Through the course of more than five decades and myriad shifting musical styles, the ES-335 has remained one of the most popular electric guitars of all time. Its ingenious blend of hollowbody warmth and complexity and solidbody bite and sustain made it arguably the most versatile guitar available when Gibson introduced the model in 1958, and that design imperative hasn't changed today.

For some players more accustomed to the slimmer lines and more compact dimensions of a solidbody electric, though, the standard ES-335 can feel just a little large and unwieldy. Enter the Gibson Custom Shop's ES-339, a guitar built to the design ethos of its predecessor the ES-335, but fashioned to proportions closer to those of the legendary Gibson solidbodies such as the Les Paul and SG. The gently arched top with real f-holes, thinline semi-hollow body, solid maple center block to reduce feedback and enhance sustain, rounded symmetrical cutaways with unparalleled upper-fret access-all here, minus a little of the bulk and weight.