Tone Talk · Gibson Custom

The ES-330 Is Back: Inside Gibson Custom's 1959 & 1962 Reissues

After an eight-year hiatus, Gibson's fully hollow thinline returns to the Custom Shop Historic lineup — and we've got all four finishes on the wall in DFW.

1959 was a banner year for Gibson. It's the year that gets all the headlines for Les Pauls and dot-neck 335s, but it's also the year a quieter instrument made its debut: the ES-330. Fully hollow, lightweight, and a little misunderstood, the 330 has spent decades being mistaken for two other guitars — the semi-hollow ES-335 it resembles, and the Epiphone Casino it predates. (For the record, the 330 came first in 1959; the Casino didn't show up until 1961.)

Now, after an eight-year gap in production, Gibson Custom has brought the ES-330 back into the core Historic Reissue lineup — not as a one-off, but as two distinct builds: a 1959 and a 1962. Both are handcrafted at the Gibson Custom Shop in Nashville, and we've got every finish here at Tone Shop. Here's what makes them tick, and how the two years differ.

What Makes a 330 a 330

The most important spec on the ES-330 is the one that isn't there. Where an ES-335 has a solid block of maple running down its center — a centerblock that tames feedback and adds sustain — the 330 leaves it out entirely. What you're holding is three plies of maple, poplar, and maple wrapped around air.

That single difference changes everything. Without the block, the 330 is louder and woodier unplugged, with a genuinely usable acoustic voice. It's the original "couch guitar" — the kind you grab off the wall and play in front of the TV without ever reaching for an amp. The neck joins the body at the 16th fret, another vintage-correct detail that sets the bridge in exactly the right spot and gives the guitar its distinctive feel.

A Matched Pair of P-90s

The 330 has always been a P-90 guitar, and these reissues honor that with a carefully voiced set under those black dogear covers. The bridge pickup uses standard windings with an Alnico 3 magnet; the neck pickup is deliberately underwound and fitted with an Alnico 5. The result is a pair that stays balanced as you flip across the toggle — no jarring volume jump from one position to the next.

Behind the scenes it's all period-correct wiring: individual CTS volume and tone controls for each pickup, paper-in-oil capacitors, a Switchcraft three-way toggle, and a 1/4" output jack. Single-coil grit with real low-end and a vocal midrange — the P-90 sound players keep coming back to.

1959 vs. 1962: How They Differ

Both reissues share the same fully hollow body, the same P-90 set, and the same VOS-aged nitro finish — but Gibson built real year-specific differences into each one. If you're choosing between them, this is where it matters:

	1959 Reissue	1962 Reissue
Neck profile	Authentic 1959 — a fuller, rounded C	Authentic 1961 Thin D — slimmer, faster feel
Inlays	Cellulose dots	Cellulose small blocks
Knobs	Gold Top Hats with dial pointers	Black Top Hats, silver inserts, dial pointers
Finishes	Vintage Natural · Vintage Burst	Sixties Cherry · Vintage Burst

Everything else carries across both: nickel hardware, a Historic no-wire ABR-1 bridge, a trapeze tailpiece, a nylon nut, Kluson Deluxe tuners, the multi-ply ES-330 pickguard, and a Lifton hardshell case. So the choice really comes down to feel and looks — the chunkier '59 neck and dots, or the slimmer '62 neck and blocks.

How It Plays

A fully hollow guitar comes with one honest trade-off: it'll feed back sooner than a solidbody if you push the gain hard. That's the cost of all that resonance. Keep it at edge-of-breakup or moderate overdrive, though, and the 330 rewards you with a singing, expressive sustain you simply won't get from a chambered or semi-hollow guitar. A little mindful muting goes a long way.

That makes it a remarkably versatile player. Americana, blues, '60s pop, country, jazz, roots rock — the ES-330 has a foot in all of it. And when the amp's off, it's still one of the most inspiring things you can pick up at home.

Shop the ES-330 Reissues

All four are in stock and ready to ship from Tone Shop Guitars. Each is a Gibson Custom Shop build — serials and weights listed below.