Gibson Custom launches 1959 & 1962 ES-330 Reissues

With P-90 Dogear pickups and fully hollow bodies, these instruments deliver all the original character of the perfect “couch guitar.” But make no mistake, they are powerful performance tools too

Gibson Custom has relaunched the ES-330™ after an eight-year hiatus, with two models returning to the Gibson Custom Historic Collection. These era-accurate guitars, the 1959 ES‐330 Reissue and the 1962 ES‐330 Reissue, are both handcrafted in Nashville, Tennessee, and offer classic P‐90 tone, hollowbody designs, and VOS finishes. 

The Gibson ES-330 was also revived as part of the Original Collection in 2024, but these new Gibson Custom models ( announced at the NAMM Show earlier this year) mean the ES-330 has returned as core Gibson Custom offerings, with each version leaning into year-specific details as their names suggest. 

A cousin to the Epiphone Casino™, arriving two years before it, the ES-330 landed shortly after the ES-335 launched in 1958, and differentiated from its fellow relatives with key tonal differences owing to the absence of a centerblock, which gives the ES-330 an open, resonant voice and impressive unplugged volume. The versatile charm and singing sustain of the ES-330 and Casino attracted players as broad as Grant Green and Johnny Marr, in addition to The Beatles, Radiohead, and The Rolling Stones. 

The ES-330 is often referred to as the ultimate “couch guitar” because of its natural volume and projection. Yet with silent stages becoming more common and more players going direct, fully hollow guitars are more viable for stage use than they’ve been in a long time, with more room to let their organic voice breathe and flourish. Let’s explore both Reissue models in a little more detail.

Gibson Custom 1959 ES-330 Reissue

The 1959 ES‐330 Reissue is crafted with a fully hollow, thinline three‐ply maple/poplar/maple body. It offers a one‐piece mahogany neck carved to an Authentic 1959 C‐profile, completed by a bound rosewood fretboard, 22 period‐correct medium‐jumbo frets, and dot inlays. True to vintage spec, the neck joins the body at the 16th fret, preserving classic feel and bridge placement. 

Tone comes from a matched Dogear P‐90 set: a standard‐wound Alnico 3 bridge pickup and an underwound Alnico 5 neck pickup, delivering a balanced, articulate range across positions. Each pickup has dedicated volume and tone controls with CTS® pots and paper-in-oil caps, plus a Switchcraft® three-way toggle switch and output jack.

Further historically accurate appointments include nickel hardware, a no‐wire ABR‐1 bridge, a trapeze tailpiece, nylon nut, Kluson® Deluxe tuners, multi‐ply pickguard, and True Historic gold Top Hat knobs. A gloss nitrocellulose lacquer finish with VOS aging completes its classic look, and a Lifton™ hardshell case is included.

Gibson Custom 1962 ES-330 Reissue

The 1962 ES‐330 Reissue captures the subtle evolution the ES‐330 underwent between its 1959 debut and the early 60s. Built with a fully hollow three‐ply maple/poplar/maple thinline body with no centerblock, it delivers the ES‐330’s signature resonant acoustic character. Its one‐piece mahogany neck features an Authentic 1961 Thin D profile, which is sleeker than earlier versions, and a bound rosewood fretboard with 22 medium‐jumbo frets and cellulose small‐block inlays, with the neck joining the body at the 16th fret.

A matched pair of Dogear P-90 pickups provides the juice, just like the 1959 model, with each pickup also wired to individual volume and tone controls with CTS pots, paper‐in‐oil capacitors, and a Switchcraft three‐way selector and output jack. Further details remain the same as the 1959 Reissue, but the 1962 Reissue differs with black Top Hat knobs with silver inserts and dial pointers. The guitar is completed with VOS‐treated hardware and a VOS nitrocellulose lacquer finish. A Lifton hardshell case is also included. 

The Gibson Custom 1959 and 1962 ES‐330 Reissue models are available worldwide now via Gibson.com, Gibson Garage locations, and authorized Gibson dealers.