Gibson ES Series

The Gibson ES series of semi-acoustic guitar (hollow body electric guitar) are manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The letters ES stand for Electric Spanish, to distinguish them from Hawaiian-style guitars which were played flat on the lap.

Series includes

ES-150

ES-250

ES-125

ES-5 (1949-1955) Three-pickup, full depth hollowbody.
ES-5 Switchmaster (1955-1962)
ES-100 (1938-1941) Entry-level archtop hollow-body model.
(Renamed to ES-125)
ES-120T (1962-1971) Most basic student model, thinline.
ES-125 (1941-1970) Successor of ES-100.
1956/1960 ES-125T thinline model added.
ES-130 (1954-1956) (Renamed to ES-135)
ES-135 (1956-1958) Thick-body version of ES-125TDC.
(1991-2002) Thin semi-hollow-body with center-block.

ES-175

ES-295

ES-137

ES-137 (2002-) Upscaled ES-135 with Les Paul sound.
ES-140 (1950-1957) 3/4 size, short scale ES-175.
ES-140T (1956-1968) Thinline ES-140 3/4T.
ES-150 (1936-1956) Gibson's first electric guitar, based on L-50.^[1]
(1937-?) EST-150 (tenor) and EPG-150 (plectrum) were shipped.

(1969-1974) ES-150DC resembling thick ES-335.
ES-165 (1991-) Single pickup ES-175 based on Herb Ellis's.
ES-175 (1949-) Full depth, florentine cutaway, maple top, 24 3/4" scale.
(1953-) ES-175D (dual pickup)

(1976-1979) ES-175T (thinline hollow-body)

Byrdland

ES-350T

ES-330TD

ES-225T (1955-1959) Variation on ES-125T (thinline, florentine cutaway), with trapeze bridge.
ES-250 (1938-1940) Rare, fancier version of ES-150.
ES-260 (1982-1983) Resembling ES-125T/ES-225T (thinline, florentine cutaway), but semi-hollow with center block, stop tailpiece, and humbuckers instead of P90 pickups. Knob placement differed slightly from other ES-series.
ES-295 (1952-1959) ES-175 resembling Les Paul Goldtop with trapeze bridge.
ES-300 (1940-1952) Slant-mounted long pickup.
ES-320TD (1971-1974) Similar to ES-330TD but with tune-o-matic and metal control plate.^[2]
ES-325 (1972-1979) Similar to ES-330TD but with mini-humbuckers, single f-hole, and a half-moon shaped plastic control plate.
ES-330TD (1958-) Double rounded cutaway, thinline hollow-body.
ES-333 (c.2001-2003) Stripped down version of ES-335.
ES-335 (1958-) World's first thinline archtop semi-acoustic. (semi-hollow-body with center-block)
(2013-) ES-335 Bass

ES-335

ES-345

Lucille

ES-336 (1996-2001) Replaced by CS-336.
ES-339 (2007-) Size of CS-336 with construction of ES-335.
ES-340TD (1968-1973) ES-335 with a master volume/mixer and phase switch.^[3]
ES-345 (1958-1981) ES-335 construction, but with parallelogram inlays, Varitone, and stereo outputs.
ES-347 (1978-1990s?) Alternate ES-345 with a coil-tap switch instead of Varitone.
ES-350 (1947-1956) Rounded cutaway ES-300.
(1955-1981) ES-350T as a plainer Byrdland.
ES-355 (1958-1982) Upscaled ES-345 (ebony fretboard, extra binding, etc.) with vibrato unit, optional Varitone and stereo outputs.
ES-359 (2008-) Upscaled ES-339 (ebony fretboard, extra binding, gold hardware, block inlays).^[4]
ES-369 (late1970s-1980s?)^[5]

ES-390 (2013-) Similar in size to the ES-339, but with the fully hollow construction of ES-330. Equipped with mini humbuckers (2013 model year) or dog-ear P90s (2014-present).
ES-775 (1990-1993) ES-175 with higher quality components.
ES Artist (1979^[6]-c.1985) Upscale model of ES-335 without f-holes, with active circuit by Moog.^[7]

Barney Kessel Custom (prototype)

Johnny Smith

Tom DeLonge ES-333

Signature models

Byrdland (1955-) Thinline, short-scale L-5 CES,
named after Billy Byrd and Hank Garland.
Barney Kessel (1961-1974) Barney Kessel model.
3" deep, double florentine cutaway hollow-body (Two versions, Regular and Custom).
Johnny Smith (1961-1989?) Later renamed as Gibson LeGrande.
Tal Farlow (1962-1971) Tal Farlow model.
Trini Lopez (1964-1971) Trini Lopez two versions:
one based on ES-335, other similar to Kessel model with diamond-shaped sound holes and a single-side headstock.
Les Paul Signature (c.1972-c.1975)^[8]
Lucille (1980-1985) B.B. King model based on ES-355TD-SV without f-holes.
Howard Roberts Fusion (1980-) Howard Roberts model.^[9]
Chet Atkins Country Gentleman (1987-2000s)
Chet Atkins Tennessean (1990-2000s)
Gibson version of Chet Atkins models.
Tom DeLonge Signature ES-333 (2003-)
DG-335 (2007-?) Dave Grohl model based on Trini Lopez.

Related models

CS-336 (24.75" scale)

EB-2 (30.5" scale)

335-S (1980-1983) Solidbody guitar similar to ES-335.
CS-336 (2001-?) Custom Shop's first "tonally carved" guitar.
CS-356 (2001-?) Upscaled CS-336 with goldplate parts, etc.
Les Paul Bantam/Florentine (1995/1996–2003?)
Custom Shop models with thinline semi-hollow-body with center-block. (Note: "Gibson USA Florentine" released in 2009 is a solid-body model^[10])
ES-Les Paul (2015) Mash up of Les Paul and ES-335^[11]
Les Paul Signature bass (1973-?)
EB-2 bass (1958-1972)^[12]
EB-6 6-string bass/baritone guitar (1959–1961: hollow-body similar to EB-2,^[13] 1962–1965: SG-shaped solid-body similar to EB-3/EB-0^[14])
EDS-1275 Double 12 (1958-)
Doubleneck, hollow-body (1958-1962) or SG-shaped solid-body (1962-) guitar with 12 and 6 string guitar necks.^[15]

Other doubleneck models include:
EMS-1235 Double Mandolin (mandolin^[15] or short neck guitar^[16] & normal guitar, hollow-body (1958-1962) or solid-body (1962-))

EBSF-1250 Double Bass (4 string bass & guitar, built-in fuzz effect)^[17]

EBS-1250 Double Bass (6 string bass & guitar)^[15]^[17]

EDS-1250 (6 string bass & 4 string bass)

Tree chart

origins
/1930s

L-50

ES-150

(ver.2)

ES-300

(postwar)

ES-175

ES-5

ES-350

ES-130

Byrdland

ES-350T

ES-225T

ES-140 ¾T

ES-330TD

ES-335

ES-120T

ES-340TD

Les Paul Signature

ES-320
ES-325

ES-347

ES Artist

ES-369

ES-775

ES-336

ES-Les Paul

origins
/1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

References

Bibliography

"Gibson Electric Archtop Model Descriptions", Vintage Guitars Info, archived from the original on 2010-01-16
"Gibson Thinline Model Descriptions", Vintage Guitars Info, archived from the original on 2012-05-01

Citations

↑ "Gibson Electro Spanish-150, Prototype Batch 1058-9 B (1936)", exhibition label, Museum of Making Music, The body was basically that of the acoustic Gibson L-50.
↑ "Gibson Es 320 TD ( 1971-1974 )", Vintage Gibson Guitars
↑ "Gibson Es 340 TD Archtop (1968-1973)", Vintage Gibson Guitars
↑ Gibson Custom ES-359, Gibson Guitar Corporation (2008), archived from the original on 2009-02-19
↑ "Gibson ES 369: TONE to the BONE", Best Guitars World
↑ The Active Sound Of The 80s (advertisement), Gibson Guitar Corporation (1979)
An advertisement in 1979 for Artist series: "RD Artist Active" released around 1977, and two new models added in 1979, "ES Artist Active" and ""Les Paul Artist Active".
↑ "ES Artist", 1980 Gibson guitar, bass and banjo catalogue, Gibson Guitar Corporation (1980), p. 33
↑ 1975 Les Paul catalogue, Gibson Guitar Corporation (1975), p. 5
↑ Holder, Mitch, The Jazz Guitar Stylings of Howard Roberts, Mel Bay Publications (2006), p. 100, ISBN 9780786674091
↑ Gibson USA Les Paul Florentine with Bigsby, Gibson Guitar Corporation (2009)
↑ "Gibson Memphis ES-Les Paul 2015". Gibson Guitar Corporation (2015).
↑ Moseley, Willie G. (January 2012). "The Gibson EB-2: Kalamazoo Biggest Bass Innovation?". Vintage Guitar. p. 60.
↑ Moseley, Willie G. (January 2014). "Danelectro's Four-String Basses". Classic Instruments. Vintage Guitar.
"[Danelectro #3412, #4423 & UB-2 image] Danelectro's first bass [UB-2] (VG, January '09), debuted in 1956, and it was a true bass guitar, supporting six strings but with a short bass scale, tuned down an octave. The instrument was the first of its kind, preceding the Gibson EB-6 (first listed in '59) and Fender's Bass VI (late '61)."
↑ Duchossoir, A.R. (1998). Gibson Electrics - The Classic Years. Hal Leonard. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-4768-5126-6.
"EB-6 : At the end of 1961 the thinline EB-6 was discontinued and replaced by a solid body version built with the ultra thin SG body style. This did not improve the popularity of the 6-string bass (a.k.a. baritone guitar) and the model was eventually phased out in 1965. ... Only 66 solid body EB-6s were shipped between 1962 and 1965, including a very small number of single pickup versions (probably no more than a dozen)."
1 2 3 1963 Gibson Guitar and Bass catalog, Gibson Guitar Corporation (1963), p. 15
↑ 1960 Gibson Guitar and Bass catalog, Gibson Guitar Corporation (1960), p. 17
1 2 "Elvis' 1965 Gibson EBS-1250 Double Bass", Scotty Moore Official Website — comparing the 1962/1963 & 1964 EBSF-1250 (4 string bass + guitar + fuzztone), 1964 EBS-1250 (4 string bass + guitar), and Elvis' 1965 EBS-1250 (6 string bass + guitar)

External links

ES Series on Gibson website

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[mmmES150-1] "Gibson Electro Spanish-150, Prototype Batch 1058-9 B (1936)", exhibition label, Museum of Making Music, The body was basically that of the acoustic Gibson L-50.

[vggES320TD-2] "Gibson Es 320 TD ( 1971-1974 )", Vintage Gibson Guitars

[vggES340TD-3] "Gibson Es 340 TD Archtop (1968-1973)", Vintage Gibson Guitars

[GibsonES359-4] Gibson Custom ES-359, Gibson Guitar Corporation (2008), archived from the original on 2009-02-19

[bgwES369-5] "Gibson ES 369: TONE to the BONE", Best Guitars World

[Gibson1979ad-6] The Active Sound Of The 80s (advertisement), Gibson Guitar Corporation (1979)
An advertisement in 1979 for Artist series: "RD Artist Active" released around 1977, and two new models added in 1979, "ES Artist Active" and ""Les Paul Artist Active".

[Gibson1980p33-7] "ES Artist", 1980 Gibson guitar, bass and banjo catalogue, Gibson Guitar Corporation (1980), p. 33

[Gibson1975p5-8] 1975 Les Paul catalogue, Gibson Guitar Corporation (1975), p. 5

[Holder2006-9] Holder, Mitch, The Jazz Guitar Stylings of Howard Roberts, Mel Bay Publications (2006), p. 100, ISBN 9780786674091

[Gibson2009LPF-10] Gibson USA Les Paul Florentine with Bigsby, Gibson Guitar Corporation (2009)

[11] "Gibson Memphis ES-Les Paul 2015". Gibson Guitar Corporation (2015).

[Moseley2012-12] Moseley, Willie G. (January 2012). "The Gibson EB-2: Kalamazoo Biggest Bass Innovation?". Vintage Guitar. p. 60.

[Moseley2014-13] Moseley, Willie G. (January 2014). "Danelectro's Four-String Basses". Classic Instruments. Vintage Guitar.
"[Danelectro #3412, #4423 & UB-2 image] Danelectro's first bass [UB-2] (VG, January '09), debuted in 1956, and it was a true bass guitar, supporting six strings but with a short bass scale, tuned down an octave. The instrument was the first of its kind, preceding the Gibson EB-6 (first listed in '59) and Fender's Bass VI (late '61)."

[Duchossoir1998-14] Duchossoir, A.R. (1998). Gibson Electrics - The Classic Years. Hal Leonard. p. 195. ISBN 978-1-4768-5126-6.
"EB-6 : At the end of 1961 the thinline EB-6 was discontinued and replaced by a solid body version built with the ultra thin SG body style. This did not improve the popularity of the 6-string bass (a.k.a. baritone guitar) and the model was eventually phased out in 1965. ... Only 66 solid body EB-6s were shipped between 1962 and 1965, including a very small number of single pickup versions (probably no more than a dozen)."

[Gibson1963p15-15] 1 2 3 1963 Gibson Guitar and Bass catalog, Gibson Guitar Corporation (1963), p. 15

[Gibson1960p17-16] 1960 Gibson Guitar and Bass catalog, Gibson Guitar Corporation (1960), p. 17

[Moore1965EBS1250-17] 1 2 "Elvis' 1965 Gibson EBS-1250 Double Bass", Scotty Moore Official Website — comparing the 1962/1963 & 1964 EBSF-1250 (4 string bass + guitar + fuzztone), 1964 EBS-1250 (4 string bass + guitar), and Elvis' 1965 EBS-1250 (6 string bass + guitar)