kaicho8888

Sounds fishy... yes, pictures will help!

Yeah, many times the frets have a slight "fall out" or slope downwards from the 12th fret to the 22nd. So a hammer on the higher frets would cause the string clanking on the 12th fret. No problem if you cannot hear it when plugged. If it bothers you can slightly adjust the tussrod for more relief.

Is the clanking when unplugged or amplified? Sometimes it's the string from the 1st to the 17th that would clunk on the frets. That is, the unplayed string side hits the frets.

It is not authentic! The following are wrong or questionable: serial number looks routed, no fret nibs, metric bridge, double parallelogram normally on ES-345 not pearly looking, pickup ring too wide, pickup ring screws wrong type, tuners unbranded, headstock open book not sharply cut correctly, no headstock wings, headstock fleur not cut correctly, not a Gibson TKL case, F-holes edges not painted, no label in F-hole, wrong type and shape of pickguard and incorrect support, varitone should be 6 positions and placed closer to neck Vol/Tone pots, ... guess it's a fake.

That's so painful to see or un-seen!

Like you have done, lowering the pickup and rising the screw poles does improve brightness. .. especially the lower E, A, and D strings. In addition, I've also replaced the A2 magnet with A5. That is if you feel it needs more treble. Interestingly, on a stock ES-339 (also '57 Classic) the pickups sounded nice and clearly not dark at all.

Best to see what's snagging inside the pickup cavity. Loosen the strings enough so you can remove the pickup unit. Unscrew the four screws on the pickup ring and see why it's snagging. It could just be the PU leads are bunched up or the cavity is not routed clean.

Here's one location ...

ALL the videos are gone?

Are the two bridge pickups adjusted the same pickup and screw heights from the strings? Also, check and verify that you have the same potentiometer/capacitor values. I am assuming both have the same magnet type and flux values... the cover solder looks untouched. Other than that, every guitar of the same model can play and sound differently... wood is not a consistent factor in nature. Standard also has a thicker body that may contribute to tonal differences.

I know what you mean "narrow" neck. Every time I play my sixties guitar I've got to adjust to the narrowness of the '60's neck. It is really up to you if you want to remove the varitone since it's too close to the Bixby, hard to get at. It is really up to you if you convert to a standard ES-335. Just keep the old components. I did the easy method on both of mine. I use a stereo plug (TRS) at the guitar end; soldered the two hot leads in the in the TRS plug. The other end of the mono instrument cable is a mono plug. This made it mono like an ES-335. However, you have to rotate one of the pickup magnets. Otherwise the stock pickup will be out-of-phase (Peter Green tone), and also the volume when in the middle will be lowered a little. So reversing one of the magnet will fix the out-of-phase. Of course, if you like the Peter Green sound then just leave the magnet as is. I like to use the varitone for quick tone change when singing in a gig. Usually, I only use 1,2, and 3. I'm glad you're keeping the guitar; it meant a lot to your Dad and I am sure you will enjoy it as much as he did. I too, trust my kid will also keep some of my personal guitars. I'm just like one of the caretakers, and he'll be next...etc.

Nice one! Brown case also looks good with it. Is it a black interior or reddish?

At my age, my sense of smell is very poor... old fart here. If I remember correctly, Gibson as well as TKL (water base glue only) use Benzoin resin.

Beautifully authentic!

Very nice! Authentic!

I can only guess the decode: A type taper, 500K=500,000 OHMs, 98 year, 44th week. I could not find the manufacturer's EIA code. The pots in the sixties should be stamped embossed that I've seen. Also, each pot was enclosed in a metal shield. So I'm not sure if it is the original pots.

I've removed all my spring saddle retainers on all my oldies. They sometimes vibrate like a sitar. You can put a "v" kink on the spring to make it snug. I don't do this kink method. Instead, I remove retainer and place a small dab of clear nail polish on the screw head and bridge ... should a string break the saddle won't fall off. The nail polish also prevents the saddle from buzzing.

Naptha for cleaning, pure carnuba car wax, and food grade mineral oil on fretboard are what I use. You can get cheap supplies from Home Depot that will last a life time! I've used branding or private labeling but these work well without the perfume smell. Only difference is that Gibson, Dunlop, etc do not get a cut in the sales... ha ha ha.

I've got two LP's with that same issue; although not as bad as yours. If you adjust the truss rod and the non filed side of the nut lands on the top of the headstock, the truss rod cover might not seat flat on the headstock. It is really poor workmanship.

I wouldn't consider slight more relief on the low E a twist; it's a blessing. All my Gibsons seem to have that differing relief. Even with triple maple necks. Either way, it plays better. IMHO and no worries. Maybe it's just semantics, but if the horizontal on the first fret is not aligned with the horizontal on the last fret then it's a twist and could pose play-ability problems with action heights.

Tortoise might clash with the red. White is better than tortoise; but might be too contrasting to the dark red, clash with the binding and pickup rings. The black with 5ply binding on the pickguard edge would be the best to go with your body binding and pickup rings. But you do what you like and you can change it anytime to suit your mood.... we just want to see pics!!!

Hybrid .010-.052. Skinny top/Heavy bottom. This feels similar to what we did in the old days before EB slinky.

Huh? Sorry, but I cannot seem to see any thing problematic. Are we talking about the scratch on the fretboard? Just use a small piece of 600 grit to make it disappear, and play it! Just think of all the playing time lost getting another one. Life is just to short. Besides, you should see my 45+ year old Gibsons... lots of very deep finger nail gouges on the fretboard. Many decades ago, you only bought one (or two guitars if you're lucky) to play. Today, we're lucky to have an over abundance of guitars available for purchase... more guitars to minimize wear on all of them. Mass production has its benefits in availability and lower cost. With inflation taken into account, the same Les Paul Standard in 2019 is cheaper than a new one in the mid-sixties! The abundance of excellent used guitars is something unimaginable back in the sixties. We're just so blessed and lucky today! Being an old fart, I now learned to appreciate and value that play time or just having your guitar in your hands is so precious that little imperfection is insignificant! Well, unless you got OCD... which we all have to certain degree.

My ES-339 has binding on the front and back of body. Therefore it does not have any significant rounded edge compared like an SG or a Strat body. Maybe the smaller body size of ES-339 is more comfortable for you?

When I first went to the factory in 2001, they mentioned that Memphis was under the umbrella of the Custom Shop. Eventually Memphis became on their own in later years.