Celebrate Gibson’s 130th with the Original Semi-hollowbody Guitar
It’s hard to imagine a time before the Gibson ES-335. It’s arguably the instrument that initially set the standard for what a semi-hollowbody guitar should be, first launching in the midst of the rock’ n’ roll era in 1958. The Gibson Custom 1958 ES-335 Reissue Murphy Lab celebrates the company’s 130th anniversary with an exacting re-creation of the model as it first debuted, draped in an immaculately aged finish by the relicing masters in Gibson’s Murphy Lab program. From the remarkably resonant 3-ply maple/poplar/maple body to the full-feeling Fat “C” neck, this guitar boasts all the fine features that vintage ES-335 fans favor, with one slight deviation: an unbound rosewood fingerboard, found on only the very earliest 1958 ES-335s. What about the tone? Dual unpotted Custombucker humbuckers perfectly re-create the dynamic warmth and expressive articulation of Gibson’s original PAF humbucking pickups. A Light Aged Murphy Lab finish tops it all off, putting the same broken-in feel, expressive sonics, and vintage vibe of a true-blue vintage 1958 ES-335 in your hands.
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Artfully aged in Gibson Custom Shop’s Murphy Lab
Under the leadership of master artisan Tom Murphy, Gibson Custom Shop’s Murphy Lab performs one specific function: to craft artfully aged instruments using the most cutting-edge tools available. These guitars are targeted to one of four distinct levels of age and wear, ranging from Ultra-Light to Ultra-Heavy. This 1958 ES-335 Reissue’s tasteful Light Aged finish captures the looks and feel of a vintage classic, brandishing light checking and tasteful wear modeled after the vintage world’s most well-preserved 6-string artifacts. Moreover, this guitar’s thin nitrocellulose finish will only further develop over time, perfectly mimicking the aging process experienced by true vintage Gibson guitars.
CustomBucker pickups deliver pure vintage PAF tone
Gibson Custom paid just as much attention to this guitar's electronics as they did to its aesthetics. Every part of its internal signal path was designed to deliver dead-on 1958 ES-335 tone. Of course, it's next to impossible to find genuine '50s PAFs (even for Gibson). Instead, the 1958 ES-335 Reissue Murphy Lab sports a pair of unpotted Gibson Custombucker Alnico III humbuckers. The Custombucker is the most historically accurate PAF copy ever. Take it from Sweetwater's guitar experts: the 1958 ES-335 Reissue Murphy Lab nails the original look, sound, and feel of a 1958 ES-335.
Vintage-accurate unbound rosewood fingerboard
True to Gibson’s initial 1958 run of ES-335s, the 1958 ES-335 Reissue Murphy Lab sports a charmingly understated unbound rosewood fingerboard. It took less than a year for Gibson to reverse course and deck out the ES-335 in the same suave binding as its hollowbody predecessors, making the early unbound ES-335s rather rare — in both original and reissue forms! A chunky Fat “C” shape slab of mahogany supports the fingerboard, supplying you with a comfortably full feeling in your palm that’s sure to transport you back to the days when the baseball bat neck ruled the roost. Lastly, the Gibson Custom 1958 ES-335 Reissue Murphy Lab’s elegant neck is capped off with traditional dot inlays, a mother-of-pearl crown inlay on the headstock, and 22 historic narrow-tall ’58-size frets.
Gibson Custom 1958 ES-335 Reissue Murphy Lab Electric Guitar Features:
- Celebrating Gibson’s 130th anniversary with Murphy Lab-aged reissue of the legendary first-year 1958 Gibson ES-335 semi-hollowbody
- Extraordinarily resonant 3-ply maple/poplar/maple body with elegant 1-ply cream binding
- Full-feeling mahogany neck carved into a period-correct 1958 Fat “C” profile
- Unbound Indian rosewood fingerboard replicates the charmingly understated appeal of Gibson’s very first ES-335s
- 12-inch fingerboard radius complete with 22 historic narrow-tall ’58-size frets
- Dual Custombucker pickups re-create the superb articulation and expressive warmth of Gibson’s iconic PAF humbuckers
- Aged ABR-1 bridge, aluminum stopbar tailpiece, and classic Kluson single-line tuners
- Top-quality electronics, including 500k CTS pots and paper-in-oils capacitors
- Light Aged nitrocellulose lacquer finish, masterfully applied by the artists in Gibson’s Murphy Lab program
- Includes a historically accurate Lifton tan/punk case with a Gibson Custom certificate of authenticity
