Memphis, TN (October 1, 2013) — As if working as Paul McCartney’s touring lead guitarist since 2001 wasn’t enough, Rusty Anderson has been a first-call session player and collaborator over an extensive career. His signature riffs have graced the recordings of Elton John, Joe Cocker, the Bangles, Neil Diamond, the Wallflowers, Sinéad O’Connor, Ricky Martin, Willie Nelson and dozens of others. And throughout, Rusty has remained a diehard Gibson player.
In honor of this uncompromising artist’s achievements and distinctive tone, Gibson Memphis introduces the Rusty Anderson ES-335. Appointed like the vintage ES-335 of your dreams, this guitar encompasses everything that has made Gibson’s legendary semi so popular: great looks, an unparalleled playing feel, and the sonic versatility to take on everything in its path.
The Rusty Anderson ES-335 has all the features of the most desirable vintage 1958-’59 Gibson ES-335 “dot necks” (including the distinctive double-cutaway maple body with solid maple “ no window” centerblock), two custom-spec PAF-style humbucking pickups, a hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard, vintage-correct binding, nickel hardware, and a luscious Vintage Natural finish in nitrocellulose lacquer, treated to Gibson’s proprietary VOS process for a gently aged look.
The craftspeople at Gibson Memphis have meticulously studied and measured an exceptionally well-preserved example of a 1959 ES-335, and it shows in every detail of the Rusty Anderson model. From neck shape, to body contours, to coloring and components, this is the real-deal vintage ES-335 experience. And to top it all off, that legendary tone is there in spades: from warm, rich jazz, to snappy funk and rhythm, to blistering all-out rock and roll, this guitar nails it all with the best of ’em. Dare to experience it now at your authorized Gibson Memphis dealer.
Specs:
- Semi-hollow body made from laminated maple
- Bound dark Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
- Pair of CustomBucker Humbucking Pickups in the neck and bridge positions
- Nickel plated ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece
- Kluson single-ring tulip button tuners with 15:1 tuning ratio
This Memphis-built copy of Rusty’s original ’59 has: a bound, three-ply, semi-hollow body with internal center block with a total guitar weight of 8.2 pounds (8 pounds, 3.4 ounces); a 50’s C-shaped Mahogany neck with center spline of Maple with depth measurements of .89″ at the 1st fret and .99″ at the 12th; a Plek’d dark Rosewood fretboard with 12″ radius, medium frets and a 1.695″ nylon nut; a light weight ABR-1 bridge/tailpiece; Gibson’s Custom Bucker humbucking pickups with CTS pots, Bumblebee 500k taper caps, and Switchcraft toggle switch and jack; Kluson tuners; gold top-hat knobs with pointers; and a Vintage Natural nitrocellulose lacquer finish.
This is a great sounding and superb playing ES-335. It has the larger neck profile many players prefer and sports great sounding Custom Bucker pickups. The tone is fat, thick and woody whether played clean or driven. Check out the brief sound sample provided. This is a guitar that is great for most any kind of music.
Gibson gave this model a slightly darker natural finish and some very light aging of the body and hardware to give it the appearance of Rusty’s own well-played, vintage ’59. This example of this limited run and no longer produced model is in excellent condition showing only light evidence of play and the frets show little to no wear. It comes in it’s original brown case with the certificate of authenticity.