Share your ES-335

[Woody Sound]

[citizenk74]

Here’s my ‘85 Dot Neck. Bought it used in the mid 90’s from a tech friend at Gryphon music. Can’t believe it’s nearing 40 yrs old…!
Ive completely reworked it through the years & have it just where it’s a fine sounding/playing 335 & still in remarkable condition. Electronix upgrade,Thro-Bak pickups, Faber Hardware & refret did wonders…
Here it is next to my’ ‘63 ES-330
Attachment 88008

[citizenk74]

Ok I’ll admit I want one. What should I look out for?

From my personal experience with ES-3XX guitars (-325, -335, -345): mahogany neck, and a w-i-d-e strap. Neck width needs to be comfortable for you. I really like the stereo varitone, but am an outlier in that regard. My -325 has a maple neck and mini-humbuckers and is heavy and bright and excels at funk stuff. All of mine have trapeze tailpieces, which is an issue for some. I like the more relaxed string compliance, but that is a personal quirk. I would not turn down a stop-tail with PAFs. My -345 has patent-sticker pups worth more than most guitars. They also sound freaking awesome.

[Franz 1997]

This thread has made me nostalgic for the 335s, 345s and the one 355 I owned in pre-jazz days. Contrary to the above, I have never owned a trapeze version. Part of the attraction was the sheer looks of the thing, and I particularly was attracted to the very dark cherry, almost wine colour, that some old cherry 335s would "mature" into. Here's the only pic I have; an early 60s block inlay. Don't know what year, it seemed less important decades ago..
ps that pink paint is long gone..

[maplebaby]

Thro-baks are amazing PAF replicas! I have the 1st edition one’s…SLE-101’s. They replaced the orig Shaw pups, that were ok, but the TB’s offered more of everything, esp in the neck pickup.
I can’t believe Gibson wired some of the 80’s Dot necks with 300k & 100k pots?
The 330 is in a world of it’s own…

thanks SO much for the reply, so glad you love the 330!

[Little Jay]

thanks SO much for the reply, so glad you love the 330!

One needs both a 330 and a 335



(The ‘330’ is a kit I assembled and finished btw)

[AlsoRan]

I wish I had an ES335......

[Christian Miller]

There's not a lot to go wrong with a 335, if set up well. The main thing to watch out for is to make sure the 335 sound is what you need. They are IMO masterpieces of practical design, look great and can cover most musical situations. But they don't have the hollow thunk of a 175, nor the airy Tele sound. Try extensively, before considering buying for a jazz application. For other purposes, they arguably are the best of both worlds.

Also, don't drop one..

I already have a 175 and a Tele. I quite like the idea of a guitar that has a smoother sustain and will handle Drive etc or a straightahead gig while looking ‘jazz’; which is why most get them I think.

i am a clutz tho

[omphalopsychos]

[silverfoxx]

There's not a lot to go wrong with a 335, if set up well. The main thing to watch out for is to make sure the 335 sound is what you need. They are IMO masterpieces of practical design, look great and can cover most musical situations. But they don't have the hollow thunk of a 175, nor the airy Tele sound. Try extensively, before considering buying for a jazz application. For other purposes, they arguably are the best of both worlds.

Also, don't drop one..

I concur with Franz 1997,
I acquired my used 1959 superb 335 in 1963, and foolishly sold it in 1978, purely because the gigs had dried up
since then i've had many derivations, 345 , 355 and finally a C356 custom circa 2004 which is a smaller
version of the ES355, all of the models mentioned are versatile instruments easily able to cope with many
styles as my friend above has stated. This Forum persuaded me to follow the Archtop path, but, in the unlikely
event of gigging, an Es335 or a derivative,is a safer bet IMHO

silverfoxx

[floatingpickup]

Curious to know why the ‘vintage-style’ electronics didn’t suit you….. I think the 335 had the ‘modern’ wiring circuit already in ‘63, which they kept until today, so if Gibson did a true ‘63 Reissue there shouldn’t be any difference in electronics with a modern 335….

I would have thought the electronics in 1963 would have been similar to today’s guitars. I’m not sure why mine seemed strange to me. The problem was that the volume control had extreme drop-off below about 8. I like to change the volume a lot for soloing, rhythm, etc. But it was far too sensitive for me. Also, reducing the volume control seemed to suck out all the tone making the guitar sound thin. Perhaps a different volume pot would have solved the issue but I don’t like doing mods. Maybe I should have investigated further and I probably made a mistake selling it. Other than that minor issue, I loved the guitar. It was just like an new/old one.
Keith

[gitman]

I already have a 175 and a Tele. I quite like the idea of a guitar that has a smoother sustain and will handle Drive etc or a straightahead gig while looking ‘jazz’; which is why most get them I think.

i am a clutz tho

With a Tele and the 175 you are set up for any gig that might come your way, that's for sure. BUT a "good" 335/345 will give you :
a sweet, sustaining tone with a beautiful note-bloom, a smooth and singing neck pup tone, with both pups on it is a great Funk/Soul rhythm machine (> Johnny Guitar Watson)
and the lead pickup (with the tone rolled down some) let's you wail with the classic Carlton/Ford tones.
I first dreamed of owning one when I discovered BB King (I was about 14 I guess), got my first 345 with 16 and was never without one ever since.
Right about that time I discovered "The Crusaders" (with Larry Carlton), Ritenour, Robben Ford (> Miles of Isles with Joni Mitchell + The LA Express) , the classic
recordings of Carlton with Joni, Steely Dan, Michael Franks, and so on ... so this unique sound of the semihollow Gibson is forever ingrained in my ear :-)
I'm not a small person so the size was never an issue but as it was mentioned before, a good strap helps.
As far as those now scarce and pricy 60's models are concerned : if your fingers are not really big and round then the smaller necks on the post-64 models
are absolutely playable and those guitars are still not quite as expensive. A 67/68/early 69 could be the ticket: great pickups, one(later3)-piece mahogany neck,
small but deeply carved neck shape and if the guitar has an added stop tailpiece it's not an issue - IMHO it helps the sustain and the depth of the tone.
One viable alternative would be the Epiphone Riviera with the mini humbuckers - except for the pickups it's essentially the same guitar but more affordable. At the moment ....

Epiphone Riviera E360TD 1967 Cherry | Gear Garage | Reverb

[maplebaby]

Wow..what perfect looks like.

I have almost identical guitars from Collings.

[jzucker]

Sorry for your loss. Not an ES technically but a close cousin. Sounds great for jazz and has an airy-telesque tone too. Best of all worlds.

[northernbreed]

Sorry for your loss. Not an ES technically but a close cousin. Sounds great for jazz and has an airy-telesque tone too. Best of all worlds.

Very nice. I sold mine and now I kind of regret it.

[jzucker]

Very nice. I sold mine and now I kind of regret it.

It's a bit different from a 335. Not as fat and has some airyness that the 335 doesn't have.

[Little Jay]

I would have thought the electronics in 1963 would have been similar to today’s guitars. I’m not sure why mine seemed strange to me. The problem was that the volume control had extreme drop-off below about 8. I like to change the volume a lot for soloing, rhythm, etc. But it was far too sensitive for me. Also, reducing the volume control seemed to suck out all the tone making the guitar sound thin. Perhaps a different volume pot would have solved the issue but I don’t like doing mods. Maybe I should have investigated further and I probably made a mistake selling it. Other than that minor issue, I loved the guitar. It was just like an new/old one.
Keith

A bit of a moot point since you don’t have the guitar anymore, but you are raising an interesting point: the right pot-meters can make or brake a guitar imho, especially when you don’t just play with volume and tone on 10 all the time. I have experimented a lot lately with different brands of pots and log versus lineair tapers in several guitars (because of my DIY-builts) and found that all the modern pots have tapers that result in this on/off feeling rather than a smooth gradient and subtle change of volume and tone. I tried to replicate the feel and working of the 50ies wiring of my 1950 ES-125 (which feels fantastic) in my newer guitars, but I could not manage with modern pots.

But there is a way around: the modern wiring schematic with treble bleeds (100-150K resistor parallel with a .001uf cap on the volume pot) brings a nice gradual volume change and comes much closer to how my ES-125 works and feels. That would have probably made your 335 much more usable…..

The pots in my ES-333 were perfect btw and they seem factory.

[maplebaby]

Sorry for your loss. Not an ES technically but a close cousin. Sounds great for jazz and has an airy-telesque tone too. Best of all worlds.

beautiful guitar! Thanks for sharing & the kind words.

[floatingpickup]

A bit of a moot point since you don’t have the guitar anymore, but you are raising an interesting point: the right pot-meters can make or brake a guitar imho, especially when you don’t just play with volume and tone on 10 all the time. I have experimented a lot lately with different brands of pots and log versus lineair tapers in several guitars (because of my DIY-builts) and found that all the modern pots have tapers that result in this on/off feeling rather than a smooth gradient and subtle change of volume and tone. I tried to replicate the feel and working of the 50ies wiring of my 1950 ES-125 (which feels fantastic) in my newer guitars, but I could not manage with modern pots.

But there is a way around: the modern wiring schematic with treble bleeds (100-150K resistor parallel with a .001uf cap on the volume pot) brings a nice gradual volume change and comes much closer to how my ES-125 works and feels. That would have probably made your 335 much more usable…..

The pots in my ES-333 were perfect btw and they seem factory.

Thanks for the helpful info. I probably should have had some work done on the guitar instead of just letting it go. If I run into this issue with another guitar in the future, I’ll look for some help before giving up. Oh well, this isn’t the first time I have let a good guitar get away and had second thoughts after.
Keith

[jzucker]

hmmm...Just for a counterpoint. I hate the modern treble bleed circuits. Yes, they do give you brightness as you turn the volume down but to me, it's not done in a way that sounds like what I'm used to hearing in jazz, blues or rock recordings. What happens is that when you turn the guitar volume down, the high end jumps across the capacitor but not the low end so (to me) it ends up sounding plinky and thin. I like the original circuits. If you want to turn down and not lose the top end response, you'll get much better results using an active volume pedal like this:

This doesn't lose any treble when you back it off. They are expensive but maintain your guitar tone without sounding plinky.

[John A.]

Ok I’ll admit I want one. What should I look out for?

Pay close attention to quality and price. Get a good one for cheap, not a bad one for expensive.

Other than that, go for red. You don't have a red guitar yet.

[RnB]

I’ll play… but I cheat, it’s a 333, not a 335 ;-)

What sets this 333 apart from a 335 besides the absence of the Crown Inlay...? Looks like it has all the regular amenity's of an ES-335...

[Paulie2]

So sorry for you loss OP. Cherish that guitar, what an amazing gift from his family.

I will add my 335 to the mix. It's also a Memphis from 2014 with a figured top thats very subtle in this lighting

[Little Jay]

What sets this 333 apart from a 335 besides the absence of the Crown Inlay...? Looks like it has all the regular amenity's of an ES-335...

It has the same woods and dimensions!

It came with different humbuckers (490R and 498T, but mine already had those changed for Classic 57s), satin finish, no pickguard and it has a compartment on the back to reach the electronics (very practical!).

I buffed the finish, put a pickguard and with the Classic 57s it already had it’s essentially an ES-335 for about 1/3 the price ;-) (at least when I got it in 2010 or so).

[citizenk74]

Pay close attention to quality and price. Get a good one for cheap, not a bad one for expensive.

Other than that, go for red. You don't have a red guitar yet.

Yes! Red guitars have their own mojo and are an important part of a balanced visual diet for the aspiring guitarist. They also look really cool, especially with gold hardware, like my '64 ES-345.*

* My first real good guitar experience was with a Bigsby-laden ES-345 in sunburst belonging to a friend whose band rehearsed at my rented farmhouse. Played through his Fender Dual Showman Reverb** it was quite something. The band had a Hammond B-3 player and rehearsal night were something else, I can tell you. My then- very young children got the then-fledgeling Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers by day and live R & B in the evenings. They turned out very well, I think.

** Which amp I would many years later come to own. Circle of life, etc. A jazz pal of mine had that ES-345 and offered it to me at a nice price, but... Bigsby! No sale!