Gibson | ES-345 Semi-Hollow

The ES-345 (semi-hollow) was first produced in 1958 as an upscale version of the ES-335. Although the design is very similar to the 335, the 345 featured a multi-position “Varitone” switch located just above the lead tone and volume controls, which added various combinations of inductors and capacitors to the electronic pickup circuit of the guitar in order to alter its resonant frequency and add “color” to the sound. The ES-345 also featured an optional stereophonic output jack, gold plated hardware, large split parallelogram fingerboard inlays (similar to ES 175), and a thicker three-ply edge binding than that of the ES-335.

Notable users include B.B. King, Freddie King, Bill Nelson, Jorma Kaukonen, Fred Frith, Porl Thompson of The Cure, Steve Howe, Elvin Bishop and the character of Marty McFly in the 1985 comedy film Back to the Future. British guitar player John McLaughlin used a walnut ES-345 with a scalloped fretboard.

The ES-345 was discontinued in 1981, one year after the Gibson Lucille, based on the ES-355 (see below), was launched. As of 2012, the ES-345 is available as a limited edition from Gibson’s discount line,
Epiphone Guitars, as well as the ES-355. The differences between two models are:
The headstock inlay on ES-345 is a “small crown” rather than the “split-diamond” custom inlay on the ES-355.

The position markers on ES-345 are “double parallelogram” rather than the “block” inlays used on the ES-355. Also, the first fret on the ES-345 is not inlaid.

The stereo output wiring and the Varitone was factory-installed on the ES-345 and ES-355TD-SV, but not on the unmodified ES-355TD (mono version).

The vibrato unit (Vibrola or Bigsby) was an option on the ES-345; In contrast, it was factory-installed on most ES-355s (except for the earlier models in the 1950s, final models after 1979, and Lucille).