A Quick History of the Gibson ES-335

In the 1950s, guitarists had a problem.

With the advent of amplification and the first electric guitars, the instruments were for the first time able to play above the rest of a band in a live performance. This changed the way guitars were played: the instruments could now be featured front and center. The lead guitar was born.

Wanted: the best of both worlds

Solid-body guitars like the new Fender Stratocaster or Gibson’s Les Paul were well suited for playing lead guitar. The fact that their bodies were solid wood allowed them to be turned up loud without on-stage issues cropping up. The tone, however, was brighter with more treble than other guitars of the day.

Hollow-body guitars like Gibson’s ES-330, on the other hand, had large, resonate bodies that gave the instruments a desirable, warm tone. But that increased resonance lead to feedback problems when amped up. (This was, of course, well before people like Jimi Hendrix learned use feedback as a musical technique.)

Guitar players at that time wanted the best of both worlds: a dark, warm tone without feedback during live performances.

Enter Ted McCarty.

Ted McCarty, problem solver

Ted McCarty was the CEO of Gibson. McCarty was one of the truly great guitar innovators and came up with such great Gibson guitars as the Les Paul, the SG, the Flying V, and the Explorer. He had a knack…