Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson teams up with Gibson to create his new signature ES-335.
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This new signature represents what Rich loves about vintage ’60s ES-335 guitars – antique looks, classic tones and the added expressive control of a Bigsby Vibrato tailpiece.
Following traditional ES-335 builds, this signature guitar has an arched laminate maple body with 3 ply maple/poplar/maple for the top and back. It has a solid center block that helps reduce feedback when playing loud, and categorizes the guitar as semi-hollow.
Robinson had the guitar finished in nitrocellulose lacquer, with a faded-cherry color that is made possible via Gibson’s VOS artificial aging technology. Aged vintage binding is also used to complement the finish.
The neck of the guitar is made of mahogany with maple spline. It is topped by a one-piece dark rosewood fretboard with a neck Radius of 12″. The nut width of the Rich Robinson ES-335 is slightly wider than traditional ES-335 guitars, at 1.711″. Complementing the ’60s appeal of the guitar are small block inlays that serve as markers on the fretboard.
To get the sound that fits the Black Crowes style of rock’n’roll, Gibson equipped the guitar with a pair of BurstBucker pickups. They are based on the PAF design, described to produce fat yet articulate tones. The pickups are routed to a 3-way switchcraft pickup selector with independent volume and tone knobs (black top hat with silver inserts).
The Bigsby B-7 adds to the guitar’s expressive capabilities and vintage looks. It also features a traditional “Custom Made” plate to cover the stopbar stud holes. Other hardware listed on the specs sheet include nickel ABR bridge, Kluson single ring tuners with tulip buttons and a 5-ply pickguard.
The MSRP for the new Rich Robinson ES-335 is $3,799. Visit Gibson for more information.
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