Pete Back "335" Bubinga 2004... UPDATE

I've just heard back from Gareth, regarding his "335" and it looks as though it is more of a "339":

"Thanks for featuring my guitar on your website; it's a bit of a puzzle really - as you rightly say, Gibson didn't start making the ES-339 until 2007, and this guitar was built in 2004 (thanks for clarifying that - I'm trying to find out as much as I can about this guitar!). However, the guitar is quite a bit smaller than a ES-335, and very close to my Les Paul in its dimensions.

Maybe Gibson copied Pete in this case!

I'm really getting to grips with the guitar now, it has such a sweet tone and the clarity is amazing. It can go from an almost acoustic tone to a biting, smooth Gary Moore type tone with the flick of a switch and a turn of the tone/volume knobs. Pete Back certainly knew his stuff!"

Thanks for the update Gareth. This is the first such 339-size Pete Back that I've come across personally. As a result, I'm not sure at this point, whether this guitar was built to a customers specific requirements and sizing, or whether it was an off the rack guitar that Pete had been experimenting with.

What we do know is that Pete was always trying new shapes, materials and finishes on his guitars - he had around 25 years of practice - so it may well be he'd perfected a 339 body style before Gibson cottoned on to the benefits of a smaller-bodied semi-acoustic. In any case, you certainly won't find many bubinga-top 339's out there, I don't believe Gibson ever made even one. If anybody out there has a similar guitar or knows any more, please let me know on petebackguitars@googlemail.com.