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Strings and neck care for my new ES-330


johnnyvn

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Hi all,

 

I just last week took delivery of a gorgeous ES-330 1959 Reissue in Sunburst WITH a factory installed Bigsby (I know...I know...the Bigsby is only officially offered on the Cherry, but apparently, they have made a small amount of sunburst with Bigsby.

 

I'm just getting used to the idea that, after all these years of want, I finally have this utterly amazing instrument in my possession. I want to make the most of this!

 

What suggestions might you have on strings for this baby? I will most likely continue to use wounds, rather than flat wounds.

 

I do kinda lean towards a bluesy/swampy and yet slightly jazzy sound...Luther Dickinson, Grant Green come to mind. Oh, and also those wonderful woody tones of The Beatles.

 

Also, do you all suggest that I treat the neck regularly in any way...like oil the fingerboard from time to time?

 

How do I take care of such a beautiful instrument?

 

Thanks in advance for thoughts and/or suggestions!

 

Johnny

 

PS. Will post pics soon..

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Congratulations on a great guitar - those 330 reissues have been one of the best things Gibson have done in years.

 

For strings, remember when the Bigsby was designed players used guages more like modern acoustic strings and with string tension an important part of the design using very light guage strings will have implications for tuning stability. I find either 11-48 or 10-52 string sets work great with Bigsbys without feeling particularly heavy to play on, and use the latter on my two Bigsby guitars (ES330 and ES355).

 

Having the nut slots cut properly is important on a guitar with a Bigsby, so remember if you increase the guage from factory (10-46) you might need to have a luthier widen the slots a little for you.

 

The fingerboard will be fine with occasional treatments of lemon oil. You don't need to do it every time you restring - I'd usually do it as part of a set up as long as the board didn't look obviously parched.

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Welcome to the ES 330 club... [thumbup]

 

A beautiful and characterful instrument

 

Being hollow, string choice can vary with personal taste IMO

 

Some folks would use 11's or rarely 12's, others 10's or rarely 9's

 

Listening to Grant Green's vibrant, snappy tone I would guess roundwounds...

 

Neck/fretboard care is as varied as you like...from regular 'annointing' with lemon oil or similar...to clean/treat every string change

 

Enjoy... [thumbup]

 

V

 

:-({|=

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Welcome to the ES 330 club... [thumbup]

 

A beautiful and characterful instrument

 

Being hollow, string choice can vary with personal taste IMO

 

Some folks would use 11's or rarely 12's, others 10's or rarely 9's

 

Listening to Grant Green's vibrant, snappy tone I would guess roundwounds...

 

Neck/fretboard care is as varied as you like...from regular 'annointing' with lemon oil or similar...to clean/treat every string change

 

Enjoy... [thumbup]

 

V

 

:-({|=

 

Jay and Versatile, thanks so much for your thoughts and input.

 

Might you have any preferences for brand and material of string? Gibson nickel, for instance? I haven't been playing electric that much over the last few years, so I'm not terribly up to date on which companies are making good strings these days. I went to GC and was looking...so many brands! Are they all really the same?

 

Also, given the fully hollow nature of a 330, do people use acoustic strings at all on such an ES?

 

Thanks again for your thoughts. If you have brand and model ideas, let me know!

 

Best,

 

J

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Cheers J [thumbup]

 

Personal choice is to use cheap electric nickels bought in bulk over the web-net

 

I know others spend time comparing string brands and metal types

 

Also often used Rotosound, Newtone, D'Addario

 

Acoustic strings in theory are not suitable for magnetic P/U guitars due to the Brass or Bronze wrapped lower 4 strings not giving the same response as steel or nickel

 

But I have seen some used... :blink:

 

V

 

:-({|=

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I use d'addario chromes 10's on my ES-330 (mine does not have a bigsby), I like that warmer sound they give. I don't use any cleaners or fretboard conditioner (just a soft cotton cloth and my breath), but I do keep her in a controlled room at 45% humidity. If you do use a fretboard conditioner, once or twice a year should be all you need.

 

These are lovely guitars, enjoy!

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Maybe you can try the new Ernie Ball M-Steels. I loaded up my SG and LP standards with them recently and -- well, WOW!

 

 

 

it's Ernie Ball's next generation of their Cobalt string products, which I have tried in the past, stable, last a long time, sound great but I didn't like the feel, the M Steels feel more like traditional nickle strings. Quite responsive and articulate (and loud)

 

I'm partial to regular 10 gauge strings myself.

 

I also use Guitar Honey for fretboard conditioning. I usually get it at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Gerlitz-GGH-Guitar-Honey-Fingerboard/dp/B000EEJF4O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420480832&sr=8-1&keywords=gerlitz+guitar+honey

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Lemon oil once every string change or when it feels dry has served me well for decades. Let it sit for around 5 minutes and then buff it off with an old tee shirt.

 

D'Addario makes good strings for a reasonable cost and congratulations on your new guitar. I've always been interested in that model.

 

 

 

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I use Rotosounds, admittedly mainly because I work for a dealer that sell a lot of Rotosound strings and the lovely people at Rotosound give me free sets of the 10-52s as a thank you. I used to use the Ernie Ball Skinny Top Heavy Bottoms, but I can't hear the difference between them and the Rotos. I've tried other brands, but never found something I like better.

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Welcome to the ES 330 club... [thumbup]

 

A beautiful and characterful instrument

 

Being hollow, string choice can vary with personal taste IMO

 

Some folks would use 11's or rarely 12's, others 10's or rarely 9's

 

Listening to Grant Green's vibrant, snappy tone I would guess roundwounds...

 

Neck/fretboard care is as varied as you like...from regular 'annointing' with lemon oil or similar...to clean/treat every string change

 

Enjoy... [thumbup]

 

V

 

:-({|=

 

Congrats they are great guitars. I have a reissue but without a bigsby. I'm using round wound 12's. Sound is great but I'm not trying to bend like a blues player. Enjoy and they feel great to play.

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