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Gibson es-330 and Reissues


cma-

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Hi

I have just signed up and this is my first post. I am from England. I was in a city called Bath at the weekend and played a 2013 way-330 Cherry with Bigsby. It was lively £2220 the front had a split laminated front - so two pieces clued together. Is that ok? Is it better to spend the money on a single front reissue?

It got me thinking. Are some reissue years better than others? Should I not over analyse and get it if it sounded good. Which it did.

 

Also I played a reissue of a 225TD. It was lovely but didn’t sound as wild as a 59’ I played earlier in the year. I want both. I really want the reissue 330 and the original 59’ 235TD with the king trapeze. Anyone got one for sale?

 

The reissue 235 was £2450 the original is £4250 wow

I’m too clumsy for a really expensive guitar. But that sound is not reproduced in the reissue. Is it the same for the 330?

 

Thanks for reading

Craig

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Hey, cma-! I've owned a 1966 ES-330 since I was a kid and, to my mind, the reissues don't hold a candle to the originals! Mine has a slim neck and is just a magical guitar. Its only "limitation" is that the neck joins at the sixteenth fret so, you can't play the really high notes. As for myself, I can do without the screechy notes just to hear the wondrous tone! Oh, also, since it's totally hollow, I've stuffed it with cotton batting so that it doesn't feed back quite as readily. It'll still feed back though so, you can't be as loud as you would with a solid body or an ES-335. All in all, the old ones are a bit pricey ($3000-$5000) but, if you've got the dough, it's worth it! Good Luck and Welcome to the fun in the Forum!

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So...4250 pounds is about what, 6000 dollars? The old ones are pricey. When I got mine, I found it in a pawn shop and it was in 1976! I traded a '74 Telecaster for it. Perhaps, you could find one that's more of a player guitar (like mine); missing the pickguard and with a cracked finish. It still sounds the same! Also, you could try an Epiphone Casino. They're essentially the same guitar and, if it was good enough for John Lennon...

I hope your search has a happy ending! Peace!

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I love p90s! The one the sounds the best is the 59’ 225.

 

What I love about America is that there are so many stories of people finding guitars in pawn shops or someone’s shed or garage. Or in lock ups.

In England all we have is buckets, and garden brooms.

You know I would prefer a players guitar. I love the checking you get in the finish. And I think they look better without the pick guard! Yeah would love one of them. I think you have made my mind up to wait, keep looking and find a players model.

I never like new guitars or too shiny ones because they seem like too precious- and I am clumsy

I did read that in the 1950s there was a ban on either the exporting of American guitars to the U.K. or the importing of American guitars - or both. That’s why the Rolling Stones and Beatles and everyone else had German guitar like Framus and Hofner.

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I love p90s! The one the sounds the best is the 59’ 225.

 

What I love about America is that there are so many stories of people finding guitars in pawn shops or someone’s shed or garage. Or in lock ups.

In England all we have is buckets, and garden brooms.

You know I would prefer a players guitar. I love the checking you get in the finish. And I think they look better without the pick guard! Yeah would love one of them. I think you have made my mind up to wait, keep looking and find a players model.

I never like new guitars or too shiny ones because they seem like too precious- and I am clumsy

I did read that in the 1950s there was a ban on either the exporting of American guitars to the U.K. or the importing of American guitars - or both. That’s why the Rolling Stones and Beatles and everyone else had German guitar like Framus and Hofner.

 

Yeah 30 years ago those stories were true... Not so much since the invent of the Internet... More people know the Value of things today.. In fact it seems like it's gone the other way..

 

I was at Hollywood Guitar Center a couple weeks ago & they have biggest Selection of Vintage Guitars I've ever seen.. Hundreds of them & everything you can imagine in mupltiples.. The Prices are CRAZY!!!!!!!

 

I've bought a few Guitars off Reverb.com & they all seem to know the true Valuse these days or are just asking carzy Prices that no one will pay so they sit on their Website forever.. Some of those Guys are just plain Nuts.

 

Good luck!

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Many of the reissue 330s are very nice indeed.

 

I have a 2010 ES-330L (long neck, like a 335), and a 2012 ES-330 VOS. The 2012 is a superb recreation of the originals, imho. In 2013, they switched to the two-piece top for a period of time - not a problem at all, and also correct to certain periods of original production.

 

As another option, your best bet value-wise might be to look for a used Epi Elitist Casino. They are very well made (Terada-Japan). I happen to have one of those, too, and it's a fine instrument. Tonally, it will put you in the same ballpark.

 

Best of luck in your quest!

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Hey thank you, great advice.

 

I just looked up the epi casino, it looks like The one The Beatles played.

 

If I knew how to include photos I would show you the two guitars. You have some lovely guitars, what do you play your hollow bodies through?

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what do you play your hollow bodies through?

Well, I'm after a Chet Atkins/Merle Travis sort of tone for fingerpicking, so what I've settled on are some of the Fender red knob amps from the early '90s (both tube & SS). They're typically great for clean tones. Examples: Super 210 (tube), and Princeton Chorus (SS - also a 2x10).

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Hey thank you, great advice.

 

I just looked up the epi casino, it looks like The one The Beatles played.

 

If I knew how to include photos I would show you the two guitars. You have some lovely guitars, what do you play your hollow bodies through?

 

I have 3 Epi Casinos. A Peerless Sunburst with Bigsby like George Harrison played, a Natural Revolution like John Lennon played & a Ltd. Ed. RI 50th Anniv. 1961 Sunburst Casino with Tremotone.

 

I have several various Guitars including Gibson Firebird, ES335 & LP's & of all my Guitars these 3 Casinos are my favorite Guitars. They are so versatile. I opulent hesitate buying one..

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More good advice, thank you.

 

I’m going to Brighton next week so I will try a Casino. To be honest having now played vintage and new ones, I must say new ones definitely feel more robust and well made. The vintage hollow body guitars I have tried (125, 225, 295, ) feel quite flimsy and easy to break. But the pickup sounded better. Vintage 330s are too expensive for me.

 

Amps are another story aren’t they. I play a fender reissue of the 65’ Princeton. Sounded great

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Just chiming in about amps...I play everything through my Music Man RD 50 112. It's such a great sounding amp; one of the best I've ever owned! Again, a bit pricey...say $500-$700 but, well worth it! It's a 50 watt tube/hybrid with a single 12" speaker from 1982 and it screams...both clean and overdriven. I use it with my Epi Les Paul, my Strat, and my ES-330. I can't say enough about it so, I'll stop right here. Cheers!

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The '65 Princeton reissue amp should match up well with P90 instruments.

 

Enjoy your shopping trip!

 

I play mine thru one of those & it's a great little Amp.. I also play my Casinos thru a Vox AC15CC1X w/ Alnico Blue Spkr., a Vox AC10C1 w/ Celestion Greenback Spkr., a Fender RI 65 DRRI & a Fender Twin..... All are a great match for my Casinos...

 

Just a note. None of mine are Entry level Casinos. All have Gibson USA P90's... The Entry level Casinos have Asian P90's which are harsh & spikey sounding... I'd avoid them. Unless you plan to use it as a platform to Mod.. Which some do...

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I really like the little amps. When I was younger I had a 100W amp which I used to carry around everywhere. It used to weigh a ton and I don’t think I ever had it above 1!

 

I do like the little amps now and would like a couple for home and one which I could take out to play live.

 

Is there a way of adding photos on here?

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