ES-335 style guitar love thread, no telecasters allowed

[docsteve]

Looks like you've got to do everything yourself.

Please post pictures, stories, anecdotes and anything else about your ES 335-style guitars here. I suggest just the bare minimum of rules:

• ES-335 shape or similar
• Thinline (no full-box guitars, there are plenty of threads on these)
• Any manufacturer (not restricted to Gibsons)
• No telecasters.

[docsteve]

At the risk of forum spamming:



This is a picture of my Warwick guitar, not in its current shape. I bought the wood in the 80s and added various hardware over time. Originally it had a string-through bridge which I replaced because I thought the guitar sounded too telecastery. At the moment, it has a hardtail Strat bridge which is okay, but not really great. I’ll probably revert to the original bridge eventually. The tailpiece is just for show. Pickups are Gibson P90s; the bridge pickup is overwound for extra output.

[Jabberwocky]

Edwards SA 138 LTS. My first one was destroyed in the mail. I found another one shortly. It has pressed solid maple top, rim and back. Thin neck profile.

Seventy-seven Exrubato CTM x 3, Std x 1, Hollow with ALS255 buckers x 1, Jazz x 1. I bought these in a mad fit between 2011 and 2012. I still have them. Nice neck profile.

I suck at iphone photography. Photos are freely available on the web.

[Tal_175]

Rhlett already created a thread for this:
Bent side, full or semi-hollow, thin-line love thread; NO SLABS.

[caue amaral]

My Epi Es-335...

[John A.]

I'll be putting one up (I hope) within the next few days. I have a D'Angelico EX DC, which is currently in the midst of a pickup swap. Details to come ...

[DawgBone]

My Epi Es-335...

Bro nice axe but it's time to take the plastic off the pickguard.

[caue amaral]

Bro nice axe but it's time to take the plastic off the pickguard.

Thanks...it's true!!:sorriso-novo:

[fep]

Ibanez 2630 Artist, I bought this in 1977 or 1978

[Little Jay]

My poor man’s ES-335, the ES-333! Short lived (2004-2007 or so? Dunno exaclty). Originally came with satin finish, 498 humbuckers, no pickguard, no headstock inlay, simple pantographed logo and of course the ‘back door’ at the back to access the electronics.

Don’t know what the value is today, but I got mine 13 years ago for about 1/3 of the price of a regular 335 and it had Classic57s already installed. I polished the finish to a shine and put a pickguard. Most people think it’s a vintage 335 upon first glance.

Simply a great guitar, I used it a lot and still do from time to time. I was a noticeable step up from the Epiphone Sheraton II I played before I got it.

[DawgBone]

My poor man’s ES-335, the ES-333! Short lived (2004-2007 or so? Dunno exaclty). Originally came with satin finish, 498 humbuckers, no pickguard, no headstock inlay, simple pantographed logo and of course the ‘back door’ at the back to access the electronics.

Don’t know what the value is today, but I got mine 13 years ago for about 1/3 of the price of a regular 335 and it had Classic57s already installed. I polished the finish to a shine and put a pickguard. Most people think it’s a vintage 335 upon first glance.

Simply a great guitar, I used it a lot and still do from time to time. I was a noticeable step up from the Epiphone Sheraton II I played before I got it.

Nice axe!

I had a red '03 that I let go a couple years ago because I liked my Edwards more, mainly because the slim taper on the 333 required constant adjustment and I could never get the action as low as I wanted without excessive buzz. It was spending too much time in the case so down the road she went. I polished mine to a shine also and played it at many hundreds of gigs. The finish on the neck was starting to wear thru. People were constantly asking me "man, how old is that guitar?" every gig I played..

They came originally with 490r/498t which was actually a good sounding set but I too switched them for '57 classics. Gibson cancelled them because they were cutting into their 335 sales I think. What's not to love? A whole heckuva lot easier to do a pickup swap on a 333.

I also had a Sheraton II Pro for a while. That guitar had insanely low buzz free action. I actually had to raise it. The five piece neck is awesome and VERY stable.The probuckers were decent and at a gig volumes no one was the wiser when I switched the 333 out. The issue was that canoe paddle headstock it made it a neck diving son of a gun and uncomfortable to gig with since I also sing. Every time I let go of the neck it would dive. I tried putting lighter kluson tuners on, no dice. I sold it. Should've bit the bullet and thrown a nice big gold Bigsby on there. Would've fixed the problem but that was over half the purchase price of the guitar. It was a good enough guitar to make it worth it though. Shouldn't have let it go.

[Flat]

Heritage H535, Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers. A sexy burst, imho. It likes to hide its headstock cuz it's a little shy about that.

[DawgBone]

Heritage H535, Seymour Duncan Seth Lovers. A sexy burst, imho. It likes to hide its headstock cuz it's a little shy about that.

It's beautiful. What kind of rig are you playing through and how do you like the Seth's? I found them too bright for my Edwards E-SA. Not sure if it's cause of the solid maple top rather than laminate or what but I'm a couple days from having the last one removed and replaced with a '57 classic.

[Hammertone]

Here's a 2016 Gibson ES-335 '63 RI from Memphis, that belongs to a friend. Lovely. Listed for sale on this very forum. And also a 2022 ES-335, which has been significantly improved. Just a great guitar. 7 1/2 pounds, '50s neck. Added '80 Shaw pickup set, refret (no nibs), refinish, replaced wiring loom, '50s long guard, and more. Why anyone would do this is beyond me, but it's one hell of a guitar.

[BreckerFan]

My 2018 Memphis 330. They did a year of 330s studios with humbuckers as stock. I like the extra resonance and light weight of the fully hollow construction. I replaced the stock burstbuckers with Armstrong PAFs, which I'm 95% happy with, but I've got a set of Novak standard sized wide ranges laying around that I'm tempted to throw in. Strung with daddario chrome 13s it has a great warm sound, but without the feedback of my L-7, so it's my go to guitar for jams if I don't know the amp/room situation.

[John A.]

My 2018 Memphis 330. They did a year of 330s studios with humbuckers as stock. I like the extra resonance and light weight of the fully hollow construction. I replaced the stock burstbuckers with Armstrong PAFs, which I'm 95% happy with, but I've got a set of Novak standard sized wide ranges laying around that I'm tempted to throw in. Strung with daddario chrome 13s it has a great warm sound, but without the feedback of my L-7, so it's my go to guitar for jams if I don't know the amp/room situation.

Interesting ... I saw a guy play one of these at a jam recently and wasn't sure what it was. Now I know. Very cool idea (people often wonder why Gibson never made a 330 with humbuckers).

[John A.]

OK, so here's mine


This is a 2005 D'Angelico EX DC. I bought it in 2011. This is from the first run MIK of D'Angelicos. It has some details that are a bit different from the ones made subsequently. Specifically, the headstock is smaller and more rectangular, and it has a laminated spruce top instead of laminated maple.

I had it refretted a couple of years ago and also changed the knobs. Until just now, I've kept it otherwise stock, but the urge to change pickups came over me. The originals are Kent Armstrong "Six Shooter" humbuckers, which have Alnico V magnets and are 8.9k ohms. I was curious as to what something with closer to PAF specs would sound like, so I took the plunge on a set of Stew Mac Parsons Streets. These are alnico II magnets and 7k(n)/8k (b).

I tried to install them myself, but gave up. I actually had no trouble getting the controls out of the guitar because the center block has large openings between the two pickups and between the bridge pickup and the the controls (which I think contributes to the guitar having a slightly more acoustic/archtop-y sound than a real 335). But the wiring is weird. it uses 2 conductor wire between the components with extra grounds all over the place; I could not find a wiring diagram that looks like it, so I just tried to swap the new pickup exacly the way the old one was hooked up.

I got the first pickup wired in, but alas, no joy after various attempts, and I couldn't figure out where I went wrong. I took it to a tech friend of mine this afternoon who sorted out for me. Where I went wrong turned out to be lousy soldering causing wires that shouldn't touch to touch. But my friend also had some trouble making sense of the circuit, and ultimately did the same thing I did, but without the soldering mishaps.

I played it for a while tonight, and, well, the difference so far seems pretty subtle. A little bit softer attack and somehow both a little more clarity and warmth (which sounds like a contradiction in terms), but it still sounds like the same guitar (though my son said he noticed a difference). I'm going to a jam tomorrow which will be a better test.

[Hammertone]

And now for something completely different - a wonderful Seventy-Seven Albatross, but single-cut as opposed to double-cut.
-Les Paul size/scale;
-hollow, with solid spruce flat-top, solid mahogany back and rims;
-ebony board, mahogany neck w/'59-style carve;
-small maple block running from the neck block to the stop tailpiece;
-tortoise binding, rope purfling;
-Gotoh hardware in a bunch of different finishes.

[Hammertone]

Edwards, made in China/Japan:
-solid maple carved top and back plates
-mahogany block
-Seymour Duncan pickups
-Gotoh hardware
-fantastic guitars, available in ES-335 and ES-355 garb

Satin finish versions can be polished up to a lovely warm gloss, like the black one below.

[Hyppolyte Bergamotte]

Gibson ES 345 TD,first year of production,around September 1959, 2 PAF's

[gitman]

The Yamaha (SA30 from 1968) on the left is fully hollow , the ES-345 (1963) is mine since 1982. Red guitars are so cool .....

[murphybridget837]

Your Warwick guitar has evolved over the years with various hardware changes. The Gibson P90 pickups, especially the overwound bridge pickup, enhance its tone. Reverting to the original bridge is on the cards. It's fascinating to see the evolution of your instrument!

[Flat]

What kind of rig are you playing through and how do you like the Seth's?

That's actually not my amp in the background. The photo was from the seller on eBay or Reverb or someplace I can't remember. It was several years ago. I have a Carr, a little Boogie Studio 22, a Roland Jazz Chorus, and a Polytone. I like this through the tube amps. And I like the Seths a lot. I'm lucky to have an L7 and a Sadowsky Jim Hall and a 575, and a PRS and two Strats and a Tele. But when I pick this one up I sometimes wonder why I hang on to all the others. I can get a decent jazz tone and a decent rock tone out of it. If the gods of fortune tell me someday "you can keep only one electric and we're taking all the rest" I would probably choose to keep this one. It's just so right down the middle of everything, in between the archtops and the planks, and can cut both ways. Jack of all trades.

[jumpnblues]

Not sure I'm the first posting/thread, but it looks like the thread I suggested has sprouted wings. Cool!!

[John A.]

The Yamaha (SA30 from 1968) on the left is fully hollow , the ES-345 (1963) is mine since 1982. Red guitars are so cool .....

Interesting structure you have there in the background. I guess you must play catatonic scales?