1968 Gibson ES-335 Blonde/Natural

Well, this is kind of interesting. It sure looks like a blonde ES-340. It's got the 5 piece maple neck and the birch plywood body but it's not a 340. The label says 335 and the circuit says 335. It's kind of beat up but it plays very well and sounds excellent. I'm used to playing 58's and 59's so I have to recalibrate my ears for the late 60's. It's bright and the fingerboard is narrow but it's loaded with character. It drives the amp hard and has a balanced set of pickups. I haven't pulled them but they are almost certainly pre T-tops (I'll check in a day or two). Nearly all 68's (contrary to conventional wisdom) have pre T's. It's mostly original-only the tuners have been changed to Grovers and the truss rod cover is wrong. The case is not original-it's a 70's case. This is a pre Norlin guitar made by a lot of the same folks who were making the venerable 58-64's. I'm guessing this was a factory prototype for the ES-340 or an employee guitars. A blonde 335 was not offered in 68 and the birch body wasn't used until 69 (on the 340). The finish is discolored and flaking a bit on the lower bass bout but it doesn't affect the playability or the tone. Just honest wear (and maybe a little abuse).