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ES-336 vs CS-336


TeleNic

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I just bought a 1996 ES-336. I'm very familiar with the CS-336 and this guitar seems to be exactly the same as a CS-336 with only one difference, the head is the smaller in-line version you'd find on a Pat Martino. I thought the seller listed it wrong, but the label inside the F hole does say that this is an ES-336.

 

Is this an earlier generation of the CS 336? Or did Gibson just decide to change the name in mid-stride? Any information would be really appreciated.

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Yes, it's an earlier iteration of the current design. I'm pretty sure that yours has slightly "wider", more-flared upper horns and perhaps a slightly wider waist too. Gibson changed the overall shape of the CS-336 to be more like a mini-but-proportional version of the ES-335 shape. Yours does have the carved maple top and a back/side made from mahogany, but I don't know for sure whether the internal carve/routing is the same.

 

http://www.soohyunlee.com/gibson71_20080819/guitars/es336.html

 

The current CS-336 shape debuted in 2001, I believe.... and they don't have labels inside!

 

Congrats on your new guitar!

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The CS-336 was introduced in 2002 in fact. Please find attached also a picture of two CS-336 guitars. They should have a label inside though I think.

 

Umm, the product page on the website for the CS-336 says "Debuting in 2001, the CS-336 is the ultimate result of that quest..."

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Archtop/Gibson-Custom/CS-336.aspx

 

 

 

If there actually was a page for the CS-356, it might say that one debuted in 2002. [blink]

 

I'm almost certain the current 336/356 models don't have labels inside (and never have). I always imagined this was because of the amount of routing after the back is covered: the maple tops are affixed to the already-routed mahogany back-n-sides, then I believe the top dish is carved from the maple slabs and lastly the pickup routes, tailpiece insert holes, control knob holes and f-holes are cut out...

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I have a 2004 CS-336 and there is no label inside.

 

+1 I have a 2008 CS-336, Vintage Sunburst Plain-top and it doesn't have a label inside either. Gibson confirmed that for me when I asked their Customer Service after I bought my guitar in 2010.

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