1959 Gibson ES-330 TDN Vintage Hollowbody Blonde w/ Case, Jim Root-Owned
$19,999.99
$19,999.99
Shipping calculated at checkout.
Up for sale, a 1959 Gibson ES-330 TDN in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with a hardshell case. Hailing from the ES-330's introductory model year, tonewoods include a fully hollow thinline maple body and a one-piece Honduran mahogany neck capped with a bound Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. This instrument comes from the personal collection of Slipknot’s Jim Root, aka #4.
The gloss Natural (Blonde) nitro lacquer finish (the N in TDN) is a notably rare option, with just 79 two-pickup examples like this one made in 1959. The introductory model year is also notable for being the only year to retain the fuller "baseball bat" neck profile carve associated with golden age Gibsons.
The fully hollow maple body has a broad, relaxed natural acoustic tone with both sonic depth and the immediacy due maple as a tonewood, featherweight at just 5lbs 15oz. The P-90 pickups deliver the midrange growl and glassy, dynamic qualities of this hotly wound design, with rich, textured bark when digging in hard. The pickups clean up nicely for complex chord work with a lighter touch, and each position on the three-way pickup selector is distinct. This ES-330 TDN has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 11-49 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.
Neck Specs:
-Wood: Honduran mahogany
-Shape: Chunky "baseball bat" C, measuring .895” 1st fret, .975” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Dark Brazilian rosewood, dot inlay (two replaced dots, 15th and 19th frets)
-Frets: Medium jumbo, full factory height, moderate wear on frets 1-11 (progressively lighter approaching the octave)
-Scale Length: 24 3/4”
-Nut: 1 11/16”, nylon
-Tuners: Replacement vintage circa 1947-52 Kluson Deluxe single line tuners, one early ‘50s “no line” Kluson, modern buttons
Body Specs:
-Wood: Maple
-Pickups: P-90 x2, Neck 8.3k oms, Bridge 8.5k ohms
-Harness: Original pots, paper-in-oil tone caps
-Controls: Volume x2, Tone x2, Three-way pickup selector
-Hardware: Replacement aged no-wire ABR-1 bridge, vintage era-correct trapeze tailpiece, vintage (replacement) nickel-plated pickup covers
-Plastics: Original four-ply wide bevel pickguard, gold bonnet knobs, amber Catalin switch tip
-Serialization: S-prefix FON, visible through F hole
The gloss Natural nitro lacquer finish exhibits subtle “shattered glass” lacquer checking, and cosmetic wear includes very faint buckle wear on the bass-side of the back, and some small marks consistent with light, careful use. There are two small “Bigsby bites” on top, where a Bigsby B7 vibrato was previously mounted, as well as an additional cleanly doweled forward pickguard mounting hole. The smooth nitro gloss on the neck profile has a worn-in, easy-playing feel, with a couple shallow marks along the profile length that have no impact on playability.
A modern hardshell case is included, along with a photocopied photograph from the ‘60s depicting the original owner onstage (playing the guitar) with Michigan-based blue-eyed soul band The Excels.
The gloss Natural (Blonde) nitro lacquer finish (the N in TDN) is a notably rare option, with just 79 two-pickup examples like this one made in 1959. The introductory model year is also notable for being the only year to retain the fuller "baseball bat" neck profile carve associated with golden age Gibsons.
The fully hollow maple body has a broad, relaxed natural acoustic tone with both sonic depth and the immediacy due maple as a tonewood, featherweight at just 5lbs 15oz. The P-90 pickups deliver the midrange growl and glassy, dynamic qualities of this hotly wound design, with rich, textured bark when digging in hard. The pickups clean up nicely for complex chord work with a lighter touch, and each position on the three-way pickup selector is distinct. This ES-330 TDN has been professionally setup here at Mike & Mike’s Guitar Bar with 11-49 strings, low action, and spot-on intonation.
Neck Specs:
-Wood: Honduran mahogany
-Shape: Chunky "baseball bat" C, measuring .895” 1st fret, .975” 12th fret
-Fretboard: Dark Brazilian rosewood, dot inlay (two replaced dots, 15th and 19th frets)
-Frets: Medium jumbo, full factory height, moderate wear on frets 1-11 (progressively lighter approaching the octave)
-Scale Length: 24 3/4”
-Nut: 1 11/16”, nylon
-Tuners: Replacement vintage circa 1947-52 Kluson Deluxe single line tuners, one early ‘50s “no line” Kluson, modern buttons
Body Specs:
-Wood: Maple
-Pickups: P-90 x2, Neck 8.3k oms, Bridge 8.5k ohms
-Harness: Original pots, paper-in-oil tone caps
-Controls: Volume x2, Tone x2, Three-way pickup selector
-Hardware: Replacement aged no-wire ABR-1 bridge, vintage era-correct trapeze tailpiece, vintage (replacement) nickel-plated pickup covers
-Plastics: Original four-ply wide bevel pickguard, gold bonnet knobs, amber Catalin switch tip
-Serialization: S-prefix FON, visible through F hole
The gloss Natural nitro lacquer finish exhibits subtle “shattered glass” lacquer checking, and cosmetic wear includes very faint buckle wear on the bass-side of the back, and some small marks consistent with light, careful use. There are two small “Bigsby bites” on top, where a Bigsby B7 vibrato was previously mounted, as well as an additional cleanly doweled forward pickguard mounting hole. The smooth nitro gloss on the neck profile has a worn-in, easy-playing feel, with a couple shallow marks along the profile length that have no impact on playability.
A modern hardshell case is included, along with a photocopied photograph from the ‘60s depicting the original owner onstage (playing the guitar) with Michigan-based blue-eyed soul band The Excels.
