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I have played and owned gibson es 175 and 335 but only owned a hofner es330 copy and currently just found a fully hollow thinbody jazz guitar with single coil p90 ish pickups which i enjoy but the guitar remains nameless as no labels found and someone removed the headstock logo and hence my interest in a "real" es 330
i like the light weight and very interesting tone from p90's and yes i know the feedback issues but overall i like what the copies offer , so investigating the idea of aquiring one , as on paper it seems ideal , lightweight , jazzy tone , and i love the look and feel of arched tops and backs and trapeze bridges , so far i can tick a lot of the box's on my reqirements list ,
and emily remler played one i believe ,
so who owns one and what feedback , good and bad ?
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11-16-2012 08:50 AM
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I had a '66 ES-330 with a factory installed Bigsby. Still not sure why, but it just didn't work for me. I think it was the deeply inset body. Sounded great, and much less feedback than I thought there'd be, still, wasn't comfortable.
Now playing a MIK Epiphone Casino which is as comfortable as the Gibson was not. Not sure, but it could be that the neck/body geometry is a little different. Tonally, either one goes somewhere pretty hard to beat. There's something so fine about good P90s with a little air around them.
MD
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I have one of the 50th Anniversary Epi Casinos ('61 reissue). Great guitar, built with Gibson pickups and electronics, and quite cheap. $800 USD brand new, available used for ~$650 or so. Nice chunky neck, 16 frets clear of the body, and extremely lightweight.
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Is the nut 1 5/8" on the 50th? This is my only gripe about Casinos - that lost 16th inch can seem huge.
Chris
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As a big Grant Green fan, I still want one (I love Gibson's new 1959 reissue, heared good things about it, lot of money though....) . But somehow I haven't got around to buying one, still using my ES-333 for everything... I do have a 60ies Framus-copy that has the same body-shape and neck joint and some very P90-like single coils. I like the light weight and the somewhat more straight-forward and even biting sound of the singl coil/hollow body combination. I think the shallow body emphasizes the mid frequencies a bit more, at least acoustically is does. Less deeper bass than a full-hollow, which might explain why it's also less prone te feedback. Comparing Epi's and Gibsons I found out I prefer the 16th fret neck-joint. It gives a different feel to the strings (string gauge aside) because it allows just a little less 'afterlength' and a steeper angle of the strings after the bridge to the tailpiece. This is responsible for a 'tighter' feel (maybe uppping the string gauge would achieve the same). Emily Remler had humbuckers in her 330 and that makes it a different beast I think (love her tone too, btw!). Another frequent ES-330 user is New Mastersound's guitarist Eddie Robberts. I like his slightly rough and funky tone. I am curious about that 50th anniversary Casino, seems like a great deal for the money!
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Can I add? Never owned a 330. Played 1, only one in 1966. I liked it. Never owned a Casino. Played 1 in the 90's, I loved it. Guess I was always looking in other directions.
Now I play a 1961 Guild Starfire III, all hollow, with SC p/ups. This type of guitar is thrilling to me. I guess the 330's and Casinos would be too.
The Guild (and most early ones) had laminated mahogany bodies which have a tone that just jumps out of their shells. You have to experience it. They are "alive". And can I tell you how that translates into playability and a true playing experience? It's difficult. Once I played one, I went on a quest for one....almost bought two.
Jazz, rock, blues, rockabilly, and country, (not in that order) and of course 50's and 60's music, + Brit. invasion.
Could you imagine more?
Try a Guild. Less $$$$$, great quality. I have a friend selling an early 196x..ish 330 with one p/up. Natural and beautiful. Wonderful in the hands.
He may have a bridge post installed inside, greatly reduces feedback. I shoulda had one !!!!!!!!!!!!!
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whats wrong with what you have. fully hollow thinline with a p90? a 330 won't be much different....
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Can someone school me on the difference amoungst 330 necks?
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I had a mid 60s 330 and was foolishly trying to play loud country and rock with it. My amp was a Polytone MiniBrute IV with 15" speaker. 330s used to go for $350 and are now in the $4000 neighborhood. Casinos can be nice, or shoddy depending on build. I'm wishing for a ES125 thinline, or a 120 with the pickguard-attached single-coil.
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Hi i'm the one, have a '63 Gibson 330td and I'm very happy,sound terrific in a silver face fender pro reverb, in a polytone minibrute II, but also in a Jazzkat and Carvin Nomad too; I use different guitar I hold 3 Heritage, sound fantastic especially a the one with Benedetto pick-up, but the 330td is my first love and my favorite, ciao from Italy.
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I played a Heritage 330 style guitar the other day that was one of the most lively guitars I've ever played. I love P-90s and have a 175 with them. They suit the sound I like which is a clean amp slightly pushed.
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"330 4 life" !
always liked those "casino-sorrento-etcaetero" thinlines.
I had to sell a '65 330 for budget reasons (top sound but unpleasant narrow neck, great resell value...) and after a while I got the absolute need for a new one. So a 2018 one with a more pleasant neck medium rounded C), a surprisingly heavy bell sounding (not so far of my es-125) at a point that it remplaces my acoustics for couch-noodling. The cherry was the perfect tweaking out of case, never seen that before.
An excellent axe for jazz/blues/pop/rock and probably other styles, dunno...
Excuse my english.
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I love my late 2013 ES 330. Gibson was going back to the one piece backs for 2014 but my 2013 wound up with one some how.
The Heritage 530 has a neck/body join further up the neck. I never tried one but that upper fret access might be nice. Not sure how it effects the general vibe though.
The Epi Casinos have always interested me especially at the lower price point.
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I bought a 59 reissue this year and I'm happy so far. I'm still experimenting with strings. With flatwounds you can channel Grant Greens early 60s tone all day long or live your Eddie Harris obsessions. With roundwounds it becomes more versatile. I have a 335 too, but I much prefer the full hollow 330.
It is very comfortable to play – light and I love the easy access to the lower frets due to the shorter neck (access to the higher frets is limited though).
On the downside it came set up really badly – rattles and all. I fixed most of it myself but will have the pickup switch changed as soon as my luthier comes back from vacation.
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Originally Posted by Little Jay
Hello, I’m looking at building a 3xx style guitar, and your post caught my eye.
You prefer the 16th fret next joint for a “tight feel”, what neck joint option gives you the “loose feel”?
I appreciate any insight. I am very particular about the way my guitars play, and unfortunately, as a lefty, I just don’t get to play as many instruments as y’all. I appreciate and info pertinent to above. Thanks.
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The Heritage H-530 is very similar to the Gibson 335 in some ways. Of course the 530 has P-90s and is hollow. But the neck joint is 335-ish. The 530 body is slightly thinner.
When I pick up a 530 I'm impressed at how light it feels. It's also acoustically louder, which is nice for quiet practice without an amp.
The 330 and 530 are feedback prone.
Deciding between those two, the main difference to me is where your left hand is comfortable. It will be away from your body more with the Heritage (and the 335). High note access is superior with the Heritage.
Here is one of my favorite 530s. This one came with humbuckers as a special order.
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Your English is great
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Yes, in theory the neckjoint at the 17th fret should make the strings feel a little more ‘loose’ than a neck joint at the 16th fret, because it allows for a bit more ‘after length’ (the distance of the strings from bridge to tailpiece). But be careful, more variables play a part: string gauge, break angle after the top nut, break angle after the bridge. It’s been a long time since I wrote that and since then I gained a little more insight (at least so I think) and I wouldn’t state what I did before so confidently anymore: the difference is probably negligible.... Originally Posted by vintagelove
But to elaborate a little further: the difference between a 19th and a 16th fret neck joint (ES-335, ES-330L) problay IS noticeable (with an ES-335 that has a trapeze tailpiece, it doesn’t go for the standard stop tail). But I have never directly compared (with all others elements equal: same string gauge and neck angle), so this is not confirmed by data from field-testing ;-)
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Tight meaning compressed or restricted or snug maybe. The string tension and sustain should be the same.
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I have an ES-390. I will die with my hands around that guitar.
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A 330 with dog ears is the only GAS I feel... Tried a 2016 CS and a 1963 TD. Wonderful guitars both of 'em!
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I play a Gibson 330L which the Custom Shop made for a few years (not sure how long) and sold (I think) only through Musician's Friend in the US. Anyway, it's the love of my life.
It's not exactly a regular 330 because the "L" stands for "long" as in the neck joins the body at the 19th fret like a 335 where as the 330 usually joined at the 15th. They made a few other modifications for this version of the 330L as well.
I have to say that at first I had a hard time controlling the feedback in loud situations but I just had to learn to cover unplaying strings well, learn how to set the amplifier EQ, and I had to learn where and how to stand on stage to avoid feedback. These days it's usually not a problem except if it's a super crazy loud gig. Even then I don't often suffer (unwanted) feedback (this can be amazing by the way) unless I'm stuck right in front of the bass rig with nowhere to go.
Stock Gibson P90's are lovely except the can be noisy so I had the guitar rewired to be hum-cancelling in the middle position for those moments when the 60-cycle noise is too much.
I can't tell you how much I love it. The only thing is that it's expensive, relatively fragile and kind of hard to travel with sometimes but I find it's worth it.
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Hofner Verythins (and related models like the 4600 in the video below) from the 1960s can be great guitars.
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The OP hasn't been on here in a L-O-N-G time, too bad.
Anyway, I have both a 330 (2018 model HB equipped) and 330L (P90's) both weigh within a couple of ounces of each other, a nice light 6lb 8 to 10 ounces.
Disregarding sound for a moment...
There seems to be a general dislike for the "L" model, odd because it plays like a 335, without the body heavy balance. I've never heard complaints about the 335 on it's neck join location on the body.
The standard 330 is familiar to anyone who has played a Les Paul, but without the weight (and obviously the double cut) and balance issues of many.
Sound wise they're totally different animals, I prefer the 2018 (think Emily Remler) HB model, the "L" is a mellower sound but a tad more prone to feedback. gggguitar seem to have it down OK.
I have little problem going between the two, no more than I'd have with a LP and 335, easily do-able... not an insurmountable issue by any stretch.
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Tried today an "Epiphone Casino Coupé" in a big local guitar store (so it wasn't tuned, the neck was half greasy /half sticky). First meeting for me with this model, I've heard it's a good base for pups changing.
I don't totally agree, the tuners are a real pain (perhaps it is an evolutive ear-training purpose), the bridge is ratling-scratching-buzzing each time you gently weeps a D or G string, the neck is Uberslim-taper, the pups are a vague idea of what microphones should be, the body sounds like an asthmatic cigar-box when played unplugged. It's cheap, okay.
A bad (the worst) example ? Even at half the price I'll never consider to bring it to my luthier for upgrades...
At the same time, Peerless is doing an affordable/playable/enjoyable Songbird.
That was my guitar report of the day.
Excuse my english.
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