JazzGtr

Jimmyjjohn, not sure why you are repeating my exact words as your own from page 1 of this post. Not cool! Dodgytoo, How's the new guitar? Is it as good as Clayville said it would be? I need to hear it! I currently own the ES 346 PJ and I love it. The size is just right. It stays tune, sounds great and plays with ease. I like to use D'Addario Chromes 10's to get the best smooth jazz sound. The problem I'm having is that I like the PJ so much for Jazz and Blues that I'm constantly changing my strings from chromes (jazz) to nickel (blues). I need another guitar for dedicated Blues work. And lately I've been "musing" for the the 356. The 335 and 355 are two big. Too much rear on these guitars. Also, they lack the smooth sound of Mahogany bodies that I like in the PJ and PRS. I need to find me some money!

Jim, Now that's doing the right thing. Wes Montgomery is smiling right back at you man. Enjoy her for years to come. Jazz

Sorry for your lost. Some things to consider. There's nothing like a Gibson Wes Montgomery L5, period! And when the day comes when you have to sell her (I known, never)the buyer will look down on that tacky replacement part and say,"what the @#$% is this?". The cost and value of the guitar speaks for itself. Do the right thing and take care of it the right way. You know what you already need to do. Remember, guitars are never owned forever, just borrowed for now. Jazz

Michel, First of all, welcome to the 356 family. And second, I hope you open a bottle of fine wine before you played this sexy looking guitar. She's beautiful! Jazz

A Plushs Replay Jr. was on my Christmas list. Jazz

Yep everything Clayville said. Mine is 6.9 pounds. Also, I noticed the neck on mine is thinner than my 346 PJR,which allows for faster playing. But I still will admit that the 335 sounds better than 356. The 335 has more growl due it's size. But it's a bear to hold and play.

Dodgytoo, Yes I did! Bruce is the "go to" man at Wildwood. Clayville, You are right, a $30 bottle would be just right. Now, if I can just figure out how to load some pics.

It's official. I just became a CS 356 club member. I'm going to buy a $20 bottle of red wine and play her all night long.

Trumpus, Thanks for the compliments. The color was an after thought. I would love the guitar with any color. When you are on stage, the color changes dues to the sun and lights. Also, I noticed the red has faded from wine red to red-orange color. You have a beautiful guitar. Honor her.

It's all good! Mine is still arriving in Feb. 09. Bruce at Wildwood did state that I have nothing to worry about. Also, he did say that he will communicate with Gibson regarding the CS356's current production life.

Holy _hit! I need to call Wildwood right now. Wildwood better tell me that mine is still on it's way!

Kenny, The only thing that matters here is that you are happy with your 339! And I'm happy for you as well. Rock on!

Money is always an issue with guitar players. This is due to the fact that we own the most gear. When I first got started, I had a lot less money compared to today. That reality translated into buying cheaper equipment. But what I found out was the guitar tone that I was searching for was not getting satisfied with the cheaper equipment. And as time past and the money issue got better, I bought better equipment (the good stuff). And after 20 years, I'm at a point in my musical life where I can say that I found my tone in the current guitars that I own. So when the next best guitar thing comes out, it's easier for me to evaluate the equipment because I know what my tone sounds like in and outside my head. The 339 is a good product in itself. It was design for a particular buyer in mind. But the buyer must set his or her expectation correctly. The 339 is not a replacement for a 335, 356 or a Custom LP. The 339 is another product that offers the buyer at a lower purchase price and lower quality (workmanship) a change to own something that "almost sounds and almost look as good" as the other mentioned guitars, period. If the sound in your head sounds like a 335, the 339 is not going to cut it. The last thing I would want to do again in this life (and I've done it, too many times already) is to buy something cheap, spend more money and time fixing it due to piss poor workmanship in the product. I read too many 339 posts talking about quality issues. I'm too old for that _hit! So, be real to your tone and wallet. 339 Owners, lol

Greg, She's beautiful man. What kind of amp and pedals will you used with her?

Fender Blues Jr. Marshall JCM 2000 Triple Lead

Great advice. I'm currently working with Bruce at Wildwood Guitars. I'll mentioned my concerns. Thanks guys!

Clayville, ES345, Dodgytoo What's the weight of your respective cs 345 guitars. I'm in the process of ordering my cs 356 vintage sunburst with the bigsby option but I'm concern about the additional weight. If you had to compare your cs 356 (s) to a LP, is it as heavy or lighter in weight. My dealer does not have a clue. Please advise. Thanks, JazzGtr

My settings for my PJ for the neck pickup only is vol 10, tone 7. My settings for both pickups are: neck vol 10, neck tone 7, bridge: vol 7 and bridge tone 5. I used a Fender Blues Jr. and Marshall JCM 2000 triple lead with all tones (bass, treble, mid) set at 5 for a neutral tone across the board. The hard part is finding "your tone" which will require endless experimentation. I have spend two years finding "my tone" with differentl music (blues, funk, rock and jazz) that Ilike to play. I have six guitars, three different types of amps (with different hookup configurations like running two Marshall amps JCM 900 and JCM 2000 in stereo) and many different types of preamps / effects. I once heard BB King say that he would still sound the same way even if he used a different guitar other than his es 345. And it took me some time to understand what he was saying. I finally got it! If I were to play your guitar throught your amp I what adjust all of tone settings in an attempt to get back to my tone (the sound in our heads). Regardless which of my six guitar I play, I still sound the same tonely and touch.

ES345, Thanks. The PJ turned out to be more that what I was expecting. At first I needed an alternative guitar for my Gibson L5 - Wes Montgomery. I needed something lighter and faster for the smooth jazz stuff like Mr. Paul Jackson Jr. plays. Musically, it can cover about half of the jazz stuff my L5 can do but faster. But then I noticed that when I added a little grit (overdrive) this thing started to sing blues and fusion. I love it even more now. Needless to say, it's a keeper! Then I started changing the strings (back and forth) like I said in my first post and it got too crazy for me to manage. The 356 is constructed with the same materials and size dimensions of the PJ (ebony board, mahogany neck, carved back and sides, solid maple top) which the exception of the head stock. As others have mentioned, this guitar is hard to find. I'm looking into ordering one as we speak. PS, I really like your es345. Looks cool. I know it can sing the Blues. I only wished that I could play the size. JazzGtr