Gibson es-359

fumblefingers · #1 05-14-2011, 05:05 PM

how about this pretty little guitar? a bit less pricey than some of the others. its pretty tiny. wood is not as highly figured on back, and the mahogany neck and maple body look less well coordinated on the rear view. a pretty top though. designed to compete with PRS?

Gibson.com: Gibson Custom ES-359

jzucker · #2 05-14-2011, 05:50 PM

they're sweet guitars. I did a demo of the 339 which is very similar.

YouTube Video

fumblefingers · #3 05-14-2011, 07:41 PM

very nice

Soco · #4 05-19-2011, 11:26 PM

I tried one briefly and liked it. I wouldn't mind owning one.

NSJ · #5 05-19-2011, 11:42 PM

I decided to look into a new semi after I regretted selling my Heritage Prospect STD--actually, it was Jack's YouTube review that lead me to the 339.

I bought one, no regrets--it's EASY to play, fantastic!

Question , though--how the hell does an ebony fingerboard and otherwise COSMETIC Changes (grovers, inlay, gold pups) justify a $1200 price hike from the 339 to the 359????? That just seems so wrong to me!

jzucker · #6 05-20-2011, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NSJ

I decided to look into a new semi after I regretted selling my Heritage Prospect STD--actually, it was Jack's YouTube review that lead me to the 339.

I bought one, no regrets--it's EASY to play, fantastic!

Question , though--how the hell does an ebony fingerboard and otherwise COSMETIC Changes (grovers, inlay, gold pups) justify a $1200 price hike from the 339 to the 359????? That just seems so wrong to me!

Don't forget the premium woods. Curly maple albeit laminates. Gibson does a lot of puzzling things. Why is the 339 $1500 less than the 335?

Jake Hanlon · #7 05-20-2011, 09:11 AM

I had a student ask me advice about buying a 335, I told him not to buy the 335 and get a 339, same guitar essentially for a lot cheaper... I'd love to know why. I guess the 'name' of the 335 is worth $1,500?

Two years before a good friend of mine came into a good chunk of money for whatever reason and decided to spend some bread on Guitars. We went to Dallas to go hunting and he tried a 335, 137 and a 339. Neither of us could give any reason as to why one would by the 335 over the 339, and myself, a 335 style guitar player for about 15yrs now was just disappointed, I kinda had my feelings hurt that the 339 was for the most part had no differences really in playablity and the sound was just a little more... hmm can't really explain it. Well anyway no reason why spend that bread unless you're rich I guess.

He got the 339 of course. I have two students now with 339's and another heavily interested in one. One is convinced he wants a 335 and if he shows up in August with one I may smack him. That's all unless he gets a 2nd hand one from a good era, then I'll hug him.

Jake Hanlon · #8 05-20-2011, 09:13 AM

PS i'm glad I only spent 500 on my 335.

i'm sad i only spent 500 because my 325 was stolen and luckily it was insured LOL

hot ford coupe · #9 05-20-2011, 12:40 PM

The 359 looks just like my reissue 355 I got back in 1994. I'm glad the price is better though. It's a really nice looking guitar and the 339 sounds just great. I did have a 335 bought around the same time but I really wasn't that happy with it. Before I got my current guitar, I used that 355 exclusively. ( Don't forget they didn't make a 359 back then or I would have gotten one of those.) The semi was probably the most comfortable guitar I ever played and I really liked the fact that so much more of the higher fingerboard was available. I used to use that second octave to imitate a mandolin. Nice sounds, Jack.

Al_F · #10 05-20-2011, 01:05 PM

Along the same lines, look at this -

Heritage 535 in natural $1400. Very tempting.

The Heritage USA H-535 Natural

Not my guitar & I don't know this person but it looks like a nice deal.