The Gibson Memphis ES330 VOS model is now discontinued, along with the Memphis plant, but is a great re-creation of a late 1950’s ES-330. Introduced in 1959, the ES-330 took visual cues from the new and very successful ES-335, but is uses a fully hollow body without a solid center block. A pair of under-wound P-90s provide great tone. Until about 1963, the ES330 and its cousin the Epiphone Casino set the neck joint at the 16th fret but subsequently the joint was shifted to the 19th fret, allowing easier access to higher frets.
VOS
Here’s a very nice, discontinued and rare Gibson ES 275 P90 model from the now-closed Memphis Gibson shop, featuring a fully hollow body and a pair of MHS P90 pickups. Built like a traditional archtop but with a thin body and the appearance of a vintage model, the Gibson ES 275 P90 uses a Maple Laminate body with Mahogany for the body blocks and neck, Indian Rosewood for the fingerboard and pinned bridge base, vintage style 3-diamond tailpiece and knobs, and a Script Gibson logo.
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MORE →Here’s a beauty from the now-closed shop – a Gibson Memphis ES345 64 Reissue thinline archtop electric in an unusual Sea Foam Green finish! This was a limited edition model for the 2016 year. Introduced in 1958 as a midpoint between the groundbreaking ES-335 and upscale ES-355, the Gibson ES-345 featured the same core construction as the two bracketing models. A thinline body built with Maple laminate and a solid Maple center block, routed for pickups, and a Mahogany neck with Rosewood fingerboard are common to the three models (except for the ES355’s Ebony fingerboard with Mother of Pearl block markers).
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MORE →Introduced as the top of the line in elegance and function, the Gibson Les Paul Custom 1954 model was presented in tuxedo style finish – black, white trim, and gold hardware. Unlike the original Les Paul gold-top models which paired a carved Maple top with a mahogany body, the new Custom’s body was entirely Mahogany. New hardware appeared, as well; the new, gold-plated ABR ‘tune-o-matic’ bridge and stop tailpiece, and the Seth Lover designed, single coil ‘staple top’ Alnico V neck pickup with a P-90 at the bridge.
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MORE →Built at the Gibson Memphis plant, the Gibson ES-335 Rich Robinson is very much like a ‘new’ 1963 model. The ‘Custom Made’ plaque on the body was frequently used to cover stop-tailpiece collars when a Bigsby was installed, either at the factory or after purchase. The cherry finish very common in that era, and the metal parts have gone through a ‘VOS’ aging process to simulate natural oxidization.
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MORE →The Gibson 1954 Les Paul Custom was introduced as the top of the line in the new concept of the solid body electric guitar. Gibson had been producing electrified guitars since at least 1936, using designs like the Charlie Christian pickup on archtop and Hawaiian models. Ted McCarty, then president of Gibson and keenly aware of the competitive potential of Leo Fender’s designs, worked with Les Paul to produce a solid body electric worthy of the Gibson name.
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