Gibson ES-320TDN Owned by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1972), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 967634, natural lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, brown tolex hard shell case.

Here is a somewhat playworn example of an oh-so-early-1970's Gibson oddity: the ES-320TDN. Basically, the folks at Gibson needed to come up with a modern budget thinline without straying too far from the classic hallmarks of the Gibson catalogue (and to save money by using existing templates). The fully hollow ES-330TD was very prone to feedback at high volume (and almost everything in the early '70s was high volume!) so had fallen from favor. This replacement was built on the standard Gibson semi-hollow template with a center block like the ES-335 but with budget fittings. These included two small single coil pickups and a very cheap looking control circuit screwed to the top on a metal plate.

Gibson offered this unique experiment in three colorways: this natural finish, cherry red, or a cherry sunburst. The two pickups are not the chunky sounding P-90's found in an ES-330, but the same narrow single coils previously used in the budget Melody Maker models. They're tucked underneath a set of plastic Gibson-branded covers with a cursive script much more in line with an early 1940's Gibson logo. The same logo is engraved into the nickel cover over the fairly cheap stamped metal bridge. The controls are two on-off switches, one for each pickup, with master volume and tone "witch hat" knobs. The neck is slim like one would expect coming out of the late 60's before the necks and finishes started to get heavy later into the 70's; the nut is just 1 9/16" with a slim tapered very, rounded D-shape neck.

Oddly enough this is actually a very rare guitar; The 320's had a short run, discontinued after just three years in 1975 with a total of only 316 of these natural finish examples ever built. Pro players preferred the more expensive but tried and true 335s, and student players seem to have shied away from this humbler version as well as its first replacement, the slightly less bare-bones ES-325. Taken on its own merits this is a very pleasant guitar to play, but it's unmistakable down-market looks seemingly doomed it to an early retirement. This example is from 1972 just a year into production and was formerly owned by one of our favorite all-American connoisseurs of oddities, Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.
 
Overall length is 41 3/4 in. (106 cm.), 16 1/8 in. (41 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 9/16 in. (40 mm.).

This Gibson has been played over the years but overall kept healthy where it counts. The original finish has not been redone or oversprayed and has taken on a nice amber hue with a bit of consistent checking all around. There are dings and dents from honest playwear around the entirety of guitar, and the original low frets show some wear in the lower positions but generally not up the neck. The back of the neck has been somewhat handworn but is free of any dents or palpable flaws, and the guitar is crack-free from tip to tail.

The pickups are original and the electronic circuit appears undisturbed (the pots are older, dating to '66 likely just been what was around the factory), but it does seem as though some of the original Gibson wiring has been replaced. The "Gibson Deluxe" strip tuners were removed and replaced with Schallers, but one could restore these to original if desired without the new holes being visible; three of the washers on the face of the headstock are newer than the rest. The correct original script bridge cover is in place, but two small holes on either side of the bridge say that someone once put a different slightly wider bridge cover on this instrument.

This guitar resides in a nice more modern brown Tolex Gibson-style case with a Lifton-style pink plush interior and silk instrument cover. The case bears the markings of the Wilco Loft along the bottom edge, and inside the case is a certificate of authenticity validating the provenance of this piece. Overall Very Good + Condition.