Gibson Custom Dave Grohl DG-335, 2007, Pelham Blue

Serial DG 101, first run, hand-signed certificate, sold new in Copenhagen in 2008 and complete with its papers

Gibson announced the DG-335 in late September 2007 and put it on sale that October, built by Gibson Custom with Grohl's involvement and modelled on his Gibson Trini Lopez Standard, the guitar behind most of the Foo Fighters catalogue. The Pelham Blue first run was limited to 200 instruments. This is DG 101, in excellent condition with very little playing time, and it is complete. Original Custom Shop case with its key, Certificate of Authenticity hand-signed by Grohl, all factory documentation and case candy, and the original Copenhagen shop price-tag from february 2008 and sales receipt from July 2008.

Why the year matters on this model, and how this one is settled

Gibson returned to the DG-335 in a later Nashville run, also in Pelham Blue, also signed, and also numbered out of 200. A number alone therefore does not establish which run a guitar belongs to, and listings across the market routinely conflate the two. The first run carries a clear premium, so the question is worth resolving before price is discussed at all.

On this guitar it is settled by paperwork rather than argued from features. The original Musikhuset Aage Jensen price tag prices it as of 1 February 2008, and the original till receipt records its sale on 28 July 2008. A guitar sitting on a Copenhagen shop floor in early 2008 cannot belong to a run that did not yet exist. In our assessment, allowing for the build, shipping from Memphis, European distribution, and delivery to a Danish retailer, a guitar tagged in February 2008 was built in 2007, in line with the first run as a whole. Gibson applied no date stamp to this model, so the year rests on that documentation combined with our reading of the distribution timeline.

The instrument itself corroborates it. The Certificate of Authenticity is badged Inspired By Series, the branding Gibson Custom used for the original run, and records the serial DG 101, matching the stamp on the back of the headstock. The orange oval label inside the body reads Gibson, Memphis, Tennessee. There is no Custom Shop logo and no Made in USA stamp on the headstock rear, which is correct for the model.

Separately, Epiphone produces a DG-335 at a far lower price point, with different pickups and a laurel fingerboard. It is no trouble to tell apart in the hand, but it clutters search results, and anyone working from photographs alone should confirm the Gibson Custom provenance directly.

The certificate

The Certificate of Authenticity is present, complete, and matches the guitar. It carries two signatures. Dave Grohl's appears as the Inspired By Artist, hand-applied in silver pen across the printed text, and Rick Gembar's beneath it as General Manager and Senior Vice President of the Gibson Custom Shop. We have examined the Grohl signature directly and confirm it is an original autograph rather than a printed facsimile. The certificate sits in its original black portfolio alongside the Grohl performance card supplied with it.

On a modern limited model the certificate carries a large share of the authentication weight, and here it carries more than that. A hand-signed autograph on the matching factory document is an object of value in its own right and cannot be reconstructed if lost. A great many of these guitars have been separated from their papers over the past eighteen years. This one has not been.

Danish provenance from new

This guitar was sold new in Copenhagen. It appears in the stock of Musikhuset Aage Jensen A/S on Åbenrå in Copenhagen K, carrying the shop's own tag listing it as a Gibson DG335 Dave Grohl Pelham Blue at 26,395 DKK as of February 2008, and it was sold across the counter there on 28 July 2008. The original receipt survives, itemising the guitar together with a set of strings bought at the same time, and confirming that the Custom Shop case was supplied with it from new. The receipt records no serial number, so it accompanies the instrument as supporting documentation rather than as proof of identity for this specific guitar

There is something fitting about a guitar bought new in Copenhagen in 2008 being offered again by a Copenhagen dealer eighteen years later, with its shop tag still in the case.

What the DG-335 is

The DG-335 takes the Trini Lopez Standard's most recognisable features, the six-in-line non-reverse Firebird headstock, the diamond f-holes, and the split diamond fingerboard inlays, and applies them to a semi-hollow body with a maple centre block. The principal departures from the Trini Lopez are in hardware. Gibson fitted a stopbar tailpiece in place of the original trapeze, and Burstbucker humbuckers in place of the period pickups, with a Burstbucker 1 in the neck and a slightly hotter Burstbucker 2 in the bridge. There is no pickguard, and the three-way toggle sits in the lower bout beside the controls rather than in the usual upper-bout position.

The result reads at a distance as an ES-335 and then does not, which is a good part of its appeal. It also plays like a well-made semi-hollow rather than a novelty, which is the more important half.

Condition

The guitar is in excellent condition and has seen very little playing time. Fret wear is minimal, with substantial original height remaining. There are no breaks, no repairs, and no modifications, and the electronics function correctly throughout. 

The Pelham Blue has moved toward green over eighteen years, as this finish characteristically does when the lacquer ambers over a metallic base. The shift is most visible across the upper back and down the centre of the body, with the lower bout still reading distinctly blue, and it appears again at the base of the headstock and around the neck heel. The front has held its colour far better than the back. This is normal ageing rather than damage, but it is not subtle, and opinion divides between collectors who consider it the finish coming into its own and those who prefer an unfaded example. The back and neck are photographed in detail and buyers should form their own view.

Included

The guitar is supplied complete. Original Gibson Custom Shop black hardshell case with its key. Certificate of Authenticity in its original portfolio with the Grohl performance card. All factory documentation and case candy as supplied from new. Original Musikhuset Aage Jensen price tag. Original sales receipt dated 28 July 2008.

A guitar that still has its case key after eighteen years has not been passed around. Together with the papers surviving intact, it is consistent with the condition of the instrument itself. Everything that left the shop with this guitar in 2008 is still with it.

Specifications

Model: Gibson Custom Dave Grohl Signature DG-335
Year: 2007, first run
Serial number: DG 101, stamped on the headstock rear and recorded on the certificate
Finish: Pelham Blue, nitrocellulose lacquer, with characteristic green shift to the back, neck heel, and lower headstock
Body: laminated maple, poplar, maple, semi-hollow with maple centre block
Neck: one-piece mahogany
Neck profile: 1959 rounded
Fingerboard: rosewood, pearloid split diamond inlays
Headstock: six-in-line non-reverse Firebird shape
F-holes: diamond
Pickups: uncovered Gibson Burstbuckers, black bobbins in black rings, Burstbucker 1 (neck), Burstbucker 2 (bridge)
Pickguard: none, as per model
Controls: two volume, two tone, black barrel knobs with chrome caps, three-way toggle in the lower bout with cream tip, face-mounted output jack
Bridge: ABR-1 Tune-o-matic with stopbar tailpiece
Tuners: Kluson Deluxe style
Hardware: chrome
Interior labels: orange Gibson Memphis oval label and original paper guarantee strip
Scale length: [confirm]
Nut width: [confirm]
Weight: not recorded
Condition: excellent, very little playing time, no breaks, repairs, or modifications
Case: original Gibson Custom Shop black hardshell with burgundy lining, Gibson leather tag, and key
Documentation: Certificate of Authenticity, serial DG 101, hand-signed by Dave Grohl and signed by Rick Gembar, complete factory documentation and case candy, original Danish dealer price tag, original sales receipt dated 28 July 2008

Price

The asking price reflects a first-run example of a 200-guitar run, a hand-signed certificate matching the serial, complete factory documentation, and a dated retail provenance from new that resolves the run question outright. Comparable analysis is available to serious enquirers.

Buying with confidence

Detailed additional photography of the headstock rear, serial, certificate, interior labels, bridge and tailpiece posts, the back of the body, and the full set of papers is available on request, as is a video walkthrough. Worldwide shipping is available with full insurance.

Price does not include shipping.

Thanks for taking a look at this listing in our V&R shop.

Copenhagen Fine Guitars is a professional and vetted seller on Vintage & Rare.