Hi Zach,
I’m the owner of a beautiful ES-335 I purchased in the early
’90s, and I’m trying to identify it. I don’t know anything
about its history and would like to know where and when it
was built, and its value. I’ve replaced the pickups and potentiometers,
but still have the originals.
—Thomas in Denmark
Hi Thomas,
I had to put on my thinking cap to identify and date your ES-335. When I first saw the photos, I thought I was looking at a pieced-together fake. Examining valuable and collectible vintage guitars, I use the term “adding up”—meaning all the components and the condition of the guitar need to agree with each other. This includes serial numbers, pot dates, and finish wear. But on your guitar, the serial number is scratched out and there’s no interior label. This guitar looked particularly suspicious because it’s in Gibson’s most desirable ES-335 configuration— a natural blonde finish, dot inlays, and a stop tailpiece. Desirable configuration, highly collectible, and no serial number equals a major red flag.
Without the serial number, we need to use the headstock logo, pickups, pots, and control knobs to try to date the guitar. After researching many books and websites, I believe I’ve figured it out!
Here is what we do know about the guitar from the photos. The Gibson logo on the headstock is referred to as the “thin logo,” which includes the dot on the “i” and the upper link between the “o” and the “n.” The original pickups (or at least the pickups that were in the guitar when you bought it) are Gibson HB-R and HB-L humbuckers. The original potentiometers have the part numbers of 440-70028 and 440-70035, and a date code of R 1378951. The knobs are amber top hats, which were originally used in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
This is what I’ve discovered through my research: The headstock logo dates post-1981, when the upper link was added between the “o” and the “n.” The Gibson HB-R and HB-L pickups were designed by Bill Lawrence and, according to a few sources, only available in the late 1980s (Lawrence worked at Gibson in the 1970s and 1980s). The pots have production codes assigned by Gibson that were used between 1971 and 1981 according to Gibson’s various parts lists. Interestingly, the date codes indicate they are from the 51st week of 1989, meaning they were used much later than they were produced. And while amber top hat knobs were originally used in the late ’50s and early ’60s, they made a comeback in the 1980s.
It is well documented that Gibson used block inlays on their ES-335 fretboards between mid-1962 and 1981, and the trapeze tailpiece was used between late 1964 and 1981. All of this indicates that the guitar was built during the 1980s, and is not from the late 1950s or early 1960s, as I had initially thought. I checked Gibson’s 1983 catalog and found a mate to this guitar. While we may not be able to determine the exact year of this Gibson, at least we can date it to the 1980s production era.
In 1981, Gibson replaced the ES-335TD with the ES-335 Dot, which was based on the 1960 Gibson ES-335. This new “Dot” was produced throughout the 1980s without any major changes. If your guitar was all stock and in mint condition, it would be worth somewhere between $2400 and $2750. ES-335 Dots from the 1980s finished in natural are the most desirable from this era, as well. Based on your pickup and pot mods—and the minor finish wear—your guitar is currently worth between $1750 and $2000. If this was an original ES-335 from the late 1950s or 1960, it would be worth $40,000 or more— the main reason I was originally suspicious this guitar may be a fake!
How do we explain the scratched-out serial number? When Thomas inquired about this, he was told that years ago, certain overseas guitar dealers obtained Gibsons for less money by going around the official Gibson importer and removing the serial number to prevent being caught. Sounds plausible, but I’m still hesitant to authenticate this guitar without any documentation.
The bottom line: Get as much documentation as possible when you buy a guitar. And never take someone’s story as official documentation—it will not help your cause down the road if you want to sell. If the serial number is missing or scratched out, just ask why. Would you buy a car if the VIN was removed or there was no title? All said, if you find a guitar without dating information, but still fall in love with how it plays and sounds, consider it your own personal treasure without an official birth date!
Zachary R. Fjestad
is author of Blue Book of
Acoustic Guitars, Blue Book
of Electric Guitars, and Blue
Book of Guitar Amplifiers.
For more information, visit
bluebookinc.com or email
Zach at guitars@bluebookinc.com.
Gibson originally launched the EB-6 model with the intention of serving consumers looking for a “tic-tac” bass sound.
The Gibson EB-6 was announced in 1959 and came into the world in 1960, not with a dual-horn body but with that of an elegant ES-335. They looked stately, with a thin, semi-hollow body, f-holes, and a sunburst finish. Our pick for this Vintage Vault column is one such first-year model, in about as original condition as you’re able to find today. “Why?” you may be asking. Well, read on....
When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye. The real competition were the Danelectro 6-string basses that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere and were suddenly being used on lots of hit records by the likes of Elvis, Patsy Cline, and other household names. Danos like the UB-2 (introduced in ’56), the Longhorn 4623 (’58), and the Shorthorn 3612 (’58) were the earliest attempts any company made at a 6-string bass in this style: not quite a standard electric bass, not quite a guitar, nor, for that matter, quite like a baritone guitar.
The only change this vintage EB-6 features is a replacement set of Kluson tuners.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
Gibson, Fender, and others during this era would in fact call these basses “baritone guitars,” to add to our confusion today. But these vintage “baritones” were all tuned one octave below a standard guitar, with scale lengths around 30", while most modern baritones are tuned B-to-B or A-to-A and have scale lengths between 26" and 30".)
At the time, those Danelectros were instrumental to what was called the “tic-tac” bass sound of Nashville records produced by Chet Atkins, or the “click-bass” tones made out west by producer Lee Hazlewood. Gibson wanted something for this market, and the EB-6 was born.
“When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye.”
The 30.5" scale 1960 EB-6 has a single humbucking pickup, a volume knob, a tone knob, and a small, push-button “Tone Selector Switch” that engages a treble circuit for an instant tic-tac sound. (Without engaging that switch, you get a bass-heavy tone so deep that cowboy chords will sound like a muddy mess.)
The EB-6, for better or for worse, did not unseat the Danelectros, and a November 1959 price list from Gibson hints at why: The EB-6 retailed for $340, compared to Dano price tags that ranged from $85 to $150. Only a few dozen EB-6 basses were shipped in 1960, and only 67 total are known to have been built before Gibson changed the shape to the SG style in 1962.
Most players who come across an EB-6 today think it was a response to the Fender Bass VI, but the former actually beat the latter to the market by a full year.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
It’s sad that so few were built. Sure, it was a high-end model made to achieve the novelty tic-tac sound of cheaper instruments, but in its full-voiced glory, the EB-6 has a huge potential of tones. It would sound great in our contemporary guitar era where more players are exploring baritone ranges, and where so many people got back into the Bass VI after seeing the Beatles play one in the 2021 documentary, Get Back.
It’s sadder, still, how many original-era EB-6s have been parted out in the decades since. Remember earlier when I wrote that our Vintage Vaultpick was about as original as you could find? That’s because the model’s single humbucker is a PAF, its Kluson tuners are double-line, and its knobs are identical to those on Les Paul ’Bursts. So as people repaired broken ’Bursts, converted other LPs to ’Bursts, or otherwise sought to give other Gibsons a “Golden Era” sound and look ... they often stripped these forgotten EB-6 basses for parts.
This original EB-6 is up for sale now from Reverb seller Emerald City Guitars for a $16,950 asking price at the time of writing. The only thing that isn’t original about it is a replacement set of Kluson tuners, not because its originals were stolen but just to help preserve them. (They will be included in the case.)
With so few surviving 335-style EB-6 basses, Reverb doesn’t have a ton of sales data to compare prices to. Ten years ago, a lucky buyer found a nearly original 1960 EB-6 for about $7,000. But Emerald City’s $16,950 asking price is closer to more recent examples and asking prices.
Sources: Prices on Gibson Instruments, November 1, 1959, Tony Bacon’s “Danelectro’s UB-2 and the Early Days of 6-String Basses” Reverb News article, Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, Tom Wheeler’s American Guitars: An Illustrated History, Reverb listings and Price Guide sales data.
Billy Gibbons is an undisputable guitar force whose feel, tone, and all-around vibe make him the highest level of hero. But that’s not to say he hasn’t made some odd choices in his career, like when ZZ Top re-recorded parts of their classic albums for CD release. And fans will argue which era of the band’s career is best. Some of us love drum machines and synths and others don’t, but we all love Billy.
This episode is sponsored by Magnatone
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
