Gibson ES-335

In 1957, Gibson realeased the world's first commercial semi-hollowbody electric guitar, the ES-335. this guitar differs from other electric guitars in that it is neither quite hollow nor solid. Instead a solid wood block runs through the center of its body, but the sides are hollow, sporting violin-style f-holes.

Its origins lie in the world's first solid-body electric: Les Paul's "The Log",which was simply a block of wood with a neck, electronics, and the sides of an Epiphone archtop guitar screwed on.

The ES-335 and other semi-hollowbody guitars have a rather distinctive, "woody" sound, mellower than solid-bodies, but retain their high sustain and low feedback. Due to their sonic flexibility, 335s have found popularity in nearly all genres of popular music, from jazz to rock.

B.B. King was the first well-known guitarist to make the 335 his main guitar, or rather the fancier ES-355, called Lucille, almost exclusively through his career. His endorsement with Gibson began in 1980, with his signature "Lucille" model, which basically is a black ES-355 without f-holes.