Left-handed 1965 Gibson ES-330TD in beautiful transluscent Ice Tea Sunburst finish, EXC condition, period-correct Black Ess & Ess hardshell case, AND this guitar has ALL of the highly desirable 1964 features: wide full neck with 1 11/16 nut, ALL Nickel Hardware, 17 Degree
headstock pitch. It’s hard enough to find a lefty ES-330 from the 1960s, but then to find a really great example in every respect, that’s practically a miracle!
Early 1965 ES-330TD, serial # 3020xx, but still retains all the Golden Era features, plus is an amazing player with the holiest of Tone; a true Blues Monster! Finish and color is in beautiful condition, with only slight checking. Nickel hardware is in great shape; the best I’ve
had among my 60s ES-330 guitars. The frets are original with some wear, but there is no problem with playing the guitar effortlessly whatsoever; no fretting out anywhere, and good bends are easily attainable across the neck. The nibs are even intact; that, my friends, is a rarity among the 60s Gibsons I’ve owned! The neck also has a beatifully-grained Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard; it is another feature that makes this ES-330 one of the special ones!
The P-90 Pickups are really potent, with the following readings: Neck=8.28K, Bridge=8.09K. They are very punchy and just drip with incredible blues tone! Very powerful bottom-end; you can practically play bass with the bottom strings, a great trait I’ve noticed on the early-mid 60s 330s I’ve owned.
The neck is similar to my 1964 ES-335; 1 11/16 nut, .83/1st fret and .97/12th fret: that translates to a perfect-feeling neck. The tuners are double-line Klusons, and the tuners are very smooth and easy to move.
As another bonus, the 330 has the Orange Label, with matching serial # to the headstock number. Maybe 10-15% of the ES-330s I’ve seen from the 60s have the Orange Label(vs a stamped # inside). Even the pickguard is straight and not warped like I’ve seen on many of these.
The case is a period-correct Ess & Ess black hardshell case with the Marigold interior; I can not claim it’s the original case, but Gibson was using Lifton, along with Stone and Ess & Ess for their cases throughout the mid 60s. The case is in very good condition, and is completely functional. The newer handle could probably stand a replacement, but works fine.
The guitar has been completely inspected and set-up by Scott Freilich of Top Shelf Music (www.topshelfmusic.com). This guitar needs nothing, is perfectly set-up, and the new owner will be extremely happy with this 330; it’s a really special. I can not imagine finding a better lefty vintage ES-330, and I’ve owned a few good ones!
