Gibson’s first major endorsement-led electric guitar, the Les Paul model failed to set the market on fire during its initial run, from 1952 to ’60. But the thinline semi-hollowbody ES-335 that joined the company’s lineup in 1958 was much closer to an overnight success. The seminal semihollow design immediately proved to be one of the world’s most versatile electric guitars, and it has retained that reputation ever since. And just as Gibson had extended the Les Paul range in 1953 with the Custom model, a.k.a. Black Beauty, the company added to the ES lineup
