1987 Gibson ES-335 Dot Reissue Antique Natural

Atlanta used to have a cool place to see bands called The Cotton Club and it was downtown on Peachtree St. I saw many a band there and played it more than a few times. It was a long, skinny bar with the soundboard on the left and the stage along the right side wall. At the end was a short bar and it was there that I found myself and my singer, Robbie to see a band whose name I have a hard time remembering. Maybe it was Mother Earth because the bass player played this huge Alembic Series 1 bass. Anyhoo...

I sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. A lady was sitting next to me, a bit older than I but she was very nice and we struck up a conversation. I told her I played in a local band (not trying to pick her up) and she said that she was in town, visiting friends. I bought her a drink and the whole time, the bartender was smiling and shaking his head at me. So, I'm talking to this lady, who by now had introduced herself as "Angie" and we're getting along swimmingly. Soon, as I got several drinks in, I'm thinking to myself what every bass player in the '90s thought: "I just might get cougared tonight" and it was starting to be a hell-yeah kind of evening.

About that time, a couple walked up to Angie and hugs were passed around. She got up, said goodbye to the bartender, gave me a peck on the cheek and was gone. Just that fast. I just sat there (Robbie was behind me with his ever-present "I told you so,") and there I was, the defeated wannabe love warrior. The bartender comes over laughing and says, "Do you know who that was? I shook my head and he said "Angie Bowie." I just looked at him with a dumb look on my face because that name rang absolutely zero bells. Turns out, she had an ex-husband named David.

The above has nothing to do with this '87 Dot, but it's what came to my mind when I woke up this morning and was thinking about how to describe this guitar. Melatonin will do that for ya. This 335 is one sweet playing guitar and hails from a recently acquired private collection. The Shaws are both there and the tone is what you would expect from one of these '80s ES axes- warm and creamy, but with an aggressive voice. It's in very good condition, having some pick swirls on the pickguard and some surface scratches on the front by the knobs and on the back. You'll have to turn the guitar into the reflection of an overhead light to see these.

If you look at the photos, you will see a bit of red bleed on the heel and a half-dime-sized chip in the finish on the back of the neck at the 12th fret. It doesn't bother me when playing, but if you're Joe Bonamassa or Eric Johnson, you might want to get it drop-filled. The guitar is just as sexy, doink or no doink.

The guitar and case have been detailed and the guitar set up, so it will arrive ready to go out of the gate. Please take a look at the photos, let us know if you have any questions and as always, we thank you for stopping by!