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Are 339s made in Custom Shop or aren't they???


axuality

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A few years ago, I bought a 339 and it came with a black book that said Custom Shop. There was a decal or something on the back of the head saying Custom Shop. The guitar case said Gibson Custom on it. It was made in the Custom Shop. Every bit of documentation said it online too.

 

(I'm not talking about Studio models here either)--- On the newer 339 none of these things exist. No decal, no guitar case with Custom on it, no black book with custom on it.

 

What's the deal???? Aren't they made in the Custom Shop any more?

 

I want to buy another one, but I can't figure out what Gibson's doing !!:""#$@%$$@# ?????

 

Thanks

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The 339's are made in Memphis which IS part of the Custom Shop just in a different location. Memphis Custom Shop. The changes you mentioned are mainly because the first run of 500 339's had the decal and the booklet. Over the years as part of cost savings, those things were cut. If you are looking at a 339, it is a Custom Shop build in Memphis. To my knowledge, there has only been one 339 made in Nashville.

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The 339's are made in Memphis which IS part of the Custom Shop just in a different location. Memphis Custom Shop. The changes you mentioned are mainly because the first run of 500 339's had the decal and the booklet. Over the years as part of cost savings, those things were cut. If you are looking at a 339, it is a Custom Shop build in Memphis. To my knowledge, there has only been one 339 made in Nashville.

No, there is no Custom Shop at Memphis, just Nashville. The full answer is covered at other forums where the OP ask the same question. Years ago things were different, but the BL is the Custom Shop is Nashville only.

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The 339's are made in Memphis which IS part of the Custom Shop just in a different location. Memphis Custom Shop. The changes you mentioned are mainly because the first run of 500 339's had the decal and the booklet. Over the years as part of cost savings, those things were cut. If you are looking at a 339, it is a Custom Shop build in Memphis. To my knowledge, there has only been one 339 made in Nashville.

 

what year did the first ran came out? 2009???

i have a 2011 one and it still comes with the Custom shop decal

 

msp_thumbup.gif

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what year did the first ran came out? 2009???

If I recall correctly, the 339 was first released in 2007, and sold for $1799.

 

I have a 2009 with all the Custom Shop bling. The price had just jumped up to $1999, but I found one at the old price, and got another 15% off, so the final cost was $1529 out the door!

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If I recall correctly, the 339 was first released in 2007, and sold for $1799.

 

I have a 2009 with all the Custom Shop bling. The price had just jumped up to $1999, but I found one at the old price, and got another 15% off, so the final cost was $1529 out the door!

 

 

 

 

Awesome, you were lucky! :)

thanks for the info

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  • 2 weeks later...

No, there is no Custom Shop at Memphis, just Nashville. The full answer is covered at other forums where the OP ask the same question. Years ago things were different, but the BL is the Custom Shop is Nashville only.

 

There's a little confusion about the Memphis "Custom Shop" vs. the Nashville Custom Shop. There's been "Custom Shop" guitars coming out of the Memphis plant for awhile. Anyway, I had a 2007 model 339. It had the "Custom" decal and the case. Great guitar!!

Edited by badbluesplayer
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There's a little confusion about the Memphis "Custom Shop" vs. the Nashville Custom Shop. There's been "Custom Shop" guitars coming out of the Memphis plant for awhile. Anyway, I had a 2007 model 339. It had the "Custom" decal and the case. Great guitar!!

There is good reason for that confusion, as Gibson essentially caused it. The Memphis plant started in 2000 and apparently had a fair number of Nashville Custom shop employees there in the beginning. And though there was really was no and is still no Custom Shop there, some of their guitars they called Custom Shop and, as you have, Custom Shop labeled cases. But none of the Memphis made are actually numbered Custom Shop models. From what I've been able to gather, this labeling ceased after about 2009. But traces of this still exist, as my BB King Lucille is a 2016 model made in the first part of 2017 and says "Gibson Custom" on the case.

 

So one could say there are Memphis Custom Shop guitars that were not made in a/the Custom Shop.

Edited by Wmachine
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I have a 2010 ES 335 that has both Custom on the case and a Custom certificate. when I asked Gibson about it they said:

 

"Actually, the serial number on your guitar is correct for this model. It refers to a ES-335 Plain in Cherry finish, nickel hardware, made in 2010 in Memphis US as part of the Custom Shop series."

 

It's always been a bit of a mystery to me.

 

 

Ian

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I have a 2010 ES 335 that has both Custom on the case and a Custom certificate. when I asked Gibson about it they said:

 

"Actually, the serial number on your guitar is correct for this model. It refers to a ES-335 Plain in Cherry finish, nickel hardware, made in 2010 in Memphis US as part of the Custom Shop series."

 

It's always been a bit of a mystery to me.

 

Ian

 

Thanks for adding that. This is the first that I heard them called "Custom Shop Series", but that makes sense. At least as much sense as could be made with that odd designation. Yeah Gibson really muddied the waters with that.

Never the less, they are still really good guitars regardless of what they call them.

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But none of the Memphis made are actually numbered Custom Shop models.

The above info is incorrect.

 

Both my 2009 ES-339, and my 2010 ES-330L have a Custom Shop (CS) serial number that differs from Gibson's standard serial number sequence. Both were made in Memphis.

 

For each guitar, the CS serial number appears on the headstock & label, and they both have the CS logo on the back of the headstock, as well as the custom-logo case & COA.

 

The 339 carried a CS serial number for a number of years after it's initial release in 2007, while the ES-330L had a CS serial number throughout the length of it's production run.

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The above info is incorrect.

 

Both my 2009 ES-339, and my 2010 ES-330L have a Custom Shop (CS) serial number that differs from Gibson's standard serial number sequence. Both were made in Memphis.

 

For each guitar, the CS serial number appears on the headstock & label, and they both have the CS logo on the back of the headstock, as well as the custom-logo case & COA.

 

The 339 carried a CS serial number for a number of years after it's initial release in 2007, while the ES-330L had a CS serial number throughout the length of it's production run.

Thanks, Bob. I assume you mean serial numbers that start with "CS". I had seen ones that didn't and made the mistake of assuming!

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Thanks, Bob. I assume you mean serial numbers that start with "CS".

Yes, the serial numbers are:

 

> CS9022X for the '09 ES-339

> CS05136X for the '10 ES-330L

 

I was told that the first number designates the model year.

 

Beyond that, I don't have a clue!

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My 335 doesn't have CS in it's serial number and it doesn't have a Custom shop logo anywhere on the guitar [confused] Ian

Yes, you mentioned that your ES-335 was made in 2010. In the years both immediately before & after 2010, all the typical 335 models I saw in stores had standard serial numbers & no custom shop logo on the headstock.

 

In fact, I have limited edition 2011 ES-335 w/P90s, and although it came with a COA & custom-logo case, there's no CS logo on the guitar, and the serial number is the standard-sequence type. Indeed, this struck me as a bit of a head-scratcher at the time.

 

But if I were to make a guess, I'd say the decision to designate certain guitars as Custom Shop models was most significantly rooted in an assortment of marketing factors.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 years later...
On 10/27/2021 at 8:02 PM, ALKI said:

I have been offered to swap my Fender Telecaster 1978 Naturel for a ES339 in sunburst. The serial number on the ES is CS 051335, wich indicates production year 2005. It includes COA.  I’m confused… 

Before you do this, call a guitar dealer and ask what their approx value is for a 1978 Tele.

I think it would be significantly more than the ES339.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/27/2021 at 12:02 PM, ALKI said:

I have been offered to swap my Fender Telecaster 1978 Naturel for a ES339 in sunburst. The serial number on the ES is CS 051335, wich indicates production year 2005. It includes COA.  I’m confused… 

Very late to this party, but might as well clarify again:

Custom shop serial numbers are different.  The first digit indicates the year.

With the number being CS 051335, it was made in 2010.

As mentioned above, the ES-339 was first released in 2007.

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  • 1 year later...
On 11/3/2023 at 3:07 PM, ManuNZ said:
My question is: are custom shop 339 and Memphis the same? it seems to me so, in my opinion only the name would have changed..... Right or wrong ???

No Gibson Memphis is not the same as the 'Custom Shop' which is, and always has been in Nashville but, rather confusingly the ES models were labelled 'Custom', why that is so is one of life's mysteries.  

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