Gibson Custom Shop 1962 ES-330 Reissue VOS Sixties Cherry w/Case

If you've been looking at the 1959 ES-330 Reissue and thinking "I love what this guitar is, but I wish the neck were a little slimmer," Gibson Custom has already answered the question. The 1962 ES-330 Reissue is the same fully hollow, no-centerblock thinline built to the same standard — but with the spec changes that crept into the ES-330 as the model matured into the early sixties.

The fundamentals are identical to the '59. The three-ply maple/poplar/maple body with no centerblock gives you that wide-open, resonant acoustic voice that makes the ES-330 one of the most rewarding guitars to play unplugged, and a complex, airy character when amplified that you simply don't get from a semi-hollow. The Dogear P-90 set is the same matched pair — standard-wound Alnico 3 at the bridge, underwound Alnico 5 at the neck — hand-wired through CTS pots and paper-in-oil capacitors. Same long neck tenon, same 16th-fret neck joint, same Historic no-wire ABR-1 bridge and trapeze tailpiece.

What's different is the neck and the cosmetics. The one-piece mahogany neck is carved to a SlimTaper 60s C profile rather than the chunkier Authentic 1959 C — noticeably slimmer and less rounded, which is going to appeal to players who prefer a sleeker feel in the left hand. The bound rosewood fretboard trades the '59's dot inlays for cellulose small blocks, giving the 1962 a slightly more dressed-up look. And the knobs shift from gold Top Hats to black Top Hats with silver inserts and dial pointers — a small visual detail, but one that immediately reads as early-sixties Gibson.

Everything else carries over: VOS nitrocellulose lacquer, nickel hardware, nylon nut, Kluson Deluxe tuners, ES-330 multi-ply pickguard, and a Lifton reissue hardshell case with Certificate of Authenticity. It's the same guitar with the same voice, just wearing a slightly different suit and shaped for a different hand preference.

The same caveats that apply to the '59 apply here. This is a fully hollow guitar with no centerblock, which means it's more prone to feedback than a semi-hollow at high volume and high gain. That's the nature of the design, and it's the reason the ES-330 sounds the way it does. For players who value dynamics, touch sensitivity, and that open, resonant character, the trade-off is well worth it.

Body: Maple/Poplar/Maple, Hollow
Body Shape: ES-335 Thinline
Binding: Single-Ply Top and Back
Finish: Sixties Cherry, VOS Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Neck: One-Piece Mahogany, Long Neck Tenon
Neck Profile: SlimTaper 60s C 
Fingerboard: Rosewood, Bound
Fingerboard Radius: 12"
Frets: 22, Reissue Medium Jumbo
Inlays: Cellulose Small Block
Nut: Nylon
Nut Width: 1.69" 
Scale Length: 24.75"
Pickups: Dogear P-90 (Neck), Dogear P-90 (Bridge)
Pickup Covers: Black Dogear
Controls: 2 Volume, 2 Tone, 3-Way Toggle
Bridge: Historic No-Wire ABR-1 Tune-O-Matic
Tailpiece: Trapeze
Tuners: Kluson Deluxe
Hardware Finish: Nickel
Pickguard: ES-330 Multi-Ply
Control Knobs: Black Top Hats with Silver Inserts and Dial Pointers
Plastic Parts: Black
Strings: .010, .013, .017, .026, .036, .046
Case: Hardshell Lifton Reissue
Accessories: Certificate of Authenticity
Model Number: 62ES330VOSCNH1