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What happened to the ES-345?


charlie brown

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Wiki says it was discontinued in 1981...

 

And that an Epi version was launched in 2012...

 

V

 

:-({|=

 

My dealer had a brand new one in, about 9 months ago! So, that's

why I was wondering about it being available, still, if only on

a "special order" basis?! Same, with the ES-355? "Lucille" is

(currently) the only 355 style version in the Gibson on-line listing. [confused]

 

CB

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About a year or so ago Thomann had Gibson ES345's in stock but they seemed to have all gone now. I have not seen 355's on general release at all except for the Epi versions of the 345 and 355 but they are discontinued now.

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If you might be interested in a "late model" and not have to have a "new" one, then.... I'll let you in on Gibson's best kept secret regarding the 345.

 

In 1999/2000 the Nashville Custom Shop made a small run of "Historic Series" ES-345's. I've only ever seen two in person, and only maybe another dozen ever advertised for sale. It's my understanding they were built to original 1959 specs, using the original jigs and even some NOS parts, and have these features:

 

MONO !!! (the TRC says "Custom" instead of "Stereo")

Varitone

Stoptail ( I believe I have seen a Bigsby version or two)

No SN die stamp on headstock (or Made In USA), SN only on orange label inside body

Cali-Girl case

Sunburst, Cherry and Natural

 

They have all the rest of the proper and correct 345 features for the time such as gold plated hardware, output jack on the face not the rim, knob pointers, reflector top knobs, split-parallelograms, crown headstock inlay, etc.

 

I bought one of these in 2000 from Dave Rogers (Dave's Guitar Shop, La Crosse, WI) to replace my old worn-out 335, and it is the finest ES-3XX guitar I have ever played (and I've played a bunch and owned a few). I had the opportunity to A/B it with an early 60's model, and even the owner of that guitar was impressed. Before he saw the guitar he was trying to sell me some vintage parts to dress it up (knobs, switch tip, pickguard, TRC). Once I opened the case and he saw/played the guitar, he ceased all sales pitches, and could not come up with one reason to change a single thing.

 

I did a quick google, and they're out there.

http://www.tdpri.com/phpclassifieds/showproduct.php?product=36950

 

Just for price comparison, I paid $2350 new for mine in September of 2000.

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Larry,

 

I can remember seeing two of those very guitars at the Guitar Center in Hollywood at that very time. Unfortunately I was dealing with some personal affairs at that time which prevented me from pulling the trigger for one of those 345's. VERY nice guitars however! You are lucky to have one! jim in Maine

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It would be nice if Gibson when they do make these guitars produces them exactly like they were made in the late 50's/early 60's i.e. with the black speed knobs and everything else the same way they were made back in the day........jim in Maine

The term "speed knob" refers to a straight-sided knob that was used back in the 1953-55 period. The early 335/345/355 models had flare-sided knobs referred to as "bonnet" knobs (the earlier clear-topped type) or "reflector cap" knobs ("vol" and "tone" markings on metal inserts).

 

Also as you may know, black knobs were generally only used on the cherry-finished guitars (gold was used on sunburst and natural finished guitars).

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In 1999/2000 the Nashville Custom Shop made a small run of "Historic Series" ES-345's. I've only ever seen two in person, and only maybe another dozen ever advertised for sale. It's my understanding they were built to original 1959 specs...

 

They have all the rest of the proper and correct 345 features for the time such as gold plated hardware, output jack on the face not the rim, knob pointers, reflector top knobs, split-parallelograms, crown headstock inlay, etc.

If they were made to '59 specs, I would have thought they would have used clear-topped bonnet knobs.

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If they were made to '59 specs, I would have thought they would have used clear-topped bonnet knobs.

 

To the best I can determine from published resources, (sometime) in 1959 was the transition (for ES models) from what I call "tophats" (you call bonnets) to reflector tops.

 

As this IS Gibson we're talking about, we know there is very little written in stone about parts supplies.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Where did the ES-345 go? Is it still available, by special order,

or on hiatus, from production...temporarily, or permanent? [unsure]

 

 

CB

 

It appears to me that Gibson produced the ES-345 again from the late 90s through 2012, in small-ish quantities, but I have not seen any from 2013, which leads me to believe it has been discontinued.

 

I picked up a 2011 model this past winter. It is simply fantastic.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I own an Epiphone ES345 stereo. The Chinese version made in 2012. Believe it or not, it's actually a fine guitar, well made and sounds fantastic. It has the high gloss black finish w th all gold hardware and a bigs by tremolo. No case but I blagged a soft case. I bought it in Belfast a couple of months ago for £450 UKP . Well worth the cash to provide me a fine axe when I gigged in Germany in September. There's a pic of it with my ES175 and my Gretsch country Gent in the "introduce yourself" section,

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Where did the ES-345 go? Is it still available, by special order,

or on hiatus, from production...temporarily, or permanent? [unsure]

 

 

CB

 

My 345 is a 2002 in wine red sold with "BB King" and "Gibson Memphis" in gold on the case to (from what I was told) commemorate that BB used a 345 before the Lucille was designed for him. I've known of others made later than mine but not in the last few years.

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My 345 is a 2002 in wine red sold with "BB King" and "Gibson Memphis" in gold on the case to (from what I was told) commemorate that BB used a 345 before the Lucille was designed for him. I've known of others made later than mine but not in the last few years.

BB was using an ES-355 at the time he switched to the Lucille and the Lucille's binding and fretboard reflect that. I suspect that your ES-345 just had its factory case swapped with a Lucille case at some point.

 

Danny W.

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As a longtime ES-355 user, when I came to work for a Gibson dealer a decade or so ago, I asked why the 355 was no longer in production and his response was that the strategy with models such as the 345/355 was to release them, keep them in production until sales began to drop off, then discontinue and wait for demand to build back up - so when they rerelease a few years down the line there will be a rush of buyers who didn't get a chance last time round. This may well be speculation on his part rather than company policy, but it makes good sense. It doesn't have to be a big "forever banished" decision: if sales have dropped off for a couple of 335 variants, just shelve them for a while and concentrate production on what there is most demand for.

 

On one level it seems a shame: the 345 and 355 are important models from Gibson's golden era, and it would be nice to see them afforded the same respect as the Les Paul Custom as a comparable example. But, I suspect, the market is what it is, and it's hard to blame Gibson following it. I'm sure it will be back soon enough.

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On one level it seems a shame: the 345 and 355 are important models from Gibson's golden era, and it would be nice to see them afforded the same respect as the Les Paul Custom as a comparable example. But, I suspect, the market is what it is, and it's hard to blame Gibson following it. I'm sure it will be back soon enough.

 

I think you have the right of it there. They'll be back! [thumbup]

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Is there anybody on this group like myself that is hoping for a 345 to be released that has the varitone AND stop tailpiece on it ala the late '50s to hopefully be released in the future? jim in Main

 

That's how they've been doing it in recent years. Mine is a 2011 model. Varitone and stop tail. Sounds amazing, and I do mean amazing. I've gone through many Gibsons including a few from the late 60s. This one's the best I've tried. I like the dual jacks to allow for both mono and stereo modes.

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Can I ask you what kind of volume/tone knobs did they put on your 345 if I may? A little like a who really cares moment for most people, but my question is why Gibson is putting what at least to me looks like kind of funky knobs that Gibson never used back in the late 50's..........my 59 historic 335 has the original reissue all black volume/tone knobs which at least to my anal way of thinking is what Gibson should be putting on their historically 'correct' models ESPECIALLY for what they are charging these days...........jim in Maine

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The 355 was offered in mono and stereo versions originally, the mono versions generally lacking the varitone - and the mono version command a premium over the stereo on the vintage market. Makes sense therefore to reissue the version that is most in demand. Personally I quite like the varitone but the stereo is a pain, unless it's the late '70s / Lucille version that has two outputs on the rim rather than a single stereo jack on the front. Unless you actually use the stereo output, in which case it's the cat's pajamas - but you'd be in a pretty small minority!

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unless it's the late '70s / Lucille version that has two outputs on the rim rather than a single stereo jack on the front. Unless you actually use the stereo output, in which case it's the cat's pajamas - but you'd be in a pretty small minority!

 

To my mind this is the way to go for a ESxxx reissue. You have stereo option if you want it but without the nuisance of a split lead. The absence of the varitone is simply not an option for me - might as well get a 335.

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