Paul McCartney’s Guitarist Gets A Signature Guitar

Gibson Memphis has introduced the Rusty Anderson ES-335, a signature guitar in honour of Paul McCartney’s touring lead guitarist since 2001. Rusty Anderson has been a first-call session player and collaborator over an extensive career. His signature riffs have graced the recordings of Elton John, Joe Cocker, the Bangles, Neil Diamond, the Wallflowers, Sinéad O’Connor, Ricky Martin, Willie Nelson and dozens of others. And throughout, Rusty has remained a diehard Gibson player. Here’s Gibson’s description of the new guitar…

The Rusty Anderson ES-335 has all the features of the most desirable vintage 1958-’59 Gibson ES-335 “dot necks” (including the distinctive double-cutaway maple body with solid maple ” no window” centerblock), two custom-spec PAF-style humbucking pickups, a hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard, vintage-correct binding, nickel hardware, and a luscious Vintage Natural finish in nitrocellulose lacquer, treated to Gibson’s proprietary VOS process for a gently aged look.

The craftspeople at Gibson Memphis have meticulously studied and measured an exceptionally well-preserved example of a 1959 ES-335, and it shows in every detail of the Rusty Anderson model. From neck shape, to body contours, to coloring and components, this is the real-deal vintage ES-335 experience. And to top it all off, that legendary tone is there in spades: from warm, rich jazz, to snappy funk and rhythm, to blistering all-out rock and roll, this guitar nails it all with the best of ’em. Dare to experience it now at your authorized Gibson Memphis dealer.

Body and Neck

Patterned on the original vintage 1959 ES-335, the Rusty Anderson ES-335’s body is made from laminated maple with a solid, lightweight maple center block, spruce braces, and cedar rim liners. The neck is carved from solid quarter-sawn mahogany to a superbly comfortable rounded ’59 profile. The hand-selected dark rosewood fingerboard has simple dot position markers and vintage-correct binding, and is topped with a period-correct nylon nut. In its nitrocellulose Vintage Natural VOS finish, with aniline dye grain filler on the neck the Rusty Anderson ES-335 looks, feels, and sounds like a prized vintage ES-335 built nearly 55 years ago.

Pickups and Electronics

The Rusty Anderson ES-335 is equipped with two specially designed CustomBucker humbucking pickups, recreated from precise study of prized vintage PAF humbuckers. Made with genuine Alnico II and Alnico V magnets and slightly mismatched, unspotted coils scatter-wound with 42 AWG wire, these pickups translate the guitar’s sonic splendor into the throaty warmth and singing overdrive of the finest ES-335s ever made, with characteristic PAF clarity and bite at every turn. CTS™ potentiometers with “Bumblebee” tone caps ensure an authentically vintage signal path all the way to the output. Gibson Memphis ordered the potentiometers from CTS™ with their tightest tolerance (+/- 5%). They are 550K audio taper with heavy carbon pads. Gibson Memphis measured each resistance on each pot, matched and then built sets accordingly.

Hardware

Gibson Memphis brings the vintage vibe home with single-ring Kluson™ tuners, a nylon nut, original “no wire” ABR-1 Bridge, and a lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece with old-style long-anchor studs–all contributing to superb resonance and sustain, as well as period-correct looks. All hardware is nickel plated, and gently aged in Gibson’s VOS process. Period-correct ’59 pickguard with period correct truss-rod and cover and historically accurate binding sizes and colors are the finishing touches on a stunning Artist guitar.

Case and Coverage

Every Rusty Anderson ES-335 comes protected in a tan hardshell case with plush charcoal lining, and includes a Gibson Memphis Certificate of Authenticity and Gibson’s Limited Lifetime Warranty and 24/7/365 customer service.

Features

• Semi-hollow body made from laminated maple
• Bound dark Rosewood fingerboard with dot inlays
• Pair of CustomBucker Humbucking Pickups in the neck and bridge positions
• Nickel plated ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge and lightweight aluminum stopbar tailpiece
• Kluson™ single-ring tulip button tuners with 15:1 tuning ratio