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Gibson ES-335 Satin/Gloss Top Iced Tea


Sada Yairi

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In looking around at the various 335 options I came across this:

 

http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/premier/detail.asp?stock=12062112163558

 

So it's a 335 with Iced Tea finish, gloss top but satin back, sides and neck. This is pretty much what I would ideally like (though I'd prefer 57s to Burstbuckers). It even has coil tapping. I haven't been able to find any other information about it. Was this just a temporary special run? When? How much did they go for? I'd really like to find out more.

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Maybe pasting the pics & info here might be helful:

 

"An ES-335 with Zebra BurstBucker Pickups made splittable by activating Push/Pull Volume Potentiometers provides the classic look and feel of the ES-335 and the ability to dominate any genre of guitarist's needs with even greater tonal flexability. Nowhere else can you find guitars with the real tonal range control of switching from a rich BurstBucker to a hot Single Coil with the silent pull of the Volume knob. Once you have the control at your fingertips, you'll wonder what you did without the endless possibilities of sound. This Limited Run has a glossy top and a smooth satin everywhere else, with your choice of a summery Iced Tea Burst or intimidating Translucent Black."

 

Anyone know more about them? Thanks!

 

 

12062112163558b_2.jpg

 

12062112163558b_18.jpg

 

12062112163558b_20.jpg

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I played one of these, and here's what I can tell you:

 

In the USA, it was sold exclusively through Guitar Center, and was widely available for a period of time in 2012. If you look at the specs listed, it says "kidney bean" locking tuners, which is what the one I played had. The instrument you're showing has tulip tuners, otherwise it's identical. That's okay, because the kidney bean tuners had very tall posts & looked kinda weird, imho.

 

The workmanship was quite nice, and the honeyburst was attractive. It played well with a fast '60s profile neck. Acoustically, this particular example was somewhat thinner in tone than many semi-hollowbodies I've played or currently own. Re the zebra pickups, their tone was not my cup of tea until tapped on the single coil setting.

 

Concurrently, there was another very similar exclusive-run 335 available in 2012 at GC with the gloss top/satin back & sides combo, but it sported P90s and the locking tulip tuners. It was also coil tapped, which essentially cut the output. I purchased one in red (made in the last days of 2011), and it came with an ebony fingerboard, which I love. I still own this guitar, and for me, the P90 equipped instrument is a better player.

 

These are interesting instruments, and well worth a look.

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