Gibson Introduces CS-356 Semi-Hollow Guitar
September 6, 2002
When Orville Gibson stated his desire to create an instrument with integrated back and sides construction over 100 years ago, he couldn't have imagined how long it would take to actually happen. After over a century of work, Orville's dream finally became a reality in 2001 in the shape of the Gibson Custom, Art & Historic Division's CS-336. Now, with the introduction of the elegant
CS-356, Gibson Custom continues to build upon the achievements embodied in the CS-336.
Like the CS-336, the CS-356 is a tonally carved guitar, meaning that the back, center block, and sides are carved from a single piece of mahogany into the classic, double cutaway body outline of a Gibson ES-335. The two-piece maple top is also carved, and has a corresponding solid center area that matches up with that of the back. The result is a guitar with woody tone and the resonance of a chambered semi-hollow guitar. The CS-356 also boasts the same slightly scaled down body size and slim taper neck found on the CS-336, which facilitate comfortable playing.
While the heart and soul of the two CS models are consistent, the aesthetic appointments differ greatly; and just as the ES-335 had the more elegant ES-355 to look up to, the CS-336 now has the CS-356 as a big brother. Aside from the tonally carved top and back, the CS-356 includes many of the same upscale features originally seen on the ES-355, including multi-ply binding on the top, back and headstock, pearl split diamond inlay on the headstock, ebony fingerboard with pearl block inlay, gold hardware and a multi-bound tortoise shell pickguard.
Ironically, most of the innovations that led to Orville's vision becoming a reality were focused on the top of the guitar rather than the back and sides. The evolution started in the 1930s with the first electric guitars, such as ES-100, ES-125 and ES-150, whose carved spruce top required more substantial support than that of an acoustic (some were even fitted with support posts). By the late '40s Gibson had introduced a laminated maple top, pressed into an arched shape, to further strengthen the top - and, significantly, to reduce feedback -- on a wide range of electric hollowbodies, from the low end ES-125 to the more elegant ES-5 and ES-175. The ES-335 of 1958 brought the laminated top and back together with a solid maple center block that had a positive effect on tone while giving the top more support. These semi-hollowbody guitars became legends in the hands of such players as B.B. King, Larry Carlton and Chuck Berry and remain the industry standards. The next step in semi-hollowbody evolution came in 1996, when the Custom Shop unveiled the ES-336, with a one-piece, routed mahogany back and a contoured maple top. The tonally carved CS-336 and CS-356, with centerblock and top bracing as an integral part of the back and top pieces, represent the final step of the journey and the realization of a century-old dream.
For more information, visit their web site at www.gibson.com. |
