G Mac Posted August 22, 2016 Posted August 22, 2016 Are there any fans of the ES-330 out there? I have a sunburst one from 1966 that I got in the late '70's that I absolutely LOVE. I have owned and sold many fine instruments over the years but, I will never willingly part with "Esther". I think that the tone is wonderful; big and full and oh so woody! Also, nice and easy to get controlled feedback(I stuffed mine with cotton shortly after buying it at a pawn shop in 1976). Just curious. Chime in with your own love story!
G Mac Posted August 22, 2016 Author Posted August 22, 2016 Sorry that there are no pix... I don't know how to make that happen. I can barely type! My apologies but, you can still talk about your guitar and post pictures if ya wanna. I'll see if my wife or daughter can help me get some photos on here. Cheerio!
zigzag Posted August 22, 2016 Posted August 22, 2016 OK, I'll bite. I've never actually played one, but it looks good to me in principle- thin line hollow body 335-shape with P-90s. I don't care for Bigsbys, so the one I would own would be without one. Â I bought a used Epi Dot and replaced the humbuckers with low wind Fralin P-92s, and it is the best sounding guitar I own. This is probably as close to owning a 330 as I'll get.
Notes_Norton Posted August 22, 2016 Posted August 22, 2016 Of the guitars I own, my ES-330 was my absolute favorite until I got a Parker. Â Now it's second favorite to my Parkers. Â Here along with my Casino: Â Â And the Parkers that I like better: Â Â The 330 does what it does wonderfully (It's a 1970) but the Parker, especially the one with the Duncan P-Rails is a more versatile guitar for gigging. Â Insights and incites by Notes
G Mac Posted August 23, 2016 Author Posted August 23, 2016 Hey, Notes_Norton!Those are pretty! I've not seen a 330 in that walnut brown before. You are indeed a lucky man! Nice Parkers as well; very versatile. Since I haven't posted a pic of my 330, you can see what it looks like in the Vintage Gibsons forum in the "1966 ES-330 - Opportunity or sickness?" thread. Mine is a cherry sunburst like his but, with no pickguard and one silver PU cover(neck) and one black one(bridge). Also, mine is checked pretty thoroughly; having been found in a pawn shop.
merciful-evans Posted August 23, 2016 Posted August 23, 2016 Oddly enough I will be looking over an ES-325 next month hopefully (pretty much the same as ES-330). Â Feedback is of course the main problem, so I understand your cotton wool mod entirely.
fretplay Posted August 23, 2016 Posted August 23, 2016 Hi G Mac, I have an ES330 1966 same as you. Mine is a sunburst too but gold to brown. Yes I find it very nice to play, sweet sound and the neck is comfortable. I have 12s strings which seems to be fine. No problem with feed back but then I don't play it out. What do you think these guitars are worth in today's market? Â I also have a made in Japan 1984 Casino that I have to say is as good perhaps better as the pickups are just that bit more ranchy.
G Mac Posted August 24, 2016 Author Posted August 24, 2016 To merciful-evans: The cotton seems to provide just the right amount of damping effect for me. It can still get out of hand if things get too loud but ,works well in most situations. Mine is stuffed in the same area that the center block would occupy were it a 335. Good Luck with the 325! To fretplay: I tried .012's for a while but, bending them kept seperating my nails from my fingertips... Ouch! I guess tuning to Eb might help with that. Also, as I understand it, these guitars are worth $1000(in rough shape) up to about $5000 if in mint condition. Having said that, I have seen them for both more and less. Last year, Gruhn had one for around six grand, if memory serves. Mine is a bit rough and was estimated to be worth around $1500. I think that the year and the color are also factors. Apparently the blonde ones are the most rare. I agree that the original P-90's are fairly low output but, since I play mostly jazz, blues and R&B, they're near perfect for me. To all: Keep 'em comin'! I enjoy seeing and reading about your gits as I am a shameless fan of these particular Gibsons!
G Mac Posted September 7, 2016 Author Posted September 7, 2016 I got a picture of my lovely guitar for you all to see... I hope it loads! Yay! It worked!
Versatile Posted September 7, 2016 Posted September 7, 2016 The ES330 and it's predecessor the ES225 are IMO great, characterful hollow bodies...  Much of the great music from the 60's was created around the ES330/Casino sound  The Beatles The Kinks The Stones and many more  Jazz man Grant Green also made good use of that sparkling P90 tone...  The ES225 harks back to the ES175....probably the biggest selling jazz guitar of all time  V  Â
Notes_Norton Posted September 7, 2016 Posted September 7, 2016 I love the 330. There is something about the P90 tone, the light weight body that I can feel vibrating against me as I play it, the super-fast neck, and the fact that I love the way arch tops look that are a "Bob Magnet". Â Even with my more versatile Parkers, I run them in the P90 mode most of the time. Â After gigging with the P90s for long time, any other pickup just sounds dull to me. Â Insights and incites by Notes
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