❌SOLD❌ Gibson ES335 Stop Tailpiece Conversion Cherry, 1968

Introduced in early 1958, the Gibson ES335 was an immediate hit with most players who had been using full bodied archtop guitars, because it addressed very real issues with increasing stage volumes. It was adopted by players in almost every genre, from country to jazz, R&B to rock.

Originally equipped with a stop tailpiece and adjustable tune-o-matic or ABR bridge, in 1965 Gibson switched to a traditional simple trapeze tailpiece, and continued to do so until discontinuing the model in 1981. In the meantime, many guitarists removed the trapeze and had stop tailpieces installed on their ES335s. The idea is that the stop tailpiece provides better sustain and clarity, and a tighter feel, than the trapeze.

Here we’re looking at a Gibson ES335 dating to 1968, that’s had a well done stop tailpiece conversion. As well, a neck pickup phase reversal switch has been added and Schaller tuners have replaced the original keystone-button Kluson Deluxe models. There are some small cracks on the back of the head that appear related to the tuner conversion. This guitar has been used as intended and there’s an amount of wear to the original frets. It appears that long ago it was refretted, as the frets extend to the outside edge of the fingerboard.  The finish is original with expected lacquer checking. 

Construction of this Gibson ES335 is typical, with a Maple laminate body covering a Maple center block, and a Mahogany neck with bound Rosewood fingerboard. At this point, block position markers were used, the same design as on Eric Clapton’s 1964 model.

Typical of the era, the fingerboard of this Gibson ES335 is quite narrow at the nut, at 1.53 inches or 39mm. This can be quite comfortable for many players.

A hard shell case, not original and with some wear and many stickers, is included.