1960 Gibson ES-335

Andy Summers owned a red-finished 1960 model Gibson ES-335 semi-hollow electric guitar.

Apparently, the 1960 ES-335 was one the first guitars he played during his career, prior to the Telecaster: "'A 335 was one of the first good guitars I got as a kid after I moved on from all the crap, and I was very influenced by Grant Green at the time. I had a 1960 335, which was in great shape, and I've played it for years; it became the guitar I used for every gig. It's an archetypical guitar, but I think the slimline with the block under the bridge is a very brilliant model; it really covers everything and is a great workhorse.' (Vintage Guitar magazine)"

He also owned a sunburst 1958 Gibson ES-335 (converted from left-handed) which he used during the 1980s for work with The Police and solo projects. Then he'd go back to this ES-335 during the late 1990s after using Klein guitars virtually exclusively.

The red-finished ES-330 would become the basis of the Gibson Andy Summers Signature ES-335 model.

Quotes
"I tend to use the 335 on the road. I don't always use it on the record. This record has the 335 on some of the tracks, but I also used an old (Gibson) Johnny Smith guitar on a few tracks, too. I may have used a 175 on some things, too. I've been using the 335 for a while, partly because it's a very practical guitar to take on the road. I don't know how long I'll stick with it. The one I've got is a beautiful guitar. It's great to play. It suits me, and I don't have any feedback problems. I can get really bright sort of rock sounds out of it, or the more kind of warm sort of jazz guitar sounds. It sort of cuts it on a lot of levels. That's why I've enjoyed using it." (Virtual Guitar, May 1999)