This very rare 1966 Gibson ES-330 in original factory Black finish just came through the shop from its second owner. Its third owner is long time Gibson ES-330 guitar player Matty Healy with The 1975. While the Gibson ES-330 model from 1966 isn't rare, the factory Black finish on this model is unheard of. I'm thrilled that this one is going back to work touring the world and making great music.
As a Gibson guitar collector, I'm always on the hunt for the nicest examples of Gibson guitars made in the 1950s and 1960s. If you're considering selling a factory Black Gibson guitar from this time period then you can contact me here: Sell a Gibson.
Matty's new black Gibson is an ES-330 model which was introduced by Gibson in 1959. The ES-330 is a thin body, fully hollow electric guitar with two P-90 pickups and a neck joint at the 16th fret. It differs from the ES-335 since it has a solid center block, humbucking pickups, and a neck joint at the 19th fret. The standard color for the ES-330 in 1966 was either Sunburst or Cherry Red, but custom color finishes can be found. I've seen them in Sparkling Burgundy and Pelham Blue but this was the first one I've seen in factory Black finish.
| The surviving shipment ledgers from Gibson indicate that 2,000 standard ES-330s and 1,151 Cherry ES-330s were made in 1966. I think it's likely that most of the standard ES-330s were Sunburst but some in that number included custom colors like Black. The Gibson shipment ledger below shows that this Black ES-330, serial number 432658, shipped from Gibson on May 5th, 1966. The model listed is simply "ES-330 TD" with no indication that this was a special factory Black finish. You can check out more about Gibson serial numbers here: Gibson Serial Numbers. |
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The first that Matty used the 1966 Gibson ES-330 Black with The 1975 was at the Nashville, TN show on November 13, 2022 at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium. You can watch a video of him introducing his new guitar here:
Another guitar that Matty plays with The 1975 is the 1962 Fender Stratocaster in original Fiesta Red finish. This guitar is actually owned by my friend and Dirty Hit label owner Jamie Oborne. I purchased this Stratocaster from the brother of its original owner outside of London in the UK. The 1975 borrows the red Stratocaster from Jamie for touring. You can check out more information on that guitar here: Matty Healy Red Stratocaster.
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