-
The ES-330 was the first Gibson guitar I ever owned. Bought it used in 1969 for $165 and sold it a couple of years later for $165. At the time it was considered a no-frills, lower-end Gibson, nothing special. And that's sort of how I remember that guitar : it was alright but it wasn't anything special. Having owned one, I would never pay the prices that are being talked about here. I don't think the guitar is worth it. At least, the one I had wasn't. There must be a lot of perceived value in nostalgia.
-
12-29-2019 09:36 PM
-
As previously advised, i havé roll up thé midds and roll down bass and trebble on my LJ and thé sound is great now with my es 330 and round strings.
Unfortunately yesterday nigth when i have pushed the volume to 1 o’clock the amp produced some bad overdrive and i had to reduce thé midd to go back to a clean sound and it was not as good.
The neck p90 is really punchy but i would like to know if my amp has an issue or if i need a more powerfull amp to keep that clean punchy sound to a higher level.
Thanks
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
-
I always wondered why G didn't make a fancier version of the 330. Similar to the 335->355 variation. Of course there was the Crest, but that's the opposite extreme.
-
Wow, interesting. I didn't realize I was in the minority on the long neck 330!!
-
Hi all,
Playability of long vs short necks have been discussed extensively so far and I understand the point of the smoother feel of the short neck. I've had an Aria Pro II ta30 for a long time, which was a cheap (but very good!) Japanese copy of the Gibby ES330 short neck. It was the fastest neck I've ever played.
I've sold this guitar a few years ago, to buy an Ibanez Jsm100 ( a great great guitar by the way). I now appreciate the much better acces to upper notes, and have get used to the longer neck. Yes, when I switch from my archtop to the Ibby, I have to reach a bit farther on the left to grab the low notes, but that's OK: this Ibby is easier to play than any archtop I had the opportunity to play.
Now, tonewise, I'm still a bit puzzled on how a 330L vs 330 short neck compare to one another. Some seem to prefer the short neck, but why? Is there something in the short neck version that's not, or worse, in the long neck version, tonewise? Electrically or acoustically? Or in the reactivity to the picking dynamics?
I wish you all a happy swinging 2020 year
.
Last edited by fabyoda; 01-10-2020 at 09:59 AM.
-
Check out Eastman's take.
-
The difference you feel is accurate. I actually like the weight of the GB – it feels solid to me. The 330 is very light and comfortable to play, sometimes it feels like no guitar at all. To me the GB is my "modern" jazz guitar, with a brighter and more acoustic tone than the very midrangy 330 – which sounds very much like late 50s / early 60s jazz recordings – think Grant Green and Kenny Burrell. As a sidenote I always dime the volume a little bit on the guitar, to me that sounds much more jazzy than cranked. The GB also seems less picky about amps – so far it sounds good whatever I plugged it into. The bling-bling is something I'm not sure I like – but the tone makes up for this. I'm happy that I can keep both. Enjoy your 330!
Originally Posted by Zheul
-
Try to dial the guitar's volume control back to 8. Originally Posted by Zheul
-
Hi all.
I'm considering the online purchase of a used Gibson ES-330. Given the lesser popularity of these compared to Les Pauls and 335s is it less likely I would run across a counterfeit copy?
Thanks.
-
If it says Chibson on the headstock, it’s a copy.
Ahem.
Check the serial number. Look inside the F-hole at the label.
Best if you can remove the pickup and examine the markings. Doubtful someone would try to copy a legit Gibson P90 pickup.
I got a 2002 ES-135 a few years ago for what I considered an insanely good price ($1000). It’s still my go-to guitar for daily playing and gigs. After I had it a couple of weeks I started to wonder if it was the real thing, and in particular if someone had swapped out the Classic 57 pickups. I checked and to my relief they were OEM.
-
I've seen fake 335s, but not 330s. I s'pose it's possible. Got any pics? Headstock front and back, and bridge, most useful.
-
I saw a really suspicious one on reddit. The Sunburst looked off… Like the ones you see on Chinese guitars made by Epiphone. You could also see the wiring in the sound hole and it looks like blue and white plastic which not would probably not see on a Gibson. I didn’t wanna insult the guy because… Well… Not my monkey, not my circus.
Be interesting to see what other peoples opinions are.
-
Agreed ! The sunburst is ugly and doesn't look at all like a Gibson's
-
agreed. but the custom shop sunbursts can look pretty ugly too. Originally Posted by 339 in june
-
I think the ears must be dark, this is how a 330 is supposed to look like imo.
-
You should ask for additionnal pictures with serial number, back picture, details on headstock... you should Also ask him about thé year of construction, where he bought it, picture of thé case also...if thé guy cannot provide you additionnal information ... well it is a fake... if he can, it is maybe a fake.
Thé toogle switch cap is black on thé picture whereas it is white on my 1960 es330 and on most on google pictures..
Good luck
Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
-
Yeah the one in the picture (from Reddit?) next to the Strat looks really fishy. This would supposedly be a 330L because of the block inlays and the neck joining the body at the 19th fret rather than the 17th. The pickguard looks cheapy and wrong. To my knowledge 330's never had that crown inlay on the headstock. The top of the headstock just looks all wrong too...like it was cut down from something. The insides of the f-holes look funky like maybe there was once binding in there that was removed. I would also expect to see at least a hint of orange Gibson Custom Shop label on the inside of the guitar through that f-hole. You can see how the finish looks like it may have been poorly sanded up into the horns to alter the burst pattern. The bridge looks wrong and what's up with those the really long, weird bolts on the trapeze tailpiece?
Based on these things I'm afraid I'm calling foul on this one. My guess is that this was once an Ibanez ASR-70 that somebody went to great pains to make look like something else. I could easily be wrong and if I am then I am very sorry. I sincerely hope I am wrong because that would be a shame...c'mon those Artcore guitars are really nice.
-
Oh, those sunburst archtop guitars made at Memphis Gibson factory were horrible. That reddit pic's 330 must be one of them. They looked like totally fake Chibson in person and I was speechless. Nashville guitars weren't that good either. I had a Historic 335 made in 2000 and I hated the burst finish.
-
The ASR-70 has the Ibanez body shape and f-holes, very different: Originally Posted by gggguitar
I'd suspect a Gibson-ized Epiphone or something. Considering the crown inlay it's not an ES-330L, even if it is indeed a Gibson,
-
I haven't kept up with this model, but I'd question the crown inlay and the bridge studs.
Danny W.
-
Even under magnification it was hard to tell whether the bridge studs were metric or not, which is usually the easiest giveaway for a fake Gibson. It'd be interesting to see the back of the headstock, which has another surefire tell for me: wings on the side. Originally Posted by Danny W.
The headstock is very suspicious (though could it be angle of photo?) -- and the tuners lack bushings, apparently.
My initial suspicion would be an Epiphone modded to make a fake.
-
I just bought a T64/v Eastman (a mix of ES 330 and Casino). If you like ES 330s you will also like this guitar. Neither better nor worse, but surely a modern variant. I also have an Ibanez GB10 that I love to sing and swing. But as said in the discussion the GB 10 is heavy and in a concert it hurts the back. The T64/v is as light as the 330 and sounds great. For the curious try here!
Reply With Quote
Jimmy Bruno - Poinciana
Today, 08:52 AM in The Players