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  1. Guitars

Gibson announces Rusty Anderson ES-335

News
By Rob Power published 1 October 2013

Signature for Paul McCartney guitarist

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Gibson anounces Rusty Anderson ES-335

Gibson anounces Rusty Anderson ES-335

Gibson has announced the Rusty Anderson ES-335 in honour of the long-time Paul McCartney sideman.

Anderson has become a familiar face as the lead guitarist in Paul McCartney's touring band, of which he has been a member of since 2001. The session man has also appeared alongside the likes of Elton John, Willie Nelson and many more in a career that stretches back to the early '90s.

His Gibson signature ES-335 has been built by Gibson Memphis to emulate the look and feel of a 1959 ES-335, and includes a pair of custom-spec PAF pickups, nickel hardware and a dark rosewood fingerboard.

If you fancy pretending you're stood next to Macca, the Rusty Anderson ES-335 has an SRP of $5221 (that's approximately £3215), so you'd better brace your wallet for the hit.

For more information, visit the official Gibson website.

Gibson press release

Rusty Anderson ES-335

As if working as Paul McCartney’s touring lead guitarist since 2001 wasn’t enough, Rusty Anderson has been a first-call session player and collaborator over an extensive career. His signature riffs have graced the recordings of Elton John, Joe Cocker, the Bangles, Neil Diamond, the Wallflowers, Sinéad O’Connor, Ricky Martin, Willie Nelson and dozens of others. And throughout, Rusty has remained a diehard Gibson player.

In honor of this uncompromising artist’s achievements and distinctive tone, Gibson Memphis introduces the Rusty Anderson ES-335. Appointed like the vintage ES-335 of your dreams, this guitar encompasses everything that has made Gibson’s legendary semi so popular: great looks, an unparalleled playing feel, and the sonic versatility to take on everything in its path.

The Rusty Anderson ES-335 has all the features of the most desirable vintage 1958-’59 Gibson ES-335 “dot necks” (including the distinctive double-cutaway maple body with solid maple “ no window” centerblock), two custom-spec PAF-style humbucking pickups, a hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard, vintage-correct binding, nickel hardware, and a luscious Vintage Natural finish in nitrocellulose lacquer, treated to Gibson’s proprietary VOS process for a gently aged look.

The craftspeople at Gibson Memphis have meticulously studied and measured an exceptionally well-preserved example of a 1959 ES-335, and it shows in every detail of the Rusty Anderson model. From neck shape, to body contours, to coloring and components, this is the real-deal vintage ES-335 experience. And to top it all off, that legendary tone is there in spades: from warm, rich jazz, to snappy funk and rhythm, to blistering all-out rock and roll, this guitar nails it all with the best of ’em. Dare to experience it now at your authorized Gibson Memphis dealer.

Body and Neck

Patterned on the original vintage 1959 ES-335, the Rusty Anderson ES-335’s body is made from laminated maple with a solid, lightweight maple center block, spruce braces, and cedar rim liners. The neck is carved from solid quarter-sawn mahogany to a superbly comfortable rounded ’59 profile. The hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard has simple dot position markers and vintage-correct binding, and is topped with a period-correct nylon nut. In its nitrocellulose Vintage Natural VOS finish, with aniline dye grain filler on the neck the Rusty Anderson ES-335 looks, feels, and sounds like a prized vintage ES-335 built nearly 55 years ago.

Pickups and Electronics

The Rusty Anderson ES-335 is equipped with two specially designed CustomBucker humbucking pickups, recreated from precise study of prized vintage PAF humbuckers. Made with genuine Alnico II and Alnico V magnets and slightly mismatched, unspotted coils scatter-wound with 42 AWG wire, these pickups translate the guitar’s sonic splendor into the throaty warmth and singing overdrive of the finest ES-335s ever made, with characteristic PAF clarity and bite at every turn. CTS™ potentiometers with “Bumblebee” tone caps ensure an authentically vintage signal path all the way to the output. Gibson Memphis ordered the potentiometers from CTS™ with their tightest tolerance (+/- 5%). They are 550K audio taper with heavy carbon pads. Gibson Memphis measured each resistance on each pot, matched and then built sets accordingly.

Hardware

Gibson Memphis brings the vintage vibe home with single-ring Kluson™ tuners, a nylon nut, original “no wire” ABR-1 Bridge, and a lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece with old-style long-anchor studs—all contributing to superb resonance and sustain, as well as period-correct looks. All hardware is nickel plated, and gently aged in Gibson’s VOS process. Period-correct ’59 pickguard with period correct truss-rod and cover and historically accurate binding sizes and colors are the finishing touches on a stunning Artist guitar.

Page 1 of 3
Page 1 of 3
Rusty Anderson ES-335 side

Rusty Anderson ES-335 side

Gibson has announced the Rusty Anderson ES-335 in honour of the long-time Paul McCartney sideman.

Anderson has become a familiar face as the lead guitarist in Paul McCartney's touring band, of which he has been a member of since 2001. The session man has also appeared alongside the likes of Elton John, Willie Nelson and many more in a career that stretches back to the early '90s.

His Gibson signature ES-335 has been built by Gibson Memphis to emulate the look and feel of a 1959 ES-335, and includes a pair of custom-spec PAF pickups, nickel hardware and a dark rosewood fingerboard.

If you fancy pretending you're stood next to Macca, the Rusty Anderson ES-335 has an SRP of $5221 (that's approximately £3215), so you'd better brace your wallet for the hit.

For more information, visit the official Gibson website.

Gibson press release

Rusty Anderson ES-335

As if working as Paul McCartney’s touring lead guitarist since 2001 wasn’t enough, Rusty Anderson has been a first-call session player and collaborator over an extensive career. His signature riffs have graced the recordings of Elton John, Joe Cocker, the Bangles, Neil Diamond, the Wallflowers, Sinéad O’Connor, Ricky Martin, Willie Nelson and dozens of others. And throughout, Rusty has remained a diehard Gibson player.

In honor of this uncompromising artist’s achievements and distinctive tone, Gibson Memphis introduces the Rusty Anderson ES-335. Appointed like the vintage ES-335 of your dreams, this guitar encompasses everything that has made Gibson’s legendary semi so popular: great looks, an unparalleled playing feel, and the sonic versatility to take on everything in its path.

The Rusty Anderson ES-335 has all the features of the most desirable vintage 1958-’59 Gibson ES-335 “dot necks” (including the distinctive double-cutaway maple body with solid maple “ no window” centerblock), two custom-spec PAF-style humbucking pickups, a hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard, vintage-correct binding, nickel hardware, and a luscious Vintage Natural finish in nitrocellulose lacquer, treated to Gibson’s proprietary VOS process for a gently aged look.

The craftspeople at Gibson Memphis have meticulously studied and measured an exceptionally well-preserved example of a 1959 ES-335, and it shows in every detail of the Rusty Anderson model. From neck shape, to body contours, to coloring and components, this is the real-deal vintage ES-335 experience. And to top it all off, that legendary tone is there in spades: from warm, rich jazz, to snappy funk and rhythm, to blistering all-out rock and roll, this guitar nails it all with the best of ’em. Dare to experience it now at your authorized Gibson Memphis dealer.

Body and Neck

Patterned on the original vintage 1959 ES-335, the Rusty Anderson ES-335’s body is made from laminated maple with a solid, lightweight maple center block, spruce braces, and cedar rim liners. The neck is carved from solid quarter-sawn mahogany to a superbly comfortable rounded ’59 profile. The hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard has simple dot position markers and vintage-correct binding, and is topped with a period-correct nylon nut. In its nitrocellulose Vintage Natural VOS finish, with aniline dye grain filler on the neck the Rusty Anderson ES-335 looks, feels, and sounds like a prized vintage ES-335 built nearly 55 years ago.

Pickups and Electronics

The Rusty Anderson ES-335 is equipped with two specially designed CustomBucker humbucking pickups, recreated from precise study of prized vintage PAF humbuckers. Made with genuine Alnico II and Alnico V magnets and slightly mismatched, unspotted coils scatter-wound with 42 AWG wire, these pickups translate the guitar’s sonic splendor into the throaty warmth and singing overdrive of the finest ES-335s ever made, with characteristic PAF clarity and bite at every turn. CTS™ potentiometers with “Bumblebee” tone caps ensure an authentically vintage signal path all the way to the output. Gibson Memphis ordered the potentiometers from CTS™ with their tightest tolerance (+/- 5%). They are 550K audio taper with heavy carbon pads. Gibson Memphis measured each resistance on each pot, matched and then built sets accordingly.

Hardware

Gibson Memphis brings the vintage vibe home with single-ring Kluson™ tuners, a nylon nut, original “no wire” ABR-1 Bridge, and a lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece with old-style long-anchor studs—all contributing to superb resonance and sustain, as well as period-correct looks. All hardware is nickel plated, and gently aged in Gibson’s VOS process. Period-correct ’59 pickguard with period correct truss-rod and cover and historically accurate binding sizes and colors are the finishing touches on a stunning Artist guitar.

Page 2 of 3
Page 2 of 3
Rusty Anderson ES-335 back

Rusty Anderson ES-335 back

Gibson has announced the Rusty Anderson ES-335 in honour of the long-time Paul McCartney sideman.

Anderson has become a familiar face as the lead guitarist in Paul McCartney's touring band, of which he has been a member of since 2001. The session man has also appeared alongside the likes of Elton John, Willie Nelson and many more in a career that stretches back to the early '90s.

His Gibson signature ES-335 has been built by Gibson Memphis to emulate the look and feel of a 1959 ES-335, and includes a pair of custom-spec PAF pickups, nickel hardware and a dark rosewood fingerboard.

If you fancy pretending you're stood next to Macca, the Rusty Anderson ES-335 has an SRP of $5221 (that's approximately £3215), so you'd better brace your wallet for the hit.

For more information, visit the official Gibson website.

Gibson press release

Rusty Anderson ES-335

As if working as Paul McCartney’s touring lead guitarist since 2001 wasn’t enough, Rusty Anderson has been a first-call session player and collaborator over an extensive career. His signature riffs have graced the recordings of Elton John, Joe Cocker, the Bangles, Neil Diamond, the Wallflowers, Sinéad O’Connor, Ricky Martin, Willie Nelson and dozens of others. And throughout, Rusty has remained a diehard Gibson player.

In honor of this uncompromising artist’s achievements and distinctive tone, Gibson Memphis introduces the Rusty Anderson ES-335. Appointed like the vintage ES-335 of your dreams, this guitar encompasses everything that has made Gibson’s legendary semi so popular: great looks, an unparalleled playing feel, and the sonic versatility to take on everything in its path.

The Rusty Anderson ES-335 has all the features of the most desirable vintage 1958-’59 Gibson ES-335 “dot necks” (including the distinctive double-cutaway maple body with solid maple “ no window” centerblock), two custom-spec PAF-style humbucking pickups, a hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard, vintage-correct binding, nickel hardware, and a luscious Vintage Natural finish in nitrocellulose lacquer, treated to Gibson’s proprietary VOS process for a gently aged look.

The craftspeople at Gibson Memphis have meticulously studied and measured an exceptionally well-preserved example of a 1959 ES-335, and it shows in every detail of the Rusty Anderson model. From neck shape, to body contours, to coloring and components, this is the real-deal vintage ES-335 experience. And to top it all off, that legendary tone is there in spades: from warm, rich jazz, to snappy funk and rhythm, to blistering all-out rock and roll, this guitar nails it all with the best of ’em. Dare to experience it now at your authorized Gibson Memphis dealer.

Body and Neck

Patterned on the original vintage 1959 ES-335, the Rusty Anderson ES-335’s body is made from laminated maple with a solid, lightweight maple center block, spruce braces, and cedar rim liners. The neck is carved from solid quarter-sawn mahogany to a superbly comfortable rounded ’59 profile. The hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard has simple dot position markers and vintage-correct binding, and is topped with a period-correct nylon nut. In its nitrocellulose Vintage Natural VOS finish, with aniline dye grain filler on the neck the Rusty Anderson ES-335 looks, feels, and sounds like a prized vintage ES-335 built nearly 55 years ago.

Pickups and Electronics

The Rusty Anderson ES-335 is equipped with two specially designed CustomBucker humbucking pickups, recreated from precise study of prized vintage PAF humbuckers. Made with genuine Alnico II and Alnico V magnets and slightly mismatched, unspotted coils scatter-wound with 42 AWG wire, these pickups translate the guitar’s sonic splendor into the throaty warmth and singing overdrive of the finest ES-335s ever made, with characteristic PAF clarity and bite at every turn. CTS™ potentiometers with “Bumblebee” tone caps ensure an authentically vintage signal path all the way to the output. Gibson Memphis ordered the potentiometers from CTS™ with their tightest tolerance (+/- 5%). They are 550K audio taper with heavy carbon pads. Gibson Memphis measured each resistance on each pot, matched and then built sets accordingly.

Hardware

Gibson Memphis brings the vintage vibe home with single-ring Kluson™ tuners, a nylon nut, original “no wire” ABR-1 Bridge, and a lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece with old-style long-anchor studs—all contributing to superb resonance and sustain, as well as period-correct looks. All hardware is nickel plated, and gently aged in Gibson’s VOS process. Period-correct ’59 pickguard with period correct truss-rod and cover and historically accurate binding sizes and colors are the finishing touches on a stunning Artist guitar.

Page 3 of 3
Page 3 of 3
Rob Power
Read more
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