silver_mica Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Hi, I've got a question about an ES-335 that I'm considering owning. I plan to take the guitar to a local professional for evaluation and setup - but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get an opinion from this forum. I did catch something that looked odd to me (when comparing old photos of my first ES-335 to the guitar of interest). An imprecise way of putting is this: the bridge looks wonky. In particular 1) the intonation adjustments look a bit like someone messed with it too much (some of the pointy saddles backward). 2) the top of body of the ES-335 is (or appears) much closer to the bridge on one side (look where thumb wheels are located). 3) the tail piece seems really close to the body. At this point I'm only looking at a photo of the potential guitar to buy - so perhaps things look exaggerated due to three dimensions being projected onto two. What do you folks think? David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Height and angles of bridge and tailpiece depend on neck angle and top curvature. Due to the Gibson tolerances - that of the neck angle is +/- 15" (angular seconds) usually - the height adjustment you find here may result. An uneven bridge is normal - I have these on all guitars since the E6th calls for more action than the E1st. However, it is quite a lot of a height difference here. Combined with the low tailpiece position, it could possibly be due to a neck reset, but this is just a guess. Anyway, in the distant past I have seen and played original Gibson ES-335 guitars which were far from what I would be willing to buy. I think some more pictures could help to clear up the situation, or maybe the guitar is just set up poorly - one can never know. In case the intonation is correct, I would revert the A5th, B2nd and E1st bridge saddles compared to their actual mounting. Meeting and evaluating the candidate in person would be best. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver_mica Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 Here's the ad (lots of pictures of this guitar here). http://loviesguitars.com/product/1997-gibson-es-335-tobacco-sunburst-flame/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 . The bridge looks okay to me. Assuming the person that intonated it last knew what they were doing - the flipped saddles indicate there was more travel needed to intonate properly. I see the D saddle is as sharp as it can get and the A saddle is adjusted all the way sharp but could be flipped for a bit more sharpness. When you have to go that far and then farther, flipping the apex of the saddle gives you a bit more. This might indicate a bridge location or geometry problem. <edit> I'm guessing about the bridge height difference - it doesn't seem to extreme to me. The adjuster probably wanted the bass strings higher. Regarding the stop - some players like it down down as far as it will go in an attempt to get better vibration transmission and increased sustain. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 From the look of it there's nothing damaged and nothing that couldn't be re-adjusted. However I'd play it before buying if possible, then you may find out why the bridge is raised so much higher on the bass side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 After taking a look at some more pictures, I think that perhaps they grooved the saddle of the E6th a little too deep and therefore raised the bridge. There's no damage visible on the photos, so I assume the guitar is original. The D4th's intonation may also come from a slightly inconsistently wound string. I once had this case last year. The string didn't even sound impure, no beats at all from open to the 22nd fret, but it took an adjustment below the theoretical scale length which the Gibraltar bridge of the related Ibanez guitar fortunately allowed for. 1970's Gibsons with the long-travel "harmonica" bridge like my '73 L6-S and my '78 S-G do that, too. Most Fenders also have enough adjustment space, but if it had been about "normal" Tune-O-Matics, I either had to have lived with flat intonation or to have discarded the string. As far as I can see, there's nothing wrong with the guitar basically, but restringing and setting up will clear it up finally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver_mica Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 I just called a local guitar place (independent place called Guitar Showcase in San Jose, CA) - walk-in evaluations are fine. That should clear up things pretty fast. And, of course, they can set everything up. I've got a feeling it's mostly fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 If the technician replaces parts, e. g. saddles, I would take the original ones with me, too. One can never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver_mica Posted October 21, 2015 Author Share Posted October 21, 2015 I received the guitar yesterday afternoon on October 20th, 2015. The intonation is SPOT on. Zero issues at all. I'll be taking it to Guitar Showcase in San Jose for an inspection - just for grins - and to show it off. I'm not sure if I can post links here, but I did upload pictures on Photobucket as well as a video on YouTube. My 1997 Gibson ES-335 (photobucket) This is a RAD guitar! David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 21, 2015 Share Posted October 21, 2015 Glad to hear from you everything is fine with her! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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