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“Country Rock Regular”

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In 1979, Gibson along with others, Gibson released two new ES-335 models; the CRR and the CRS which stood for “Country Rock Regular” and “Country Rock Stereo” respectively. With their high output Dirty Fingers pickups, designed by Tim Shaw, these guitars seemed aimed for one thing only: very loud and very driven sound. In practice they turned out to be a far more subtle and versatile instrument.

Limited to a run of 300 each, the each of the guitars were meticulously crafted. Both guitars featured cream binding, pick guard, and exposed pickups. The three piece maple neck with medium block inlays on a cream bound rosewood fretboard. The tuning heads were Grover rotomatics and the nut came out of the factory in brass. In addition, the bridges featured brass saddles and a Gibson TP-6 fine tuning tail piece.

The CRR’s exposed coil Dirty Fingers pickups had cream bobbins to match the rest of the instrument’s styling. Dirty Fingers pickups were equipped with two rows of adjustable pole pieces. This feature was done with coil tapping in mind, so that the output of the tapped coil could be adjusted to match the overall output of the pickup. The CRR had a standard two volume, two tone wiring scheme, with the factory installed coil tap located at the treble horn cutaway and the pickup selector knob near the bridge.

The CRS was slightly different in appearance with it’s covered pickups. Though they were Dirty Fingers, only one row was accessible to adjustment, despite the factory coil tap. The CRS also varied in that it came with a master volume and two tone knobs. It also featured a mono and a stereo input jack, giving it its name.

While the CRR was limited to a finish dubbed Antique Burst by Gibson, the CRS came in Country Tobacco, Dixie Burst and solid Black.

Each CRR/CRS I’ve played has featured a different neck profile. The two I own are vastly different, one being a 60′s slim neck, the other being a flatter, more ’70s style Norlin influenced neck. While I prefer the slim taper neck on some applications, the wider neck is better suited for slide playing to me.

Useful Links for more info on the Country Rock Regular.

• Thread on Gibson Talk about CRRs
• A snippet on Flying Vintage about it.
• Review on Harmony Central.
• Another thread on Gibson Talk
• The CRR gets a mention here at the Telecaster authority.
• A page from the Gibson Book with info on the CRR.