Description
The 2011 Gibson Mr. 335 Larry Carlton is much more than just a signature guitar: it’s a tribute to one of the most influential guitarists in music history and the guitar that accompanied him for over forty years.
The nickname “Mr. 335” isn’t a coincidence. Larry Carlton is probably the musician most identified with the Gibson ES-335. Since the 1970s, he’s built his sound almost exclusively using a 1968 ES-335 Sunburst, using it on thousands of recordings. That warm, dynamic, and incredibly expressive tone has become a true sonic signature. Carlton has played with artists such as Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, and hundreds of others, becoming one of the most sought-after session players of all time. Even today, when you think of an ES-335, his name is one of the first to come to mind.
His original ES-335 is also linked to a dramatic story. In 1988, Larry Carlton was the victim of a robbery outside his Los Angeles studio and was shot in the neck. He miraculously survived and, after a long rehabilitation, returned to playing his beloved ES-335, helping to make it one of the most iconic instruments in the history of the electric guitar.
In 2011, Gibson Custom Shop decided to pay homage to this story by creating the Mr. 335. It wasn’t the first signature guitar dedicated to Larry Carlton, but it was one of the most faithful reproductions of his historic 1968 ES-335, built with the goal of recreating the feel, tone, and character developed over decades of concerts and recordings.
From a collectibles perspective, it represents one of the most prized Gibson signature guitars dedicated to a great session musician. Its value lies not in flashy aesthetics, but in its loyalty to an instrument that helped write some of the most important pages in modern music.
Just listen to songs like “Kid Charlemagne,” Steely Dan’s “Don’t Take Me Alive,” or the famous “Room 335″ to understand why this guitar has become an absolute benchmark. Its sound represents the perfect balance between the warmth of a semi-acoustic and the definition of a solid body, a combination that made the ES-335 one of the most successful designs in Gibson’s history.
This Larry Carlton Mr. 335 features a laminated maple body and a mahogany neck with a nitrocellulose finish. The neck profile replicates that of Larry Carlton’s personal guitar, offering an extremely comfortable and natural feel. The rosewood fingerboard has a 12” radius, 22 medium jumbo frets, and has been professionally re-fretted. The electronics are handled by a pair of Gibson ’57 Classic pickups controlled by a three-position switch, a configuration capable of delivering all the dynamics and harmonic richness that made Larry Carlton’s sound famous. An ABR-1 Tune-o-matic bridge, faithful to Gibson tradition, completes the package.