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Latest vintage guitar updates
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1964 Gibson Melody Maker - a classic vintage guitar
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 A closer look at a Gibson Melody maker from 1964. The Melody Maker is one of Gibson's best ever selling guitars - despite it's comparatively low price it didn't skimp on Gibson tradition: well-built instruments, constructed from the finest materials. The body and set neck are both of South American mahogany whilst the fingerboard is South American rosewood. With a sunburst nitrocellulose finish the Melody Maker certainly looked the part. In fact the Melody Maker had more in common with many higher end Gibson instruments than guitars of a similar price bracket made by other manufacturers. The circuitry was simple; just a volume and tone control for one single coil pickup. See also Gibson Melody Maker shipping figures
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1966 Kalamazoo KG2a electric guitar
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 Details and information on the Kalamazoo KG2a electric guitar. The beat boom of the mid 1960s heralded a huge demand for electric guitars; youngsters up and down America were looking for affordable, well-built solid-bodies, with modern looks and a great sound. Gibson, better known for it's high-end jazz guitars, responded by producing the KG guitar and KB bass lines, under the Kalamazoo brand. They were initially modelled on the Fender Mustang, though soon took the shape of the Gibson SG, which was rapidly rising in popularity. The resulting instruments used modern composite wood technology, Fender style construction and actual Gibson hardware. They looked good, played well, and sold in large quantities. See also Kalamazoo KG shipping figures, a 1966 Kalamazoo KG1 (single pickup) and listen to the Kalamazoo KG soundclips.
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Gibson / Monzino (Italy) guitar catalogue, 1971
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 Gibson / Monzino guitar catalogue, 1971. America saw numerous promotional publications from Gibson in the first years of the 1970s, but new models were coming and going at such a rate, that some never made it into print. Just one US catalogue was printed in 1971: the Low Impedance for High Performance mini-catalogue, which contained just the Gibson Les Paul Recording guitar, and the Gibson Les Paul Triumph bass. However other countries were producing their own literature, capturing a snapshot of the Gibson range not seen in print in the US. This brochure was printed by the new Italian distributors, Monzino, and shows several instruments yet to be seen in US catalogues (the SG range in particular) and one that would never make it: the Gibson SB400 bass.
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Gibson Victory MV series
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 The Gibson Victory MV (multi-voice) guitars were launched towards the end of 1981, with a production period lasting just over two years. There were two models, the Gibson Victory MV2 and the Gibson Victory MVX. Both were very fine passive guitars with maple bodies and set maple necks. They had coil-tapped pickups for either humbucking or single coil sounds, but neither managed to give Gibson the Victory they required in terms of sales.
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1969 Gibson SG Special
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 The Gibson SG came in several varieties; and the Special is a typical 60s Gibson in many ways. Naturally, it has a mahogany body with a set mahogany neck, in true Gibson style. The pickups are typical Gibson single coil P90s, and the control layout, too, is classic Gibson. Have a closer look, or check out the SG Special soundclips of this guitar, through various vintage amps.
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1979 Gibson ES-175D
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 A closer look at a 1979 Gibson ES-175D. By the late 1970s, the ES-175D had followed the path of most Gibson guitars and changed it's mahogany neck, in favour of a maple neck with volute. It didn't last long, and the neck was again mahogany by 1983. Details of the changes in the ES-175D over time are detailed in the ES-175 timeline.
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Older updates here
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Gibson ES-330TD
Thin line semi-acoustic guitar
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Gibson ES-330TD - Some Guitarists Have All the Fun
1968 Guitar Player add featuring the Gibson B25-12 flattop, GSS-100 amplifier, and two electrics, the Firebird III and the ES-330TD | 
Gibson ES-330TD - People Change To But Never From
1967 Selmer advert for the Gibson EB2 bass, ES-330 TD, ES-345 TD thinline electrics, and the S.J.N. acoustic. This British advert features the Gibson EB2 Bass as a background although it is not mentioned in the text. Selmer distributed Gibson guitars in the UK in the 60s and 70s |
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The sucess of the Gibson ES335, ES345 and ES355 models, launched in 1958, lead to a new cheaper model; the ES330. Although the same shape as the other models, the 330 had significant differences; the main being the lack of central maple block, and hence trapeze tailpiece; and a shorter neck (check) joining the body at the 16th fret (as opossed to the xxth of the 335.
It came in two variants; the one-pickup ES330T, and the two pickup ES330TD. The pickup was a single coil P90 rather than the humbucker of the other models.
A paragraph about shipping figures
A paragraph about colours
The following description is taken from the 1970 Gibson catalogue
ES-330TD
East to hold and play, the beautifully styled ES-330TDW produces clear, distinctive tones. Double cutaway body and thin silhouette with twin adjustable pickups. Available in three striking finishes.
FEATURES: Constructed from the finest curly maple. Chrome-plated metal parts. Slim, low-action, laminated mahogany neck, adjustable truss rod. Rosewood fingerboard, pearl dot inlays. Adjustable Tune-O-Matic bridge. Powerful pickups with individually adjustable pole-pieces. Separate tone and volume controls. Three-position toggle switch to activate either or both pickups. 16" wide, 19" long, 1 ¾" thin; 24 ¾" scale, 22 frets.
ES-330TD - Sunburst finish
ES-330TDW - Walnut finish
ES-330TDC - Cherry finish
529 - faultless plush-lined case
304 - Archcraft plush-lined case
104 - Durabilt case
ZC-19 - Zipper cover for 519 case
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similar models 335, fender coronado, hofner verithin
Back to the GIBSON INDEX | comment If you are looking for specific vintage guitars for sale, you may have to keep an eye on numerous vintage guitar stores, classifieds websites and ebay listings. Below are just the auctions - Vintage guitar stores tend to advertise theirs in their ebay online vintage guitar stores - have a look because there are some different listings.
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