The Gibson ES-345 is a guitar manufactured by the Gibson Guitar Company. The guitar was produced from 1959 to 1981. It was designed as a jazz guitar and an upscale version of the ES-335.
| Gibson ES-345 | |
|---|---|
 1960 Gibson ES-345TDC | |
| Manufacturer | Gibson Brands |
| Period | 1959-1981 |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Semi-hollow body thinline |
| Scale | 24.75" |
| Woods | |
| Body | Maple |
| Neck | Mahogany |
| Fretboard | Rosewood |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Tune-o-matic |
| Pickup(s) | Humbuckers |
| Colors available | |
| Sunburst, Cherry and Natural | |
History
editThe 345 was developed in 1958 as an upscale version of the Gibson ES-335. Gibson released the ES-345T in the spring of 1959. The Gibson ES-345T had a price of $345 in the standard sunburst finish.[1] From the guitar's 1959 introduction through 1979, 10,560 ES-345s were shipped.[2] Gibson designed the guitar to create a guitar which could be used to produce jazz but with a maple block running through the guitar to allow the versatility of a solid body electric guitar.[3]
Gibson released the guitar in three finishes, Cherry and Natural, and Sunburst. The sunburst finish was called the ES-345TD, the cherry finish was called the ES-345TDC and the natural finish was called the ES-345TDN.[1]
Specifications
edit1958 saw the introduction of Gibson's new thinline series of guitars. The ES-335, 345 and 355, all came with a semi-hollow body: the wood of the top and back was maple and there was a maple center block inside the guitars which ran the length of the body all the way to the mahogany neck, with a rosewood fingerboard.[2]
The neck of the guitar has double-parallelogram fretboard inlays. The guitar also featured a stereo pickup configuration and Varitone circuit.[1] The varitone's positions were not properly defined by Gibson which left players to try describing the sounds of the varitone dial positions as: squishy, underwater, and guitar-in-a-box. What the variotone did is allow users to switch to predefined frequency scoops which kept highs and lows.[4]
Gibson also manufactured a Gibson ES-355TD-SV which was a fancier version of the ES-345TD. Both the ES-345TD/SV and the ES-355TD-SV did not become as popular as the simple ES-335. One reason was that the ES-345 and the ES-355 each required a 'Y' cable and a TRS jack to separate the pickup signals. The much simpler mono ES-335 did not require any special equipment. The original ES-345 came with nickel parts covered in gold and PAF (pickup)s.[1] In 1959 and 1960 the pickguard was long, extending all the way to the bridge but it was shortened in 1961.[3]
From 1959-1963 Gibson had a Stoptail bridge but beginning in 1964 they began installing a gold trapeze tailpiece on the ES-345s. It was not until 1982 that Gibson went back to the Stoptail bridge on the ES-345.[5] Some of the first Gibson ES-345s also shipped with a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece.[6]
Notable players
edit- B.B. King[4]
- Freddie King[4]
- Elvin Bishop[4]
- Marty McFly[4]
- Bob Welch of the rock band Fleetwood Mac used a Gibson ES-345 and a heavily modified Fender Stratocaster on their 1971 album, Future Games.[7]
- George Harrison[8]
- Harry Vanda of The Easybeats
- Jorma Kaukonen
- Bill Nelson of Be-Bop Deluxe
- Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead acquired an ES-345TDC in 1967, and from 1971 until early 1973 it was his primary guitar.
- John McLaughlin bought in 1978, his 1976 instrument has been modified with a scalloped fingerboard and the Bigsby trem
- Steve Howe, main guitar on the 1972 album Close to the Edge.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Brakes, Rod (2 December 2020). "Classic gear: Gibson ES-345". Guitar World. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Gibson ES-345TD". Vintage Guitar and Bass. 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ a b "Old gold: 1965 Gibson ES-345". Music Radar. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Schu, Peter (1 October 2016). "The Varitone Circuit Demystified: Scott Sharrard and the Gibson ES-345". Reverb. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Batey, Rick (2003). The American blues guitar (1st ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard. p. 143. ISBN 9780634027598. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ Duchossoir, A. R. (1998). Gibson electrics : the classic years : an illustrated history from the mid-'30s to the mid-'60s. Milwaukee, Wis.: Hal Leonard Corp. p. 234. ISBN 9780793592104. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ Saulnier, Jason (4 May 2010). "Bob Welch Interview, Fleetwood Mac Guitarist on Nashville Flood". Music Legends Online. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
- ^ https://www.es-335.com/2012/01/12/pssst-hey-beatle/. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Rice, Tom (27 May 2022). "Yes 'Close to the Edge' 50th Anniversary – Steve Howe EXCLUSIVE Interview". Gear4music Blog. Retrieved 16 August 2024.