The Gibson ES-335

Well, you certainly can’t tell by looking if this is a late 58, 59 or 60 by looking at the photo. If you play it and you’ve played more than a few, you’ll know it’s either a late 59 (Sept or later) or an early 60 (April or earlier) Only a look at the serial number can tell you because a late 59 and an early 60 are completely identical.

I’ve written this more than a few times but it’s more relevant today than it has ever been. I’ll explain why after I repeat myself for the zillionth time: Guitars, unlike automobiles, didn’t have “model years.” Unless a brand new model was being pitched, Gibson did ads for the “new, improved 1960 ES-335”. They might have pitched the “new Gibson Firebird” which was released late in 1963-nowhere near a new year. The reason there were no model years is simple…Gibson made changes and improvements as needed. No reason to wait until January 1 to implement changes (and there were a lot of changes to the ES guitars over the decades they have been produced. OK, if you are a frequent reader, you knew that. If you aren’t, remember it. It might save you a few thousand dollars.

So, why is it important now? Well, it was important before but now it’s kind of glaring. The value of 1959 ES guitars has moved northward faster than treasure hunters to the Klondike. All of the ES line has increased in value in the past 5 years or so but not all of them have moved at the same rate. The 59 ES-335 went from being a $40,000 guitar in 2018 (stop tail 9/10 condition, all original) to now being a nearly $90,000 guitar. But, while all 1959’s are not created equal, the value of pretty much all 59’s has risen at about the same rate. An early 59 and a late ’59 are rather different guitars in at least one very significant way. The neck profile went from big, round and chunky to a decidedly medium, slightly flatter profile in the Fall of 1959. Lots of folks like the early big neck and lots like the slimmer late ’59 “transitional” neck. We call it transitional but it was around for nearly a year and therein lies my point. A September ’59 ES-335 has a medium neck. But so does an April 1960. And every 335 in between those dates with few exceptions. There are other changes that occurred between ’59 and ’60 but none of them were introduced on January 1. The bonnet knobs of ’59 were changed to reflectors but not until late in the Spring of ’60. The tuners went from single ring Klusons to double ring Klusons but, again, not at the start of the year. What does all this mean? It means that an early to mid ’60 is exactly, exactly the same as a mid to late ’59. No difference at all. Except for the price.

An early ’60 ES-335 will cost you somewhere around $65K (stop tail 9/10 condition, all original). That same guitar, if it has a ’59 serial number, will cost you at least $10,000 more. $10,000 is real money. Buy an early ’60’s SG Special with what’s left over or an early ’70’s 4 bolt Strat. That begs the question about how to date a “cusp” guitar in the late ’50’s to the early ’60’s when they had factory order numbers (FON). You can argue that many early ’60 Gibsons were actually built in 1959 if they have an “S” FON. Actually the “S” means the build was started in 1959 and not necessarily completed. I have a ’60 ES-335 with a ’58 FON. That doesn’t make it a ’58. That makes it a ’60 with a ’58 FON. You can use whatever parameter you want to date your Gibson but most of us dealers use the serial number which tells you when it left the factory. You can call it a ’60 with a ’59 FON. Buyers will know exactly what you mean. It’s a very complete description but it’s going to price your guitar as a ’60. If somebody sells me a 335 that they describe as a ’59 and I get it and the serial number is 1960, I will send it back. Put the FON in your listing in giant letters with flashing neon but if the serial number is 1960, you best mention it in your listing even if the font is minuscule and it’s buried in the text. As long as it’s there. I digress.

It’s worth noting that different buyers of vintage guitars have different reasons for buying them. If you are a player and an investor, maybe you spend the money for the 59. A 59 is considered by most to be the pinnacle of the ES model and it will move up ahead of the rest of the market. It always has and while I can’t say it always will, it’s a pretty good bet. A ’59 is likely a better investment than a ’60. If you’re a player first and an investor second or you don’t care about the appreciation potential, then buy the early 60 and save the money. For everyone, I always suggest they buy the guitar they want to play or the guitar that makes them a better player. Then you can worry about the investment value…or not. Just because a 335 is a mid to late 59 doesn’t make it better than an early to mid 60 because, for all intents and purposes, it’s the same. You want the big neck? Buy a late 58 or a 59. You won’t get a big neck 60 (there are few but not many). But the cusp of 58 to 59 isn’t the same as 59 into 60. That’s another post.

Here’s a later 60. What you can see are the reflector knobs and the double ring tuners. What you can’t see is the much slimmer neck. The 60 up top has a neck that measures .84″ and .95″. This one is .79″ and .89″. Doesn’t seem like much-just a few hundredths of an inch but you’ll know when you pick it up.

Monday, July 7th, 2025 at 11:18 am • Uncategorized • RSS 2.0 feed • leave a response or trackback