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Thru providence or just dumb luck or maybe both. I havent been to a legitimate guitar shop since 2012. My wife suggested we go down to GC. I tried out a ton of stuff, all the ES' they had. Most of them were pretty dull including a 5k trini lopez. Long story short I found a cherry red 335 that just barked. $3499, a bridge too far! I asked the guy at the counter if he could chop some bucks off since it was on the rack. He took it to the front and scanned it. "This is on clearance." So, I somehow just walked away with the lowest cost gloss red lacquer 335 in the world last night, new or used. INSANELY good price. Still in shock! Gotta let a couple guitars go to fund it but 100% worth it! Not sure why my camera throws the pictures sideways, oh well, gotta new 335!
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10-04-2025 01:29 PM
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Congrats! Only a Gibson is good enough (sometimes). May she inspire your playing for many years to come.
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Thanks Stringswinger. I A/B'ed her against my Edwards. Acoustically they are both pretty similar volume wise but this has a little more bark to the midrange. The new T-Type pickups seem real promising, a bit clearer than 57 classics, but I haven't cranked it through a Twin yet, just around-the-house volume through the Twin. I'm heading to some gigs in Arkansas on Thursday Lord willing so hoping to break her in outta state!
Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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If I had to have one, this would be it! Congrats!
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Well I'll be a ..............
Not only is that the same guitar, but a similar experience I had almost a year ago, at GC!
While looking to buy something else, as the salesman was taking too much time to ring up my purchase, I found the Cherry red 335 hanging up high on the wall - marked down for "clearance" . Almost a third off. And almost the same guitar I lusted after at another store but mine is only a "dot" neck like yours and not the one with block markers. Those don't get marked down! And I wasn't ready spend $4K after taxes to get one.
Congratulations on a great deal and a great guitar. Enjoy it.
MY tech/luthier examined the guitar and liked it a lot. His fave guitars are 335's. He said mine will be great in a year or so. It is already better.
We put a Faber bridge and posts on it, the Gibson bridge rattled and the posts/anchors were quite loose I put a heavy TP on. The lightweight aluminum TP was just not smooth sounding (acoustically).
I flipped the bridge p/up around to try and calm the treble bite, it helped, and then flipped the p/up rings around so that the p/ups sit parallel to the strings.) as per my tech's advice. Neck and bridge adjustments for a while till things evened out, and then, I put my looper to work. I recorded a series of full chords up and down the neck and then set the guitar in front of my amp as the looper played on and on and on. 3 hours so far. All these things helped, and I'm still in awe of the guitar's beauty. The workmanship is absolutely flawless. Look under the neck p/up - you may find a long neck tenon under it. Mine left the factory in 2023.
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Not labeled a Clearance item, GC's ineptitude worked in your favor this time, you can bet it wouldn't have still been there if it had a clearance tag on it. Originally Posted by DawgBone
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You got a Gibson guitar a true iconic guitar for playing. A fantastic move and play the frets off the guitar.
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Ha, interesting! The clerk was nice enough to put it up under "repair" until I could make it back the next day so no one would beat me to it. I was going to trade a couple axes towards it but their offer on them was so abysmally low we just tossed it on credit and I'll sell the guitars elsewhere to make it up. He told me if it had been properly marked as a clearance item it would've been gone so I guess I lucked out! Yeah, almost a third off, like $1500 off vs new. Mine is a '24 and is essentially flawless save for some real light scratches from being played in store and some tooling marks on the sides of the nut. What's weird is I could flip it right now and make a profit, lol. I only buy stuff to play tho! Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
Well I'll be a ..............
Not only is that the same guitar, but a similar experience I had almost a year ago, at GC!
While looking to buy something else, as the salesman was taking too much time to ring up my purchase, I found the Cherry red 335 hanging up high on the wall - marked down for "clearance" . Almost a third off. And almost the same guitar I lusted after at another store but mine is only a "dot" neck like yours and not the one with block markers. Those don't get marked down! And I wasn't ready spend $4K after taxes to get one.
Congratulations on a great deal and a great guitar. Enjoy it.
MY tech/luthier examined the guitar and liked it a lot. His fave guitars are 335's. He said mine will be great in a year or so. It is already better.
We put a Faber bridge and posts on it, the Gibson bridge rattled and the posts/anchors were quite loose I put a heavy TP on. The lightweight aluminum TP was just not smooth sounding (acoustically).
I flipped the bridge p/up around to try and calm the treble bite, it helped, and then flipped the p/up rings around so that the p/ups sit parallel to the strings.) as per my tech's advice. Neck and bridge adjustments for a while till things evened out, and then, I put my looper to work. I recorded a series of full chords up and down the neck and then set the guitar in front of my amp as the looper played on and on and on. 3 hours so far. All these things helped, and I'm still in awe of the guitar's beauty. The workmanship is absolutely flawless. Look under the neck p/up - you may find a long neck tenon under it. Mine left the factory in 2023.
Not very many guys around here play them and $3499 is LOT of money for a guitar so I imagine it hung there long enough that nobody bothered with it and staff forgot about marking it down. But I pretty much fell in love as soon as I picked it up and ran my thumb across the strings. They even set it up a little better before they sent it home with me. Really great player! Man, I can't believe I scored!!!
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What do you mean it has more bar. That means nothing. Originally Posted by DawgBone
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Just by used. You get those deals everyday all day long. Originally Posted by DawgBone
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Glad I could help. By bark I mean it speaks authoritatively from the midrange. Those notes seem to jump out of the guitar. I think it's a part of the Gibson plywood top formula as the ES333 I had a few years ago had it although not quite as pronounced. The Edwards E-SA with the carved rock maple top doesn't bark as hard, it's more even throughout the range. Same with the Sheraton II Pro I used to have. Originally Posted by pawlowski6132
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Except ordering online is rolling the dice, and all the used ES335's in gloss red lacquer online right now (that I could find) are more money than I paid for this by a couple hundred bucks. I guess I could've got a satin, but I didn't want a satin. Originally Posted by pawlowski6132
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You're right it's a complete rule of the dice. I guess you just have to be willing to buy and sell but sometimes you get a jewel. No risk no gain. Originally Posted by DawgBone
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Just figured I'd buy the one I was able to lay hands on and liked. I haven't bought a new-new guitar since the 90's, mostly due to the savings you can get buying used. Yesterday was the day though, and I have some important (to me) gigs coming up and my white Edwards really needs to get some fretwork done. In the world of gigging my rule has basically been to own two of everything, that way there is always an adequate backup. Well, I only owned one ES type till yesterday so now I'm set for life. Originally Posted by pawlowski6132
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Enjoy Originally Posted by DawgBone
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The 335 style guitars are the workhorses. I got a new 345 a few years ago when Gibson was clearing them out. The newer 345s are 335s with some cosmetic changes, nothing else. A 335 would do the same job.
Anything a 335 can't do, you don't need.
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I agree though I do love the ebony board and other fancy appointments on a 355. But I pretty well got that on my Edwards already. I have to wonder what the Murphy Lab 335 editions are offering that sends the pricing so far skyward besides just some light relic'ing. Seems like a buncha BS. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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Congratulations on the 335. My guitar heroes played 335s but it took many years before I could afford a good one. Now it's pretty much the only guitar I play for blues, rock or even country gigs.
The magic really starts to happen when you turn it up a little too loud!
Looks like you've got yourself a good one and, of course, if you get a 335 it's gotta be red!
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This is my 10th year of an ES as my go to. I was a strat-marshall-flatpick guy from the 90's and in 2015 I bought a ES333 for 1100 bucks, started using banjo picks, and traded the marshall for a Twin. Can't say I'll go back, it just suits me better. Originally Posted by Gilpy
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FIFY:
PSA—when uploading one of your pics, be sure to edit the photo first and save it. That will save the desired orientation, otherwise it may end up with the default orientation based on which way you held the phone.
Beautiful guitar, which I’m sure you will enjoy. My partner’s BIL sold a ‘64 335TD in cherry red with a Bigsby a year or so ago for $25K. He bought it new when he was in a band in high school—had an upgraded but vintage saddle, otherwise completely stock.
I am a HUGE bargain hunter, and over the years have scored big time in guitars, electronics, tools and bicycles. I never fail to check out the clearance and sale items. And yes sometimes things are mislabeled, though that never happens with the smaller guitar retailers I frequent—they know what they’ve got new or used and exactly what they’re worth.
The last perk I got at GC was on a trade-in. The sales clerk who looked like a newbie gave me an awesome deal on a Peerless I was trading in, basically what I paid for it ($750). That was 50% more than I was expecting.
I have had some luck in pawn shops, but depends—the bigger ones around here seem to think all their guitars are made of platinum, and I don’t care to dicker much with them.
I got an ‘02 ES135 for $1000 at a smaller pawn shop about 5-6 years ago, which I think was an incredible deal, as I’ve never seen one priced that low. And…it came with an OEM case and a top-notch Levy’s padded strap (which alone retails for over $100).
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Thanks Doc. I realized that about the pics today, but it's weird cause until a couple weeks ago it always put the pics in the right direction. Originally Posted by Doctor Jeff
FIFY:
PSA—when uploading one of your pics, be sure to edit the photo first and save it. That will save the desired orientation, otherwise it may end up with the default orientation based on which way you held the phone.
Beautiful guitar, which I’m sure you will enjoy. My partner’s BIL sold a ‘64 335TD in cherry red with a Bigsby a year or so ago for $25K. He bought it new when he was in a band in high school—had an upgraded but vintage saddle, otherwise completely stock.
I am a HUGE bargain hunter, and over the years have scored big time in guitars, electronics, tools and bicycles. I never fail to check out the clearance and sale items. And yes sometimes things are mislabeled, though that never happens with the smaller guitar retailers I frequent—they know what they’ve got new or used and exactly what they’re worth.
The last perk I got at GC was on a trade-in. The sales clerk who looked like a newbie gave me an awesome deal on a Peerless I was trading in, basically what I paid for it ($750). That was 50% more than I was expecting.
I have had some luck in pawn shops, but depends—the bigger ones around here seem to think all their guitars are made of platinum, and I don’t care to dicker much with them.
I got an ‘02 ES135 for $1000 at a smaller pawn shop about 5-6 years ago, which I think was an incredible deal, as I’ve never seen one priced that low. And…it came with an OEM case and a top-notch Levy’s padded strap (which alone retails for over $100).
I probably need to put a little lemon oil on that board, TX has been exceedingly dry lately after a pretty wet summer. I have some out of state gigs coming up next weekend so I'll be restringing later this week and I'll knock that out then. It plays and sounds pretty great but I haven't hooked up to a cranked Twin just yet. I have high hopes for these new T-type humbuckers!
I hear you on shopping for deals. IME you gotta have money stashed aside at all times to find the best deals and as a broke musician that is generally not me so I guess the good Lord decided it was time for a dawg to have his day. Spent yesterday photographing some other guitars that have to move to help cover the expense but more and more with gear and other belongings I've just decided to cut everything down to needs vs wants and simplify life.
Thanks for all kind words everyone! Super thrilled about this guitar and already started putting that serious play time in! More tonight!!!
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How's that new 335? You've probably by now gigged it a bit? After they hang around the store for long, they need some attention and tweaks, like any new guitar.
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Thanks for asking Jimmy. It's outstanding. It has a real VOICE. I have six or seven gigs on it now but was waiting for the full report until now since only one of those gigs was a stage of known quantity that I could absolutely crank it through the Twin i.e last night. My last two gigging ES types have had '57 classics so I was unsure how the amp would respond with the calibrated T-type humbuckers at high volume. Originally Posted by Jimmy Mack
The T-types are really nice. Clarity and bite, without the weird strident high end of Seth Lovers or the darker, slightly inclined towards muddiness of the 57's. I think it's actually the perfect neck humbucker. In the bridge the '57 might have a slight edge but so far with the factory setup I only have slightly raised the pickup in it's ring to match the neck 'bucker volume and some more fine tuning is required before reaching a final conclusion. I think it needs to be raised a little more, or just my pole pieces raised up (that's how I run 57's, pickup low, pole pieces high to taste).
Overall they are brighter but they are never harsh. I think they compress enough to eliminate any strident tones though I will say some guys may find themselves rolling the tone back a little further or not dialing as much treble into the EQ. I was ok with my normal settings but the bridge isn't quite as "thick" sounding as my 57's so far. More experimenting will help me draw a final conclusion vs '57s. I have really loved the 57's but I think Gibson has done well, possibly exceeded the '57 classic, we'll see!
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I tend to agree. I just raised my bridge T-top as high as I could. That p/up sounded thin compared to the neck p/up. Better now, but as I said in my earlier post, I did spin it around so screw poles are farther away from the bridge. That helped as well.
So many options! Glad it's working out for you.
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Hey Dawg, great guitar, everything you want but man o man, hats off to your wife for getting you to GC!!!
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