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ES 330


houndman55

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Posted

Hey,

 

The ES 330 was introduced in 1958, the PAF humbucker was invented in 1957. So what made Gibson decide to put P90's on it instead on humbuckers? Don't get me wrong, I love P90's but I'm just curious.

Posted

Not sure....I was not privy to the decision-making process! I suspect that it was a "price-point" move. The 330 was different than the 335. I personally think that P90's with the hollow-body 330 were a great match. Lighter and more resonant. Lots of growl!Of course, I am a P90 freak!

 

I keep selling/trading all of my humbucker- equipped guitars....??!!!

 

 

Posted

Thank goodness common sense prevailed... [thumbup]

 

The result being 2 of the most interesting and useful guitars of all time...

 

The ES 330/Epiphone Casino...and the ES 335... [thumbup]

 

A casual glance at the Gretsch range will indicate how worthwhile it can be to load hollow guitars with single coils...

 

V

 

:-({|=

Posted

A casual glance at the Gretsch range will indicate how worthwhile it can be to load hollow guitars with single coils...

Not to mention a company called Gibson, which had already been doing it for over 20 years when the 330 came out. :)

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

Would it be fair to say that in the 60s the Epiphone Casino greatly outsold its sister model the Gibson 330?

 

That certainly seems to have been the case in England during the 60s beat group boom when Casinos appeared to outnumber 330s by 10 to 1.

 

Plenty of bands used 335s and even 345s, but the P90 model was nearly always a Casino.

 

Likewise Epiphone's Rivoli bass was a much more common sight in the UK than its Gibson sibling the EB-2.

 

And it's not like the Epiphones were cheaper. In fact I think they retailed for a little more than the Gibsons at that stage, being slightly fancier.

 

Personally I think the Casino is a nicer-looking guitar than the 330, certainly in its original incarnation.

 

The sight of John and George onstage with their Casinos circa 1965 is a powerful image.

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted

Personally I think the Casino is a nicer-looking guitar than the 330, certainly in its original incarnation.

For me, there's nothing lovelier than an original natural finish ES-330.

 

Fortunately for the pocketbook, my blonde 2012 ES-330 VOS gets pretty darn close!

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