John Frusciante’s 1961 Gibson ES-335

Brand: Gibson

Model: ES-335

This 1961 Gibson ES-335 was photographed during John’s 2009 Vintage Guitar interview and has also been spotted in a few photos taken at his home. It’s one of the guitars he rarely uses and one of the few he bought mainly because Steve Howe of Yes played them.

The Les Paul is a ’69, but I’m not sure what years the ES-175 and 335 are from. I don’t play those much; I bought them because Steve Howe played them, but they don’t really go with my style that well. I feel like Strats are an extension of me, and a Jaguar feels like the next closest thing to being an extension of me. Les Pauls and SGs seem like a further stretch.
John Frusciante, Red Hot On The Empyrean

John Frusciante at his house, with the 1961 Gibson ES-335 photographed sitting in the middle.

From the photos, it’s clear that the guitar originally had a fixed bridge but was later converted to include a Bigsby tremolo.

Dave Simpson’s Video

In 2020, this guitar was sold to Matthieu Lucas of Matt’s Guitar Shop, an Argentinian guitar collector. Dave Simpson, a familiar name if you’re researching John Frusciante, had the chance to play this exact guitar in a recent video (linked below).