Here's a cool player with loads of Vintage vibe. This 1970 ES-335-TD model was produced at the original Gibson factory in Kalamazoo Michigan, U.S.A. The original finish is really striking and beautiful-it is nicely complimented by a high contrast grain rosewood fingerboard. The guitar is solid with no structural repairs. It has had the tuners changed long ago-the original style keystones are back on now. It also has had a couple of mini toggles added along with the vintage Bigsby tailpiece. I have not removed the "custom made" Gibson plaque so I do not know if it is fitted for a stop tailpiece or not-it came from the factory with a trapeze of course. What I do know is that this guitar plays and sounds as good as it looks-it retains the original patent number humbuckers! It is setup and ready to go-it needs nothing.
The body is nice and clean. The binding is solid with no issues or funny stuff. The gorgeous Cherry Sunburst finish looks killer with a soft glow you only get from a vintage guitar. The neck angle is excellent and the neck joint is a great fitment.
The neck itself is straight and smooth. Truss rod functions. The neck is a classic 60's Gibson slim taper profile. The nut measures 1 9/16" wide. The neck depth measures 7.83" at the 1st fret and .941" at the 12th fret. The tuners all function smoothly. The headstock and logo display excellent with a touch of patina. The fingerboard is clean and a really nice piece of rosewood. It as a smooth soft feel. The position markers look really nice. The frets are in nice condition, flat & crisp-see photos. The action is set low for an easy playing experience. The string height is .010" at the 1st fret and .050" at the 12th fret. The guitar plays great up and down the fingerboard.
The original patent sticker humbucker pickups both have an excellent signal and sound great. Im not sure how the mini toggles are set up-it seems when they are down, the pickups sound normal-other positions are either tone caps or some kind of coil tap maybe. The original 3-way switch functions normally as do the volume and tone controls. The potentiometers are originals far as I can see (go part number and dark boards with correct cases-the date codes are right where Gibson employees solder the ground leads-so I don't have a specific date. The bridge is a replacement tune-o-matic style and the bigsby is a vintage unit. The original pickguard is nice and flat. The guitar is a lot of fun to play!
The guitar has a great feel and is nice and comfortable. It has a good resonance that you can feel as soon as you pick it up and play it. It's a great vintage piece that you can enjoy-and won't break the bank. Comes with original Gibson form-fit hard case.
