The Gibson Memphis ES-339 was built from 2007 until the Gibson Memphis plant closed in 2019, and the 339 is now built in Nashville with some small changes. In 1996, Gibson launched the short-lived ES-336, a scaled-down version of the classic ES-335. This model retained the key playability elements of the 335 in terms of scale length, fingerboard width and hardware selection.
Thinline
Here is a lovely Rickenbacker Model 330 FireGlo thinline hollow body electric, in very nice original condition, dating to the first week of December 2014. Like all other Rics it was built at the Santa Ana, California facility.
The Rickenbacker Model 330 is one of my all time favourite guitars, with a dramatic yet practical design – it’s hard to get a successful combination of those two aspects!
The Gibson CS-336 P is a plain-top version of the CS-336, which replaced the ES-336 (introduced in 1996)in 2001. The name change also indicated construction changes. The back, sides and body supports of the CS-336 is carved from a Mahogany blank, and a carved Maple top is placed on top.
The Guild Starfire III Thinline first appeared in 1960, as a single-cutaway, thin but fully hollow archtop, with a Bigsby tailpiece – the Starfire II was the same guitar but with the Guild harp tailpiece. It was available with either maple or mahogany laminate body.
The Ampeg ASB-1 Devil Bass, and its fretless sibling the AUSB-1 was built by Ampeg designer Mike Roman from late 1966 to 1967. It featured the typical Ampeg ‘Scroll Head’ design, heavily influenced by traditional upright acoustic basses. However, that’s about as far as similarities with acoustic basses went.
Here we have a very nice Harrison GB Custom with Sapele Pomelle top, built at Douglas Harrison’s shop in Toronto Canada during 2013. Originally the outgrowth of a guitar custom built for the late Gary Benson, a well known Toronto jazz guitarist and educator, the Harrison GB has proven itself popular with an increasing number of players – including Harrison himself at his own gigs!
The Harmony Comet Semi-Hollowbody in Trans Red represents the very first semi-hollow electric guitar in our lineup of cherished musical instruments, inspired by the original Harmony H72 of the ’60s. This double cutaway guitar has an immaculately carved genuine mahogany top and back for warm, well-rounded and acoustic-like tone. The addition of a center block minimizes feedback, and the long-tenon set neck construction increases sustain.
The Eastman T59 V is a take on one of the most successful and influential of Ted McCarty’s innovations, the thinline, semi-hollow archtop electric guitar. Around 1957, Gibson was looking to update its product line to address a number of issues, one of which was the rise in amplified stage volumes causing feedback. While the engineering team is credited with most of the design, it was apparently president Ted McCarty’s idea to put a solid Maple block through the center of the guitar.
Here is a lovely Rickenbacker 330 Ruby Red thinline electric, in very nice original and complete condition (including the bridge cover!), dating to the third week of April 2014. Like all other Rics it was built at the Santa Ana, California facility.
The Rickenbacker 330 design dates back to the late 1950’s when Roger Rossmeisl created a number of forward-looking designs including the Cresting Wave chambered body and slash soundholes. On this Rickenbacker 330 Ruby Red, the finish really stands out and shows off the contours, without being overly dramatic or flashy; it’s really quite well done.
Introduced in Nashville during 2002, the Gibson ES-137 thinline is intended to combine two of Gibson’s most successful designs – the resonance of the thinline archtop ES models, and the solidity of the Les Paul classic. However, this instrument is thicker than a thinline model, and uses mahogany instead of maple for the center block. Bringing together the Florentine cutaway, arch top body with the solid mahogany center block, and using most of the hardware from a Les Paul including the pickups, tune-a-matic bridge and stop tailpiece, the ES-137 thinline is a very versatile guitar.
The Gibson Byrdland appeared in 1955 as a custom order for Billy Byrd and Hank Garland. These two were top Nashville session guitarists who wanted full archtop tone, but in a more comfortable thinner body and a shorter scale length – 23.5 inches, rather than Gibson’s standard 24.75 inches – to allow easier access to complex chords fingerings. The Byrdland was the first of Gibson’s thinline archtop guitars, with many more to follow. The design was so successful that it was quickly promoted to production status.
Here’ s a new, old stock 2015 Hofner Gold Label Club Bass in solid red! The Club Bass is also known as the 500/2 – the 500/1 is the iconic violin shaped ‘Beatle Bass’. This is a ‘Gold Label’ model, one of a limited edition in custom colour. These models are built at the primary Hofner plant in Hagenau, Bavaria and are not always easy to find available for sale.
Here’s something rare and discontinued from the now-closed Memphis plant, the Gibson ES-275 thin hollow body archtop in classic cherry lacquer. The Gibson ES-275 was new for 2016 and The Twelfth Fret received and sold one of the few in Canada. It’s a fully hollow, laminate maple body with a pair of longitudinal braces and f-holes. The neck is mahogany with rosewood fingerboard.
The Gibson ES-350T (or ES-350TD to the early 1960s) is a thin-bodied, single cutaway fully hollow archtop electric built from 1955 to 1963 with a 23.5 inch scale length, and from 1977 to 1993 with a 25.5 inch scale. It started as the full-bodied, single-cutaway, 25.5 inch scale length single P-90 ES-350 Premiere in 1947. The ES-350 models were used by a number of top artists in the 1950s, most notably Chuck Berry. At introduction in 1955, the Gibson ES-350T shared several things with the also-new Byrdland, particularly the 23.5 inch scale length.
Here’s a real beauty – a Collings I35DLXS Thinline Custom with a carved, solid Flame Maple top and single Lollar Imperial pickup in the neck position. This wonderful example was originally custom ordered through The Twelfth Fret during 2008, and has been used professionally. An interesting note about its use and condition is that it’s really only been used in a seated position. Collings supplied a pair of strap pins, which are in the Ameritage case, but as part of the custom order did not drill holes for them or install them.
The Eastman Romeo SC is a new limited edition thinline and largely hollow archtop electric design by Otto D’Ambrosio at the Eastman Custom Shop in California. Intended as an imagining of what ‘The Telecaster of the Archtop World’ would be, the Romeo started with defining its balance and player’s hand positions. The body is fairly small at 14.75 inches across, and the ‘Single Cut’ design gives plenty of access to the fretboard.
The new Eastman Romeo is a thinline archtop electric designed by Otto D’Ambrosio and features a solid Spruce top on laminated Mahogany sides and back for feedback resistance. Introduced during 2020 but in short supply due to COVID effects, the Eastman Romeo has an almost fully hollow body, but with a Mahogany block from the tail to the bridge. This block provides the necessary support for the bridge and stop tailpiece supports. The top is carved, solid Spruce and the back and sides are formed, layered Mahogany. The neck is Mahogany, with a bound Ebony fingerboard and Mother of Pearl dot position markers.
Part of the Conservatory line intended for serious students, the Alhambra 5PCT cutaway classical guitar verges into the area of ‘Crossover’ models, meant to make nylon string tone and responsiveness available to players in non-classical musical contexts. This model is based on the popular Alhambra 5P Conservatory Series Concert Classical guitar. Several factors help define the ‘Crossover’ models. Typically, the body has a cutaway and is thinner, and there’s a recognition that the guitar will be amplified. The thinner body reduced feedback, and the pickup and preamp help restore fullness.
Beyond the TrueTone name, this is a Kay K537 model, with an arched top and back body made of laminated Maple, a bolt on Maple neck with bound Rosewood fingerboard and brass frets, floating Rosewood bridge, trapeze tailpiece, and Kluson Deluxe single-line tuners. The original pickguard is intact and included.
We’ve received a brand-new National Reso-Phonic Pioneer RP1 semi-hollow electric in a fabulous Chipped Ivory finish! These are great guitars with unmistakable tone and the solid build quality expected from a National Reso-Phonic guitar. The neck is maple with ebony fingerboard, and the body is semi-hollow finished steel. The Lollar P-90 in the neck position provides a warm, fat tone and the piezo element in the bridge accurately reproduces the resonator tone. Active circuity rounds it out.
This brand-new Douglas Harrison GB Custom thinline, chambered archtop guitar is just passing through, and we had to show it off.
This exciting new arrival, the Danelectro 12 String Electric Guitar takes a page from the historic Danelectro instruments that appeared on so many records and stages, and adds modern features like a fully adjustable and tunable bridge. Danelectro is back in business and once again providing reasonably priced, well built instruments.
Hey, somebody has to be at the top of the heap … numero uno … the cream of the crop. Once again Bill Collings has taken a time-tested guitar design and refined it to the point of perfection. Most players, including myself, thought that the double cutaway thinline semi-hollow electric guitar had evolved as far as it was going to ever go, until this Texas guitar builder took it to the finish line with his I-35 Deluxe!