Gibson ES-330

Hollowbody Valhalla

Wildwoodians, we invite you to enter hollowbody Valhalla by taking the Gibson ES-330 for a spin! The ES-330 has been a favorite of the Wildwood staff for years, and this Gibson USA iteration is a marvelous example of the model's sonic power and striking beauty. After strumming one of these bad boys for a couple minutes, it's easy to see why everyone from jazz great Grant Green to indie legend Johnny Marr to modern blues maestro Gary Clark Jr. have found endless inspiration in their 330s. Let's take a closer look and see why the ES-330 is so special!

Hollowbody Heat

The magic of the ES-330 lies in its thinline fully hollow body and the magic it creates with the dangerously delicious dogear P-90 pickups. As with all Gibson hollowbodies, the ES-330 is fabulously responsive and dynamic, exhibiting an acoustic-like touch-sensitivity. It's also gloriously resonant, which makes this guitar a blast to play unplugged, so much so that it might be the ultimate couch electric. But, because of its thinner body, it's easier to control feedback, allowing the player to heap on the gain and get some truly rude tones (as long as you keep your hand on the neck!).

Dogear Days of Summer

This responsiveness and resonance of the hollow body are a match made in heaven with the dogear P-90 pickups. Simply put, the ES-330 is one of those axes that makes even simple guitar moves feel immensely satisfying. Just cycling through a few open chords is pure magic! P-90s are extremely touch-sensitive pickups already, and their wide dynamic range truly shines in the context of a fully hollow body. When you play softly, they have a wonderfully open, warm tonality. When you dig in, the attack becomes more focused and a beautiful bell-like jangle comes through. Overall, it has a lush, three-dimensional tone laden with lush overtones, yet it always sounds clear and articulate because of the hollow body's warm, woody timbre.

Doing It All in Style

Though the ES-330 has a reputation as a jangle machine (deservedly so, because it NAILS the British Invasion sound), it can do a lot more, and eight days a week is not enough to showcase its versatility! As a rock guitar, it's hard to beat. It has plenty of bite and punch, and its magnificent overtone presence fills things out without overwhelming the other instruments, and its articulation shines through even with lots of gain (and if it feeds back, that's just rock and roll, baby!). Its snarling tone is inspiring for all things rock: punk, garage, classic, indie, shoegaze, even grunge! But, if you play through a clean amp, it can sound quite warm, woody, and vocal--perfect for jazz and blues. And, if you dig in, it can Twang Chung with the best of them, making it a great choice for all things rootsy, country, or folky. The Gibson ES-330 can cover a wide swath of musical territory, and its capacity to inspire breaks the bounds of genre and style.

The ES-330 looks good as it jumps from genre to genre, too. Sporting a sweet nitrocellulose lacquer finish that allows the wood to breathe and resonate, it cuts a striking figure. The small block inlays, vintage-style tuners with white buttons, and four-ply pickguard complete the vintage-inspired look, giving it serious style along with its monster sound.

It's also a joy to play thanks to its imminently comfortable rounded C profile, which sits right in The Goldilocks Zone between fat and skinny. This neck profile combined with the 12-inch radius and medium jumbo frets makes the ES-330 well-suited to a wide variety of play styles and techniques.

We're proud to present the Gibson ES-330, and we have no doubt it will transport you to hollowbody Valhalla.