Gibson ES-335

[jason30]

The guitar that i dreamed of having for many years, was the Gibson ES-335.

To make a long story short, i finally got one a few years ago and to my surprise, I was very disappointed.

The reviews that I read prior to getting it was that it was one of the most versatile guitars that money could buy, which is still probably the case. But for jazz?

The one that I have is my least favorite guitar out of the ones I have.

It is way too trebly, even with amp adjustments. I changed out the stock 57 classic and put in the seymour duncan alnico 2 pro to try and warm up the instrument a little, just to give it some body and beef, but no luck.

Does anyone else have this problem?

What can i do to remedy this situation?
Pickups?
Strings? I have 10s right now. Maybe 11's will help a little.

I'm playing through a Fender Twin as my main rig, but use a Roland from time to time...

[Patrick2]

Jason; The guitar is what it is. You can change strings, pick ups, bridge, pots, caps, strap pins, tuning machines, refin the guitar . . . it's still going to be a Gibson ES 335. When people say it's a versatile guitar . .. that doesn't mean it can do everything to perfection. It means it can do everything, and get you relatively close. It's not a strat . . but you can cover strat stuff with it. It's not a Lester, but you can cover Les Paul stuff with it. Same with jazz boxes. It's not a fully hollow 17" X 3" X 21" jazz box . . . but, you can cover 4 on 6 or West Coast Blues with it. It's not a Gretch, but you can blow Stray Cat Strut with it. Get it???

Don't start spending a fortune trying to make that guitar something it was never intended to be. Either love it for what it is . . . or sell it.

[Flint]

Semi-hollows are said to be the Swiss Army knives of the guitar world - able to do nearly any task, not as well as a dedicated purpose instrument. I have a 335 equipped with original equipment P90s, and it will do as asked. Worth the money for me.

[Jazz_175]

I use a 335 with a 65 Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue.
To get a Jazz tone (which is satisfying for me) I use the following settings on the guitar.
D'Addario 011-049 strings (some people I know, including a professional jazz player use the same gauge but replace the high E string with 013)
Tone between 4 and 5.
At the amp level
I usually leave the treble and bass knobs at 5 (Deluxe Reverb does not have middle knobs).
The jazz tone is still an electric one, the archtop tone is different.
I like it, maybe you expected something different.

[AlsoRan]

Wow, Jason.

You are the first person that I have read about that did not like the 335 for Jazz.

Word to the wise who want to get it off the internet without trying it out with an amp in person.

I have wanted one for a while too, but I mus admit, I have never heard anyone play Jazz on one in person. I will do my homework before I ever pull the trigger on this guitar - at least for playing Jazz.

[rpguitar]

A 335 is one of the most iconic, versatile, and classic electric guitars ever. They work for rock, blues, funk, and jazz - and always sound like a 335. I would imagine that someone who dreamed of owning one for years would know what he was getting, otherwise what was the dream based on? Not just looks or that a guitar hero played one, I hope.

I could definitely get by with a good 335 as my only electric guitar if necessary. I use 11-49 D'Addario XLs on my '67.

[jason30]

Wow, Jason.

You are the first person that I have read about that did not like the 335 for Jazz.

Word to the wise who want to get it off the internet without trying it out with an amp in person.

I have wanted one for a while too, but I mus admit, I have never heard anyone play Jazz on one in person. I will do my homework before I ever pull the trigger on this guitar - at least for playing Jazz.

Hi AlsoRan,
yeah man, i was pretty shocked myself,
But its all good i guess. Different players are looking for different things. What works for one, doesnt work for others. But as you were saying, check it out good before buying one. I actually have a PRS that i would say is more versatile than the Gibson that i have. Others may say different, which would be of no concern to me because my opinions are based on my personal experiences. Thanks for your comments bro!
Take care

[Al_F]

Try a set of 11s.

[Bosko]

11's or bigger, medium pick or thicker, adjusting the pickup height, and your amp settings will all help but, your picking technique will be a major factor in how your guitar sounds.

[Clamps]

I really like the movie 'willow'. The scene at the beginning, where the old wizard asks the potential apprentices 'which finger the magic is in' comes to my mind right here. Of course, the magic is in our own fingers...not how expensive (or large, fancy, jewel encrusted etc) our wands (guitars too) are. Opinions are just that and need to be taken with many grains of salt. I love my 335 though!

[mad dog]

There are many different 335s. I am not a jazz player, so perhaps you could discount my experience on that score. Still, a well played '66 ES-335 has rivaled my telecasters for versatility, and ability to get along with different amps. I can't generalize about vintage stuff, but this guitar in particular has impressed me for years. Never played a newer one I liked as much. Two reasons. In feel, how it feels in the hands and responds, this is a lively instrument. Second, the pickups are outstanding, my reference for what good humbuckers can sound like.

As with all these guitar types, some have it and some don't. I was lucky to find this one for sure.
MD

[zigzag]

Lower your pickups about as low as they'll go, put on TI Jazz Swing flatwound 11 or 12s, use a Jazztone 204 or 205 pick, roll off the treble tone a bit on the guitar and use the neck pickup, boost the mids and bass on the amp and use a clean setting. That's as close as you're gonna get to a traditional jazz box sound out of a 335. Works for me.

[hans halmackenreuter]

a semi-hollow will always be a semi-hollow - thats true, but I played for instance 4 different 335 and one 339 and they were all totally different in sound and feeling. Gibson has so many different 335 models, that I have troubles to not to get lost. I finally bought a yamaha sa 2000S , which I found coincedently and it was a good choice, since I only had to spend 900 euro and my personal opion is, that it is a true gibson-killer. especially for jazz sounds, it suits a bit better than normal gibsons, but it's still not a real hollow-body guitar.

I would even prefer an Ibanez as200 over an gibson 335, but hey it's just taste

[NSJ]

On my 339 (smaller version of a 335):

1. swapped out the 57 classic neck pup for a Jason Lollar Charlie Christian pickup (the one you can just drop into a HB route). The bridge pup is USELESS garbage. Pup selector ALWAYS on neck setting.

2. TI-Bebop roundwound strings 14-55.

3. Henriksen jazz amp convertible with reverb and delay and Seymour Duncan preamp.

4. the clear, pristine sound you get and the amazing string separation and balance between the bass and treble is incredible. Well worth any noise I get through the pup.

[Tom Karol]

I don't have an actual 335; mine is a clone (Crafter SEG480). I have a fully-hollow single set-in pickup archtop that I use for jazz; it really can't do anthing else. I have a Tele, which I use for everything else, but it can do jazz. I like the Crafter, but it's basically my backup for either of the other two.

[Al_F]

I disagree, I think the 335 is a guitar Gibson makes consistently very well. J45 is another.

[Greentone]

This is bound to generate some controversy. Over the last 50 years, I have played many, many Gibson ES-335 and ES-345 guitars (the occasional 355, too). The very first two electric guitarists I encountered when I was a boy were friends of my guitar-playing parents. Each of these guys played the 335--the old, long-guard ones. Until my father took me to a Fender dealer in southern California, I thought an electric guitar WAS a Gibson ES-335.

Anyway, years later, when it came time for me to purchase one, I looked around for a 335 that would serve as a good _jazz_ instrument. My assessment was that the Norlin-era 335 guitars with the short center block (and the pointy horns) produced a better jazz guitar sound than did the classic long-block guitars I grew up with. (In my first band, the other guitarist had a mid-60s sunburst 335TD. Nice guitar.) So, I ended up buying a '74-'75 CXXXXXX serial-number guitar with the crazy, epoxied "tarbacks" about 20 years ago.

I have to say, if you want the classic "Cream" sound, my buddy's '64 or his '67 335 guitars do it better. Both in cherry, these guitars are simply extremely nice guitars for "all-round" instruments. They are, for Gibson, what the Telecaster is for Fender--the Swiss Army knife of guitars. However, for playing jazz of any particular variety, my wine red '75 will just kill the more typical 335. (I didn't say it, but my buddy has stop tailpieces on his 335s.)

I suspect that, in the main, this is due to two features: (1) the trapeze tailpiece, and (2) the short center block under the hood. Each item contributes, IMO, to a more hollow-body sound. These '72-'75 era ES-335 guitars (according to the Gruhn dating) aren't ES-330s in their tone, but they are sort of going in that direction. They have less sustain--to my ears--than, say, a mid-60s 335. For jazz, this is a really good thing.

I am perfectly willing to go to a gig with my "3." And...if push comes to shove at the gig...(i.e., if the drummer gets, hmm? insensitive) I can always flip to the bridge pickup and go OH, YEAH?

[Greentone]

Oh, if anyone is interested in what song, back in the day, really kindled my interest in ES-335 guitars? "Kid Charlemagne."

[steves3972]

If I had to have just one electric guitar an ES-335 would be it. It does most things really well. I recently got a nashville custom shop 63 on a trade and it is really amazing. My only complaint would be that it's slightly heavy. Are the norlin era ones lighter because of the shorter center block?

[vinnyv1k]

Greentone I am in complete agreement with you. The 70's trapeze 335's with the small block inlays were awesome axes. Wish I still had mine.

[Flat]

. . . and the only one I'l ever have here after, is a Heritage H535 with SD '59s. Can't imagine any semi playing or sounding more to my liking

Heh, heh, beat me to it. I feel the same way! There is something so innately musical about the way the notes bloom coming off my 535. It almost surprises me each time I play it...and I've had it for years.

And if you get the shadows right, nobody says nothing about the headstock.

[Little Jay]

Yup, I love the 'alroundness' of my 333 (335 all the way, with Classic 57s in it). Although I am curious about a 70ies one with trapeze and short block, never played one of those. Your assessment makes sense to me!

[Stringswinger]

I have owned 8 semi hollows and used them all as jazz guitars. Here are my thoughts about each:

1968 Gibson 335: I owned this in the 80's and I had Ralph Novak (Novax guitars) who was then my guitar repairman (we did not call them Techs in those days) replace the factory Bigsby with a stop tail (We were into improving guitars for our personal use in those days, not worrying about preserving vintage "correctness"). While the guitar had a fine jazz tone with it's patent sticker neck PUP, the 1 and 9/16 nut made jazz chords in the first few frets troublesome for me, so away it went.

1997 Howard Roberts Fusion: This 335 variation is sort of like a cross between a 335 and a 175. It got a great jazz tone, but I found its asymmetric looks to be less than stellar and it never felt very balanced when I played it, so away it went.

1999 Heritage 535: This one had Duncan pups and had an almond sunburst finish: This was a fine playing guitar that looked pretty good to my eyes, but it was too bright, so away it went.

2000 Guild Starfire 4: This was a pretty blond guitar but I found the tone a bit muddy (The late model Guild humbuckers sound nothing like the early ones that were made in New Jersey) so away it went.

2000 Guild Starfire 5: I got a great deal on this guitar, but after trying the Starfire 4, I knew it was probably a guitar that I was going to flip. I was curious to try the Bigsby 20 years after taking a Bigsby off a guitar. I found that I have no use for a Bigsby whatsoever, so away it went.

2001 Gibson Pat Martino: I really, really wanted to love this guitar. It was pretty, made of solid woods and had a great neck. But it was even muddier than the Guild, so away it went.

2002 Gibson ES 335 Dot: This was a sunburst figured woods example. It was a fine jazz guitar, great tone and playability, but after liking it, I decided that I would prefer one in blond, so away it went.

2005 Gibson ES 335 Dot: This blond beauty is my keeper. She is beautiful, plays great and sounds awesome (I use TI 12 gauge flats on her). My only complaint is the weight. She weighs 9 pounds even. I know that I can shave 1/2 pound off by going to the aluminum tailpiece and Kluson tuners, but it will still be a heavy guitar (I am comfortable with up to 8 pounds, after that a three hour gig becomes a workout for my shoulder). I have thought about replacing her with a 330 or just looking for a 335 that is a pound lighter (some of the historics are...), but she is so damn good looking, sounds so good and plays so easily. Sometimes the song delivers good advice..."Love the one you're with"

Here is a picture of my 2005 335 with my 1964 Princeton amp (Boy do they sound good together...)

[Gitfiddler]

When it comes to 335 'type' semi-hollows, I've played and owned many. Oddly enough, I never bought a 'real' 335!
Here are my top semi's for jazz and all around favorite gits:

Ibanez 2630 (modded with coil split Super 58's)
Ibanez JSM100 w/stock Super 58 p'ups. (It needs heavy gauge rounds or flats to get the goods)
Heritage H-535 Goldtop w/SD Seth Lovers.
Gibson ES135 trapeze; Blonde w/Classic 57's (the closest I've ever come to a 335)
Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III w/Classic 57's. (Sold, but very similar to the 135 tone-wise)
Heritage H-555 Antique Natural w/HRW pickups. (HRW's are a unique sounding PAF, but with the right strings and amp eq, they get a killer jazz tone).

I still have all of these except for the HR III. I regretted selling it, and use the 135 as its capable replacement.

So, still no 335, but these keep me happy. Plus, the 335's input jack in the top was always a turn off for me. YMMV.

[jads57]

Seems like it always comes down to the individual 335 or any guitar that speakes to you personally. Funny at the moment it's a lowly 2014 Gibson ES-339 Studio (w/Manilus pickups) at the mont which speaks to me!