Gibson ES-330
Manufacturer	Gibson
Period	1958 — present
Construction
Body type	hollow
Neck joint	Set
Scale	24.75"
Woods
Body	maple (laminated)
Neck	mahogany on most models in most periods; sometimes maple
Fretboard	rosewood on most models, ebony on some
Hardware
Bridge	Fixed
Pickup(s)	1 or 2 P90s
Colors available
sunburst, cherry, natural

The Gibson ES-330 is a thinline hollowbody electric guitar model produced by the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

Though similar in appearance to the popular Gibson ES-335 semi-hollow guitar, the ES-330 was a fairly different guitar in construction and sound. While the 335 is a semi-hollow guitar (that is, the central part of the guitar body was a solid block while the wings of the guitar were hollow), the 330 was a fully hollow thinline guitar. Also, the 335 featured two humbucking pickups, while the 330 featured two single-coil P-90 pickups; these featured black plastic covers for the first few years of production and later switched to nickel covers. Together, the 330 body construction and the different pickups created a sound that was quite different from the 335. Also, the 330 neck joined the body at the 15th fret, whereas the 335 neck joined the body at the 19th fret; later, due to complaints of the lack of access to upper frets, the neck was elongated by joining it to the body at the 19th fret. This change, however, put additional stress on the neck/body joint and these guitars had a tendency to "fold" at the neck when stressed.

The guitar was produced both as a single-pickup instrument (ES-330T) and as a dual-pickup instrument (ES-330TD). Somewhat unusually, the ES-330T had its pickup mounted halfway between the bridge and the end of the neck, not in one of the usual neck or bridge positions. It was available in sunburst, cherry, natural, and sparkling burgundy finishes. Tailpieces used were usually trapeze or Bigsby vibrato tailpieces. Due to its lack of popularity compared to the other Gibson thinline guitars (such as the ES-335, ES-345, and ES-355), the ES-330 was discontinued by Gibson in the early 1970s. Since then, it has been reissued a few times by the Gibson Custom Shop division.

[edit] Epiphone Casino

At around the same time that Gibson introduced the ES-330, its subsidiary company Epiphone introduced a similar guitar, the Casino. Like the 330, it featured one or two single-coil P-90 pickups and a fully-hollow body; the only difference (aside from the name on the headstock) was the presence of Isosceles trapezoid inlays on the fingerboard (instead of dot inlays or small-block inlays). The guitar was available until the early 1970s, but has since been reissued many times by Epiphone.

Interestingly, despite being identical in sound and construction to the ES-330, the Epiphone Casino has been used somewhat more by popular guitarists than the Gibson version. Possibly the most famous users of the Casino were John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney of The Beatles; Lennon and Harrison used their Casinos frequently in the studio and on tour in the mid-1960s, while McCartney continues to use his Casino to this day. Recently, Epiphone issued two John Lennon signature Casinos; one model is based on the original Casino that Lennon used in the mid 60s (sunburst finish, pickguard), while the other is a replica of the Casino after he removed the pickguard and applied a natural finish to the guitar.

[edit] Notable ES-330

At around the same time that Gibson introduced the ES-330, its subsidiary company Epiphone introduced a similar guitar, the Casino. Like the 330, it featured one or two single-coil P-90 pickups and a fully-hollow body; the only difference (aside from the name on the headstock) was the presence of Isosceles trapezoid inlays on the fingerboard (instead of dot inlays or small-block inlays). The guitar was available until the early 1970s, but has since been reissued many times by Epiphone.

Interestingly, despite being identical in sound and construction to the ES-330, the Epiphone Casino has been used somewhat more by popular guitarists than the Gibson version. Possibly the most famous users of the Casino were John Lennon, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney of The Beatles; Lennon and Harrison used their Casinos frequently in the studio and on tour in the mid-1960s, while McCartney continues to use his Casino to this day. Recently, Epiphone issued two John Lennon signature Casinos; one model is based on the original Casino that Lennon used in the mid 60s (sunburst finish, pickguard), while the other is a replica of the Casino after he removed the pickguard and removed the finish of the guitar by sanding. Lennon opined that the bare wood would yield better tone/resonance than the guitar would with a laquer finish.

[edit] External links

• Gibson ES-330