1960 Gibson ES-335. 58 FON, Big Neck, Thin top

When I buy dot neck 335's I look for examples that have particular features. You can't go strictly by the year the guitar was shipped because these features don't always follow the features of a given year. I look for 335's with the thin top-three ply as opposed to four ply-that were made in 1958. I look for 335's with that big fat neck profile found in 58 and the first half of 59. I look for the "in between" neck angle that is still shallow but allows for a full height ABR-1 bridge dialed down almost so it sits on the top of the guitar. II have found that this combination of features accounts for 6 out my "top ten" 335's. So, why not just buy a 58? Because the early 58's had unbound necks (which is fine if like that) and all but the very late 58's had very shallow neck angles that usually require a full size ABR-1 to be shaved slightly. So, I look for 59's that have a 1958 factory order number which means the construction was started in 1958. Thin top (58 FON) 335's shipped in 59 are rare but they do exist and I've seen at least a dozen of them. I'm sure there are plenty more. Less common is a 1960 335 with a 58 FON. Ive seen 4 of them and I've owned three. All have had the proper neck angle, thin top and big fat neck. I don't know how these few 58 bodies and necks ended up with a 60 serial number but they are out there. So, you get all the best features of a 58 (thin top, fat neck) and some good 59 features (good neck angle and big frets) and, best of all, you get the price of a 1960. This one is all original and in 9/10 condition. It has some dings here and there but no checking at all. The frets are original as are all the parts except for the tuner tips. It is a factory stop tail. It appears to have had other tuners at some point but there are no extra holes anywhere-just the slight mark of a washer around the shafts. Pickups are sealed PAFs. Harness has bumblebee caps (another 59 feature) and 59 date codes. This is killer player and is beautifully balanced-pickups measure 7.8K and 7.95K.