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Vintage Gibson ES 335 TDC , where can I find values ?


HutchProStar

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I have a guy that has a vintage Gibson ES335TDC. He wants to sell me the guitar along with a bunch of vintage fishing lures, hand carved boats, and vintage railroad lamps. I don’t have a clue as to what any of the items are worth. I have just started researching everything and I found this forum. Is there a guide , a vintage forum, or anything that I can buy to inform me about the guitar ? Thanks for any help and expertise .

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Not sure how much you know about guitars, but the obvious - is it real or fake, is the neck straight, year of manufacture, is it original or modded, color, does it have dots or block inlays, how many bumps, dings and scratches are on it, has it been refinished?

 

Of all the Gibson electrics I think the 335's are some of their best and most versatile guitars. There are books out there with prices. How accurate and reliable I can't say.

 

I am trying to educate myself on it and the other things he’s wanting to sell. I will get some photos uploaded ASAP. Thanks

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Thanks for the information and insight . I am trying to figure out how to make the pictures smaller. It’s says they were too big. I took them on a cell phone . I was literally standing in a garden and swatting mosquitoes while I took photos of the guitar and the fishing lures so they are not great .

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Hello Hutch,

 

From what I could read of the serial# it looks to be a 1965 if the serial# has 6 digits. I have a 1969 ES-335 TD. The T is for thinline. The D is for dual pickup and in the case of this guitar the C is for Cherry finish. Here are some pics of mine:

 

DSC00605_zpsz1jwjoh1.jpg

 

DSC00603_zpslbm23vrs.jpg

 

The cases are quite alike as are the knobs and headstock. If it's a '65 the nut width should be 1 11/16". '66-'69 had a narrower nut width of 1 9/16". Schaller tuning pegs were added at some point as the original Klusons are in the Schaller box. The will affect the value somewhat since new holes had to be drilled to mount the Schaller's. If it's a '65 and plays and sounds well it should be worth $5K or more. If it goes out of tune every time the Bigsby is touched, maybe not. It all depends whether it's a good functional guitar. There is one in excellent condition on Reverb.com for $13,500.

 

Keep us posted if you get it,

 

JO'C

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I really appreciate the information. It looks like I may wind up with the guitar. That’s a bummer that they changed the tuner pegs. It wouldnt be a big deal if they could have used tuners that fit in the original holes. Then i could have had the originals just reinstalled but if there are holes where the others were it will be a hard for me to look at. My OCD starts kicking in very hard when it comes to stuff like that. Lol.

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Turns out mine had the same thing happen and then period correct tuners were re-installed. Extra holes don't look too bad when the stock tuners are put back on.

 

DSC_0949_zps7phlqrsr.jpg

 

But... the originals were likely replaced for a reason, most likely because they wouldn't hold tuning. This was a common problem with the Klusons.

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