Gibson Custom CS-336 Figured Top Gloss, Faded Cherry

Gibson Custom CS-336 Figured Top Gloss, Faded Cherry Overview

Gibson Custom CS-336 Figured Top Gloss, Faded Cherry Overview.

Ever since 1958, when Gibson introduced the first semi-hollowbody electric guitar, the timeless ES-335, the company's engineers have been fine-tuning the concept of combining the classic look of a hollowbody with the performance of a solidbody. Debuting in 2001, the CS-336 is the ultimate result of that quest and it is a true Gibson Custom Shop beauty.

The CS-336 delivers the classic look of the 335 with its elegantly tapered figured-top but the Custom Shop's engineers have enhanced the CS-336's playability. Although the CS-336 has the same body lines as the ES-335, the model is scaled down to provide solidbody style comfort. And its neck has the slim, "fast" profile of vintage '60s Gibson guitars.

To create truly great resonating properties, the back and sides of the CS-336 are a single piece of mahogany that is shaped inside and out like a classic Gibson archtop, but with a solid center beam running the length of the body from the neck tenon to the tail block. The model's solid, two-piece maple top is also carved inside and out to the shape and thickness of ES-series archtops, but it, too, has a solid center section that matches up to the center beam of the body. And before each CS-336 leaves the Custom Shop it is checked and adjusted by one of Gibson's highly trained technicians, ensuring the ultimate ready-to-play set-up.

The overall body size is an ultra-comfortable 13-inches wide, 16 inches long, and 1 11/16th-inches deep. The CS-336 has two Gibson '57 Classic humbucking pickups along with the historic Gibson two tone pot, two volume pot, one three-way selector switch control configuration and an ABR-1 bridge.

Another factor in the CS-336's gorgeous sustain is its one-piece mahogany neck supporting a 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with pearloid dot inlays, designed to a vintage 1960 taper neck profile. Its scale length is a comfortable 24 3/4-inches with a 1 11/16th-inch wide nut. Plays and sounds as good as it looks!