Its pretty much the same lack of actual detail they have suffered from with every release since the early 80's when they changed the body templates they had used for years to make them. The top carving and the horn blisters have been reduced and the guitar has a more flat topography than the originals did.. This results in an increase in the space between the strings and the wood body under them causing the need to raise the neck PU way out of the mounts and out of the center block cavity.. The lack of top arching creates the same problem for the bridge PU as well. Part of the woody sound that the vintage ones had was due top the pickups sitting so low in the wood that they being microphonic would absorb the resonance from the wood and transmit a bit of it into the output sound. Ever since they retooled them back in the 80's this flatter construction has caused the pickups to need to be raised way out of their mounts to make up for the added distance from the strings.. The sonic result is more electric than semi-hollow sounding, especially when compared to the originals.
these are a few areas that have not been returned to original specs as advertised. The last time we saw anything that came close was the Clapton Crossroads 335. This was a pretty good replication of the 64. Not sure why they didnt just continue to use that reissue for all 335's, but there is one little tidbit of info that might explain that..apparently, The Clapton bodies were all made in Japan by a company called Terada because Gibson didn’t have the right body press mold/ forms but Terada did as they were used for the Epiphone Elites/Elitists. So they were not made in the USA or Memphis or Nashville Custom shops, only assembled there. So now, years later and after a year of scanning and measuring, they still didnt come up with a better reissue than they should have.. This is the frustrating part which I opened my rant with..
Yes, we know memphis is gone. They still ahve many for sale though and for aalot less that the $5200 they want for these new ones..I toured the factory in 2016 and spoke to some of the techs there. They said the new head of development was aware of the discrepancies and would be addressing these in the new 2017+ models. Obviously this didnt happen and instead, they were forced to move then close.. This is why I am so disappointed. I had an original 64 back in 1971 and miss it every day. Have had a few newer ones since and they arent anywhere near as good as they were..So, dont call it a 64 reissue, just call it a 2020 ES 335..