The Epiphone Ltd Ed ES-355 Semi Acoustic Guitar is a resurrection of one of the most iconic guitar designs
in rock.
When it was first introduced in 1958, the ES-355 style was the world’s first thinline archtop semi-electric guitar,
a bold new design that combined the cutting, bell-like sustain of a solid body with the darker, complex tones of an
archtop. The ES-355 also incorporated the humbucker pickup, a relatively new design that would also be quickly
embraced by both rock and blues players.
Many think of the ES-355 as one of the best electrics ever made and it’s found in the collection of all
discriminating guitarists including B.B. King, Keith Richards, Jorma Kaukonen, Chuck Berry, and Noel Gallagher. Now
with the Ltd. ES-355 you can have one in your collection, too.
The Ltd. Edition ES-355’s unique tonal range was the result of its groundbreaking design. A wood block runs through
the center of the body so the pickups are mounted much the same way as in a solid body guitar allowing for two hollow
chambered areas over the violin style f -holes and in the double cutaway wings.
The Ltd Edition ES-355 body is constructed of 5-layer laminated Maple and is available in three beautiful finishes:
Alpine White, Ebony, and classic Cherry. The solid Mahogany 24.75” SlimTaper 1960s “D” profile neck features an Ebony
fingerboard with a 12” radius and a 1.68” nut width. The neck has classic Mother-of-Pearl “Block” inlays and a vintage
style Mother-of-Pearl “Split Diamond” headstock design.
To top off the vintage styling, Epiphone included a “Tortoise” style pickguard with multi-binding. Tuning stability
is assured with gold Grover 14:1 ratio machine heads, a gold Epiphone LockTone Tune-o-matic bridge and a gold Bigsby
Tremelo. The volume and tone knobs, one for each pickup, are Black Speed with pointers for easy reference while on
stage.
No detail of the original ES-355 has been missed. The Ltd Edition ES-355 incorporates Alnico ClassicTM humbuckers
in the neck and bridge position. Patterned after the original Gibson '57 Classics, the Alnico Classic pickups use
Alnico-V magnets with enamel wire to give you a tone that is warm and subtle with full, even response that will still
give you that classic humbucker overdrive when you need it!
The 3-way Epiphone Toggle/pickup selector switch is a deep, aged vintage yellow and is wired for the standard
configuration with position one controlling the neck pickup’s volume and tone while position two controls the bridge
pickup’s volume and tone.
Epiphone Ltd Ed ES-355 main features include:
- Body Material Laminated Maple
- Neck Material Mahogany
- Neck Shape SlimTaper; 1960's D-profile
- Neck Joint Glued-In, Set Neck
- Binding Body: 5-Layer; White/Black, Neck: 1-Layer; White, Headstock: 5-Layer; White/Black
- Scale Length 24.75"
- Fingerboard Material Ebony
- Fingerboard Radius 12"
- Fingerboard Inlays Mother-of-Pearl "Blocks"
- Headstock Inlay Mother-of-Pearl "Split Diamond"
- Pickguard Imitation "Tortoise" with multi-binding
- Nut Width 1.68"
- Hardware Gold
- Machine Heads Grover; 14:1 ratio
- Neck Pickup Alnico Classic Humbucker
- Bridge Pickup Alnico Classic Plus Humbucker
- Controls 1-Neck Volume, 1-Neck Tone, 1-Bridge Volume, 1-Bridge Tone
- Knobs Black Speed Knobs with pointers
- Pickup Selector 3-way Toggle Switch, Epiphone All-Metal
- Bridge Epiphone LockTone Tune-o-matic
- Tailpiece Bigsby Tremolo
- Truss Rod Adjustable
- Truss Rod Cover Bell Shaped; 2-layer; Blank
Epiphone Ltd Ed ES-355 Semi Acoustic Guitar, Cherry (code 86480)
6-String Semi Acoustic Guitar, Laminated Maple Body, Mahogany Neck, Bigsby Tremolo, Gold Hardware, Cherry
£499.00 (inc vat)