This beautiful Gibson ES-350T was born in 1992. If you've done any reading
on the history of the ES-350T, that might at first seem confusing, as most
sources would lead you to believe that none of these great guitars were made
between 1981 and 1998. But that's not correct. This ES-350T is part of a limited
run of vintage sunburst finish ES-350Ts produced in 1992.
With a 23.5" scale, the original ES-350T shared a lineage with the better
known Gibson Byrdland. However, this 350T has the far more popular
25.5"
scale, and a 1 11/16" nut. Other features include a four-ply
pickguard, gold bell knobs, a Tun-o-matic bridge saddle with rosewood base,
and an ornate trapeze tailpiece with "350-T" engraved in the string
harness. The 22-fret rosewood fingerboard is inlayed with double-parallelograms.
The top, back and sides are of figured curly maple. There's a multilayered
binding body (ivoroid with black/white purfling) and the neck, peghead, and
f-holes are bound in a single ivoroid layer. All hardware is gold in color.
The pickup complement consists of two Gibson PAF humbuckers, with two volume
and two tone controls, as well as a three way switch.
This ES-350T plays wonderfully and sounds terrific both plugged in and unplugged.
Action is easy and comfortable. I gave this guitar a workout at my band rehearsal
last week, and the sound was staggering. Full and punchy through a clean amp,
this guitar also sings and growls beautifully through a more cranked amp -
a very crystalline, glassy tone that really took me by surprise.
This guitar is in excellent shape, with one single cosmetic issue. There is
a finish check on the neck heel, which culminates in a spot of bare wood with
a small chunk missing. The previous owner said that the check was temperature-induced,
and while that may be, I figure the guitar probably took a small knock on
the heel as well. You can see all of this clearly in one of the pictures below.
Someone has added a strap pin at the base of the neck heel, as well. This
guitar has been thoroughly checked out by myself and my tech, and the check
is definitely cosmetic only. This guitar is solid!
