hollow)	Nut	nylon
Shape	ES-335 (thinline format)	Bridge	ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic (Historic no-wire type)
Wood	maple / poplar / maple (3-ply)	Tailpiece	trapeze
Binding	single-ply (top and back)	Tuners	Kluson Deluxe
Finish	VOS nitrocellulose (glossy lacquer, slightly aged look)	Knobs	Gold Top Hats (True Historic type) with "dial pointer" markers
Profile	Authentic 1959	Pickup covers	black Dogear
Joint	long neck tenon	Pickguard	ES-330 multi-ply
Scale length	24.75" / 628.7 mm	Neck pickup	P-90
Fingerboard	rosewood (one piece), single-ply binding	Bridge pickup	P-90
Radius	12" / 304.8 mm	Controls	2 volumes, 2 tones
Frets	22 Reissue Medium Jumbo frets	Selector	3-position toggle
Inlays	dot markers