Bernie69 Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Hi guys I'm sorry but I'll trigger a huge gassing in all the Esssss admirers community ( you !!!!) As its soon retirement day I have indulged in a great replacement guitar for my 339: an amazing sunburst 2014 ES359!!! The level of quality and craftsmanship of this guitar is stunning, the same level as , lets say a JohnnyA or some 356s sold twice the price I paid (2500 €). Of course flawless, good intonation and accuracy,good set up, everything perfect. And Icing on the cake, the price of this jewel was reasonable compared to what is was when it was in production some years ago. I have understood that all the ES 2014 line was cheaper than 2013 ; some 335 have also shown up in Europe at a price with 10% decrease. I'll add more details later, I can already say that the neck is very comfortable ( its the Lucille neck) closer to the 30/60 than to the rounded59, the sound is a bit different from the 339, with more clarity , I must try all my amps to give you a real feed back. I'll add some pics later .................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 . A very nice guitar indeed. Congrats. Looking forward to pics. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernie69 Posted June 20, 2014 Author Share Posted June 20, 2014 . A very nice guitar indeed. Congrats. Looking forward to pics. . B) . Thanks !! you'll find below some pics. I play jazz and blues ( amateur level !! )I was hesitating between 335/195/137; but: 137 is said to have a big neck, 195 I do not use a Bigsby ; 335 ? still undecided ;359 not on my list because not existing in Europe an well above my savings. I was there when a 359 arrived unexpectedly in my favourite store. I ran and tried it , compared with a 335 and took the 359 for the same amount of euros. I think that after 5 years (and happy years ) with a 339 I could not not cope with the 335 size. Now the facts: BEWARE 339 owners, the 359 is often quoted as a "bling bling" 339, but it really is a ifferent guitar, in use and sound. The neck is different and so nice that only he neck could lead you to pull the trigger. its a Lucille neck; the difference is : on the 339 30/60 the thin neck keeps the same shape from the beginning (1rst fret) to the end ( 17h fret. On the 359 neck, it starts the same way, but the neck gets thicker as soon you approach the end (17th fret) The result is a very comfortable neck , a bit like a jazz guitar neck, you can grab it firmly for the jazz chords, but its still far from a rounded 59.In addition to this you have the richlite fretboard and smooth frets;a pleasure to play. The sound is different from the 339, clearer and the result is amazingly nice in a band context, the notes are heard more distinctly above the bass and drum. enjoy the pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM2112 Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Congratulations!!! I know how you feel, and your 359 looks very sweet! These are just awesome guitars. I stumbled across a CS356 back last fall and just could not walk away without it. So, after that I knew I had to get an ES359, and I picked one up in January. They are two of the best instruments I've ever played. The 359 is the most unique sounding guitar I have, and later this year I need to find a good amp for playing blues tunes. It sounds great through my Marshall DSL which is a heck of a rock amp, but I want to find an amp that's really killer for blues playing. I was never comfortable with the larger bodied ES guitars, and the smaller ES guitars are just perfect. Enjoy your new ES!!! Here are my CS356 and ES359: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodyH Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 I stumbled across a CS356 back last fall and just could not walk away without it. So, after that I knew I had to get an ES359, and I picked one up in January. They are two of the best instruments I've ever played. The 359 is the most unique sounding guitar I have, and later this year I need to find a good amp for playing blues tunes. It sounds great through my Marshall DSL which is a heck of a rock amp, but I want to find an amp that's really killer for blues playing. Peavey Delta Blues sounds great with my ES-359. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM2112 Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Peavey Delta Blues sounds great with my ES-359. Cool!!! Thanks for the heads up! Good to hear info from others who have this guitar as to what sounds best so I can try those amps out first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernie69 Posted June 21, 2014 Author Share Posted June 21, 2014 Cool!!! Thanks for the heads up! Good to hear info from others who have this guitar as to what sounds best so I can try those amps out first. Thanks, we are blessed in these hard times ! true that the 356 is also a dream guitar, specially yours.I'll try tu use this picture as wallpaper on my laptop. I saw a KOA one in Brighton UK 3 years ago, my fingers were glued to it , finally my wife took a picture of me with the guitar!!! For the amps, no worry,take your time, having had a 339 for 5 years, I noticed that as soon as you play these little guitars, they sound bluesy, no efforts, the roots sound is under your fingers, even with a 100$ amp. It's necessary to keep cool and change the settings of the amp and guitar to sound jazzy ( supposing you want to play Jazz ) LAney amps are cool too and not too expensive. I'm also interested in your quest ! keep us informed. I cannot help you because I have only have a solid state Laney and a small AC4 TV; Wahoo awesome fireplace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM2112 Posted June 21, 2014 Share Posted June 21, 2014 Thanks, we are blessed in these hard times ! true that the 356 is also a dream guitar, specially yours.I'll try tu use this picture as wallpaper on my laptop. I saw a KOA one in Brighton UK 3 years ago, my fingers were glued to it , finally my wife took a picture of me with the guitar!!! For the amps, no worry,take your time, having had a 339 for 5 years, I noticed that as soon as you play these little guitars, they sound bluesy, no efforts, the roots sound is under your fingers, even with a 100$ amp. It's necessary to keep cool and change the settings of the amp and guitar to sound jazzy ( supposing you want to play Jazz ) LAney amps are cool too and not too expensive. I'm also interested in your quest ! keep us informed. I cannot help you because I have only have a solid state Laney and a small AC4 TV; Wahoo awesome fireplace Thanks!!! The 356 has more of a Les Paul kind of tone since the body is routed mahogany and a maple top. Despite that the 356 and 359 look so very similar and are similar in some ways, they are very different in tone. I have a Line6 solid state amp too, and it sounds good on a clean channel. I'm looking forward to see what's out there and what other amps can do to get the sound I'm looking for. I'm certainly in no hurry, and I have every intention of visiting every music store and try every amp to see what sounds best to my ears. It would be nice if they offered one of these models with P90's in them. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernie69 Posted June 22, 2014 Author Share Posted June 22, 2014 Thanks!!! The 356 has more of a Les Paul kind of tone since the body is routed mahogany and a maple top. Despite that the 356 and 359 look so very similar and are similar in some ways, they are very different in tone. I have a Line6 solid state amp too, and it sounds good on a clean channel. I'm looking forward to see what's out there and what other amps can do to get the sound I'm looking for. I'm certainly in no hurry, and I have every intention of visiting every music store and try every amp to see what sounds best to my ears. It would be nice if they offered one of these models with P90's in them. :) AWESOME SINGING FROM THIS BIRD!!! I; at least; had the time to make it sing on my low cost solid LANEY 12" ( with recorded chords on a cheap RC2 looper). after some "blue bossa" and ""tenor madness" and some pentatonic scales on the old "hey joe" I can tell you that I don't regret any euro put on his feathers. What a sound , and the fretboard is so sweet !!!!! I tend to use more the 2 pups together for blues than on the 339, I do not know why ?? the elecronics wiring is different ? sniff , I have sold my 339 but I know the new owner will appreciate; he was not even aware before of the existence of the ES339s,when he came home to try it ; he fell in love immediatly and took her on the spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM2112 Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 AWESOME SINGING FROM THIS BIRD!!! I; at least; had the time to make it sing on my low cost solid LANEY 12" ( with recorded chords on a cheap RC2 looper). after some "blue bossa" and ""tenor madness" and some pentatonic scales on the old "hey joe" I can tell you that I don't regret any euro put on his feathers. What a sound , and the fretboard is so sweet !!!!! I tend to use more the 2 pups together for blues than on the 339, I do not know why ?? the elecronics wiring is different ? sniff , I have sold my 339 but I know the new owner will appreciate; he was not even aware before of the existence of the ES339s,when he came home to try it ; he fell in love immediatly and took her on the spot. Blue Bossa!! Haha!!! I remember using that tune a long time ago when I was playing around with harmonic minor scales. I typically play only the bridge pick up on my other guitars, but with the 359 I like having both on too, and the gain on my amp and pick up volume get turned up more to get some growl out of the guitar. The bodies between the 339 and 359 are, I believe, a bit different where the 339 is a maple laminate and the 359 is a maple/poplar/maple laminate. The 359 also has the "Memphis tone circuit", too, according to the guitar's specs that Gibson lists on their web site. I don't know if the 339 has this as well, and I've never played a 339 so I can't really compare the two. Richlite is awesome to play on! My 359 was made in 2008 so it has ebony, but I have a Martin acoustic with richlite, and I love it. Ebony, maple, and richlite are my favorite fret boards. I love a dense and smooth fret board. Like the guy who bought your 339, I never knew these models existed either. I ran across the CS356 by accident and when I looked on Gibson's web site for some information it's not even listed, but the model is still in production. Getting the 356 led me to the 359 since they used different wood/materials for the body. They are the two most awesome guitars I've played and own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fulltone1989 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I use a Fuchs 50 ODS mod with my ES339 and other semi hollows and it's a fantastic amplifier, a bit expensive but not as much as a production Fuchs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernie69 Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi guys an update; after some weeks with my new companion: I had a little buzzing problem on the High E string when bending around the 12th fret . As the sound was coming from the bridge I thought that the cause was the string touching the back of the bridge; I ajusted the string heigh but there was no change and I reluctantly brought back the guitar to the store ( fortunately in the nearby town). The guys there did a complete set up and the problem disappeared; to my great relief . As they had to touch the strings I asked them to replace the factory fitted strings by Daddarios Pure nickel 10-45, I do not remember who recommended it on the forum but I sincerely thank him ; I explain why: since I got this guitar, I had the feeling that the sound was a bit too bright, It' s amazing because I also noticed this on the youtube videos. This did not fortunately prevent me from buying; but I was , say 99% happy and now 150%%%%!!! The brightness came from the Brit wire factory strings, an the pure nickel strings I have now give the "bell like' 335 warm , mellow sound;of course my favourite!!! ( I play only clean) I played this afternoon on my AC4TV and I even risked some django "nuages" notes and I can tell you that this guitar is made for the Jazz, it reacts perfectly to the slightest pick effect, and is even easier to play than the 339;wich I thought impossible SO thanks forum guys; and again I invite all of you in search of the Graal of axes to consider the 359, it's a great great guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JM2112 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi guys an update; after some weeks with my new companion: I had a little buzzing problem on the High E string when bending around the 12th fret . As the sound was coming from the bridge I thought that the cause was the string touching the back of the bridge; I ajusted the string heigh but there was no change and I reluctantly brought back the guitar to the store ( fortunately in the nearby town). The guys there did a complete set up and the problem disappeared; to my great relief . As they had to touch the strings I asked them to replace the factory fitted strings by Daddarios Pure nickel 10-45, I do not remember who recommended it on the forum but I sincerely thank him ; I explain why: since I got this guitar, I had the feeling that the sound was a bit too bright, It' s amazing because I also noticed this on the youtube videos. This did not fortunately prevent me from buying; but I was , say 99% happy and now 150%%%%!!! The brightness came from the Brit wire factory strings, an the pure nickel strings I have now give the "bell like' 335 warm , mellow sound;of course my favourite!!! ( I play only clean) I played this afternoon on my AC4TV and I even risked some django "nuages" notes and I can tell you that this guitar is made for the Jazz, it reacts perfectly to the slightest pick effect, and is even easier to play than the 339;wich I thought impossible SO thanks forum guys; and again I invite all of you in search of the Graal of axes to consider the 359, it's a great great guitar. It's likely that the neck needed a little relief via the truss rod and then readjust the string height to make it play like it should. They are top notch guitars, no question about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bernie69 Posted July 28, 2014 Author Share Posted July 28, 2014 Hi do you know this video ? Amp EGNATER REBEL do you like it ?? is it the kind of sound you are looking for ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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