Pre-Owned Gibson ES-335 TD - Cherry Red - 1974

Unbelievably clean 🤩

This is an absolutely stunning 1974 ES-335 TD, which although has seen light use over it's 52 year lifespan, is in remarkably great condition. Other than some personal taste changes to it, it is nearly all original too!

You have to see this in person to soak it all in, if you saw someone playing it from a few feet away you'd be hard pressed not to assume it's some kind of shiny reissue! The wood grain peaking through the Cherry Red finish is gorgeous and really gives off a mid 70s Norlin vibe - the coolest era of Gibson I think.

Firstly, it plays superbly! Truss rod works perfectly, allowing for easy playing low action to be set. We believe that the "fretless wonder" frets are original, as there are no signs of serious work having been done to them other than the last owner had them dressed in early 2025. The tiny fret nibs are present in areas and the frets feel like the correct factory spec for the era.

The biggest change that this guitar has seen it's life is the addition of a Bigsby, which to us make it all the cooler! Since the previous owner bought it, the Bigsby has been upgraded with parts from Callahan, making it even smoother, more likely to stay in tune and easier to restring! From some small marks and filled holes, our best assumption is that this left the factory with a trapeze tail piece. There are no signs of a stopbar tailpiece having been present.

The pickups are the original "wrong Pat no." T-Top humbuckers which sound great as you would expect. It does look to us that the pickup covers have been removed at some point due to disturbances to the solder, but the covers seem original. We haven't had the wiring harness out, due to the risk of disturbing something, but the switch and pots look correct from what we can see with our little mirror. Unfortunately on the most visible pots, the date is either soldered over or covered in slight debris rendering them unreadable from the outside. The solder all looks untouched as far as we can tell.

Other era correct features such as the split-in-two centre block, volute and green ground wire coming off the bridge pickup wire shield are all present and really feed into the specific periods vibe.

The bridge saddles have been replaced with black Nylon, but the originals are included and the bridge itself is original. It comes with the original witch-hat knobs (pictured) and a set of more modern replacements. The case does not appear original and is likely from the mid-80s based on our workings out.

We've done our best to find every tiny nick on this and get it photographed, I can whole heartedly say who ever takes the plunge on this will not be dissapionted!

All in all, this is FANTASTIC guitar with heaps of character and is ready to be enjoyed for years more to come. 

Any further questions, drop us a message!

This is a pre-owned instrument and may show signs of use. The general condition is outlined in the photos, but if you require any additional information, have any questions or would like to request any further photos, just drop us an email at contact@hippoguitars.com and we'll be happy to help! We're just a team of 2, so we will try our best to get back to you as soon as we can. Trades always welcome, just fill in the Sell/Trade form at the top of the website to get a quote!

All pre-owned guitars are set for click and collect only by default. We can ship world wide (excluding US). If you would like us to ship a guitar to you, please send us an email with your delivery address and we can send over a quote for shipping and provide more information regarding the items condition & playability, to ensure that you're happy before purchase.