Gibson 1959 ES-355 Reissue EB VOS

A special moment when you get a big box with a guitar at your doorstep! This is my first guitar that I bought online. The only reason I did this is because it is a Gibson custom shop guitar and it should therefor be absolutely perfect. Nothing less will do for that kind of price anyway.

My first impression when it came out of the box was its elegance. It is a beautiful guitar! Dressed up like a “black beauty”. The neck is impressive, a gorgeous deep black ebony touch and it plays wonderful. Not too chunky, just right. The setup and action are perfect, no screwdriver needed!

I have 4 other good Gibsons but once plugged in, you start to understand that this is a special guitar. The pickups are by far the best Gibson pickups I have had the pleasure to try. The sound is light and bright, not muddy, but not harsh or icy. For once I have a guitar with 3 distinguishable and very useful sounds. From Larry Carlton via BB King to Chuck Berry and Keith Richards! It’s all in there. It is not a hard rock guitar but it can seriously bite if it needs to and it works nicely with pedals.
It is also a guitar that allows you to play with the pots, they give you a wide range of tonal colours.

It is likely that all the details (like the pots and caps) are contributing to this wonderful sounding instrument. Whatever it is, Gibson custom shop got this one absolutely nailed! This will be my favourite guitar for the foreseeable future.

I like to add that, once again, Thomann delivered great service.

Super schöne und hochwertige Gitarre. Der Hals, sowie das Griffbrett sind ein Traum für die Hände bzw. Finger. Der Sound ist traumhaft und klingt typisch 59´Gibson made.
Das Finish und das Binding sehen wunderschön aus und verleihen der Gitarre einen wunderschönen Look.
Zusätzlich zu den Angaben war noch ein zweiter Toggle Cap in weiß dabei.
Das Zertifikat war leider falsch ausgestellt, Thomann hat sich darum gekümmert und von Gibson ein neues Zertifikat angefordert. Ich hätte deswegen 4.5 Sterne vergeben.

To own and play this guitar isn't just a great privilege, it's an amazing experience. There's no doubt that this instrument lives up to its prestigious historical heritage.
Apart from its stunning look, the first thing to notice is the exceptional playability. Of course, in electrics, the action is lower so they can be easier to play than acoustics. Still, with this guitar, it feels like your fingers are effortlessly running along the fretboard, added with the hypnotic effect of the mother of pearl detail. The voice of this guitar copes very well with both Jazz and Blues. For Jazz, I mostly use the bridge pick up; paired with a good amp, it produces this very distinct, mellow and yet expressive Jazz sound. Blues is also awesome with this instrument and tends to call for both pick ups on. Solid rock sounds are also great, strong, earthy and expressive. You get a distinct sense that this guitar can be pushed further as you get deep into play.
This guitar also copes so very well with different effects you may apply and I've not experienced feedback so far.
You'll also notice how well made it is but you'll definitely need a strong shoulder strap to hold it, even sitting otherwise it will slip as you play.
It's no easy to find the Ebony version - mine came straight from Nashville so I'm very grateful to Thomann to make this life dream possible.
Sure for most of us it's a lifetime investment but if you love music and playing with an excellent instrument that also looks fantastic, then this guitar is definitely worth it.