Gibson ES-335

I always like to say that the Gibson ES-335 was made perfect by Gibson and perfected by BB King. Most any blues musician or anyone who appreciates the blues will know exactly who BB King is, and will probably know of his pride and joy (not pun intended for you SRV listeners), Lucille. King plays a very smooth blues that sometimes borderlines jazz, and this guitar just emphasizes his existing talent for this music.

This guitar is one of my personal favorites, and if I had the budget for it, I would buy multiples of this guitar. The ES-335 was Gibson's first semi-hollow body, and they got it right on the first try. The original body features a maple body, mahogony neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. As with most semi-hollow bodies the guitar features the violin f-holes in the top. The maple body combined with the size of the ES-335 and the overall build by Gibson gives this guitar clear, concise notes, and smooths out the overall sound. The "lucille" version of the guitar differs from the original in that it does not have f-foles in the top, and a maple neck instead of a mahgony neck. The lucille model has much more sustain through the maple neck and an overall smoother, ballsier sound because of closing off the f-holes.

This guitar sounds beyond exquisite when using clean effects, as with most jazz and blues that this guitar is used for. For this kind of music, the smooth sound that comes from the ES-335 is ideal, however, it is not the only use this guitar has. The ES-335 also sounds great for the heavier distorted Stevie Ray Vaughn style of blues. It plays like a charm, but you have to be carefully not to over power with overtones as with most maple semi-hollow bodies. If you are sending too much signal to the amp, which can be easy to do with a guitar with this much tone, it will send an unclear and very sloppy sound.

The Gibson ES-335 is one of my personal favorite guitars. It plays great, sounds great, and fits perfectly into the blues and jazz world of guitars.