Gibson ES-335

The Gibson ES-335 is a semi-hollow body semi-acoustic guitar introduced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation as part of its ES (Electric Spanish) series in 1958. It has a solid maple wood block running through the center of its body with hollow upper bouts and two violin-style f-holes cut into the top over the hollow chambers. Gibson has released numerous variations and models based on the ES-335.

The ES-335 is manufactured at the Gibson Nashville facility, as of 2024. It was also produced at Gibson Memphis from 2000 until the facility closed in 2019.

Until 1952, Gibson produced only hollow-body guitars, which are prone to feedback when amplified loudly. That year saw the introduction of their first solid-body, the Gibson Les Paul, a significantly different instrument from Les Paul's early electric guitar experiment, "The Log", which consisted of a center block with detachable chambers on both sides. By 1958, Gibson was making a few solid-body models that had much lower feedback and better sustain but lacked the darker, warmer tone and unamplified volume of hollow bodies. The ES-335 was an attempt to find a middle ground: a warmer tone than a solid body produced with almost as little feedback. Though semi-hollow-bodies like the ES-335 are essentially a compromise of earlier designs, they are for this reason extremely flexible, as shown by the ES-335's popularity in a wide range of music, including blues, jazz, and rock. Initially offered at a basic price of $267.50, it quickly became a best-seller, and has been in continuous production since 1958.

The first major update came in mid-1962, with the most visible change being upgrading the solid dot neck markers (hence "dot neck" term for early models) with large blocks.

Some models (ES-347, ES-369) have a coil split switch, which allows the humbuckers to produce a "single-coil" sound. The ES-335 Pro, ES-335TD CRS, and CRR models had Gibson "Dirty Fingers" humbuckers, which had a higher output than the standard pickups.

The company has produced a number of signature guitars as well, such as Trini Lopez-inspired model (1964–1970) with narrow diamond-shaped soundholes replacing the f-holes, a Firebird-style headstock with all the tuners on one side, and slashed-diamond inlays. In September 2007, Gibson introduced the DG-335, designed with Dave Grohl. A variation on the Trini Lopez Gibson, the Grohl model has a stopbar tailpiece and Gibson's new Burstbucker humbuckers. Other signature models have included the heavily customized Alvin Lee "Big Red" 335. A $4,000 reissue of the 1963 model was a 2014 "Editor's pick" in Guitar Player magazine.

Two Trini Lopez signature models—the Trini Lopez Standard and the Trini Lopez Custom—were initially produced from 1964 to 1971, and reissues have been produced periodically since the initial run.

The Trini Lopez Standard has the same body shape and profile as the ES-335, with diamond-shaped holes in the place of the f-shaped holes, a Gibson Firebird headstock (of the ‘non-reverse’ style), split diamond inlays on the fingerboard, a trapeze tailpiece with a plaque with Trini Lopez's name, and a standard cherry red finish. A modified version of the Trini Lopez Standard, with a stop-tailpiece and a custom Pelham Blue finish is used by Dave Grohl as his primary stage guitar; the Gibson Custom Shop produced a market version known as the "DG-335" in 2015.