Is this Gibson ES-330 alright?

[Little Jay]

With „turning the magnets“ you mean turning the pickups by 180degree, right? And then that would give an out of phase sound?

Kind regards
Max

No, I’m pretty sure he means turning the magnets 180 degrees inside the pickup, flipping the north en south poles! (Which is not hard to do in a P90 by the way....)

[TOMMO]

Yes - exactly that. So that the poles in one pickup are south up and in the other one north up.

[Alter]

If you use sandparer on the fretboard make sure you use the correct one! I tried once to remove grime from the fretboard using one and i did some damage like your guitar is showing on the area around the fret...

[sgosnell]

One of the best tools to clean gunk around frets is a toothbrush. Hard works quicker than soft, but either will eventually remove the crud. Toothbrushes are useful for cleaning all sorts of things other than teeth. I keep a few old worn ones available all the time.

[gggguitar]

I had this done on my 330. I also have both pickups going though just one master volume (I kept the tone controls for both).

If you keep the same wiring scheme then bear in mind that the hum cancelling in the middle position will work best only when the volumes for both pickups are set at the same level.

[django]

Thanks people!
I guess I keep it all original for now, and don’t touch the magnets then.
thanks for the pic Jay.

@Alter: Yes, I‘ll go with a very fine grid 2500-3000 with lemon oil and see how that works, maybe will go coarser if it doesn’t show effect.

@sgosnell: I can confirm, I also got some old toothbrushes, mostly for bathroom cleaning though. I doubt that they do anything for my fretboard, as it’s not dirt but scratches/marks in the rosewood.

[sgosnell]

No, too late for that board. The previous cleaner should have used one instead of whatever was used. Steel or brass brushes are also a bad idea. If it won't damage your gums, it's probably safe for use on fretboards, and vice versa.

[dreamingJazz]

Looks like you bought this

ES-330 2018

i was actually torn in buying the same model as yours or the VOS Dark Cherry, same guitar, just different color and finish (mine was just aged to look like it’s a vintage one)

ES-330 VOS 2018

Untitled by D Y, on Flickr

Untitled by D Y, on Flickr

and my headstock and logo is same as yours. And its legit.

Untitled by D Y, on Flickr

i’m sorry about the fretboard. It shouldnt be like that. Looks like someone did a poor job on that, mine looks like this,

Untitled by D Y, on Flickr


if you want it fixed, the luthier would probably take out all the frets, re-plane the board to proper 12” radius, put in new frets (Get stainless steel and you’ll be set for life), level, dress and crown, cut a new nut for your string gauge, and you’ll have a nicer playing, feeling - and looking - guitar. But all those work isnt cheap. I hope this issue was reflected on the price.

anyway, that is still a great sounding and playing (and looking) guitar that should give you enjoyment for years to come! Worry about the fretboard and frets 15-20 years later.. you got a lifer guitar there!

[Little Jay]

Dreamingjazz, it’s just some superficial scratches of the board. A little sanding and polishing will solve it. Don’t scare ts with refret and plaining, no need for that at all!

Great looking 330 you have btw!

[django]

@ dreamingJazz:
Wow, what a beauty! Great photos. It is the same guitar spec-wise, right?
May I ask what you payed? And did you buy it new?
I love my ES-330 already, it's definitely a keeper :-)

@Little Jay:
Yes, as you said, it's a purely cosmetic thing. It doesn't bother me anymore, as the guitar feels and sound so fine.
However, I will put some new roundwound 12s on and take my chance to give it a little (careful!) sanding.
I will do this on the weekend and defintely post some pictures of the board, when I am done.

Kind regards, Max

[django]

UPDATE:

I finally did the sanding, going with 1000/2000/3000 paper. Also gave it a little polish and lemon oil. Now it’s very smooth and almost all of the marks are gone. However there are some "scars" remaining, but I can live with that

Thanks again, everyone!



Before:

[dreamingJazz]

nicely done! Congrats

[Doctor Jeff]

Nice guitar! BTW, I have polished frets with a Dremel tool using a small felt disk loading with red polishing paste. After taping off the fret wood, of course. Seems to work great.

A couple of hundred hours of playing under your belt and I bet the scratch marks won’t even be noticeable.

[django]

@Doctor Jeff:

Thanks, it really is a great guitar, and I always wanted a 330.
That's a good idea to polish the frets with a dremel.

Kind regards
Max

[savofenno]

Imgur: The magic of the Internet


Hi folks!
Just received a Gibson ES-330 (2018) which I bought used, but in almost new condition. I always wanted to have this guitar and it plays and sounds great to me.
However, there are a few little things I experienced when I was changing strings, that made me a bit concerned.
Firstly, the fretboard seems to have some cuts/scratches parallel to the frets, and there’s also some plaque at the frets... I thought it was just dirt, but lemon oil polish did absolutely nothing. So now it looks to me that someone inappropriately tried to sand the fretboard down? And the other thing could be rests of glue on the fretboard (or do they only hammer in the frets...)?
Would a Gibson leave the factory that way? Hard to believe. I have cheap asian made guitars, where the fretboard looks better...
I‘ll ask the preowner about the fretboard, but I guess I know his answer, as he never mentioned anything like that...


Secondly: the headstock logo looks unusual to me. It’s a little bit prominent and seems to be some kind of sticker (?) that got clear coated? So basically it stands out a bit, you can feel it with your fingers. I never have seen this with any Gibson or Epiphone guitar before...
Thats why I had some authenticity concerns, but actually the big picture seems to be alright, guitar and case should be original, case definitely is, and the certificate of authenticity is there as well. It also has the Gibson multitool and cloth.


Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!

Yes, there are those things, but it is a Gibson OK. I understand your feelings, we all are a little sensitive about our newest guitar buy.

[jazzkritter]

FWIW You can find 6 Gibson’s in a row all perfect but also 6 in a row with bad finishes, poorly done fretboards etc. not saying yours left the factory like it was cause that was pretty nasty.

Rather than an electric tool that’s spinning at 10,000RPM there are nail sanding boards available in a range of abrasives that roughly mirror the sandpaper grades up into the 3000 up range. I’ve used them for curing a problem similar to what yours look like now and highly recommend them. I’ve only seen them in beauty supply shops or online. Two advantages are they are straight edged and cushioned. Makes it very easy to go into the base of the fret at an angle to get the gook out.

example:
Tropical Shine Cushion Nail Files

enjoy that 330!!!

dave

[Zedism]

The marks in the fretboard are from a square edged fine-tooth rasp. Looks like factory QC oversight, that should have been sanded out prior to the frets being seated. They're not sandpaper marks so I doubt the other owner did his own handiwork on it, more than likely came from the factory as is. You can minimize it by doing some sanding, working from about 200 grit and up toward finer gradually. That said, the damage is purely cosmetic (at least in terms of the fingerboard wear) and won't affect play-ability in the slightest.