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1976 Gibson ES335 twisted neck


Hector Grecco

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Recently, I bought a fine 1976 Gibson ES335 from a friend of mine. The guitar plays well, good tuning and sound, but there was a problem... took the guitar to my luthier for fret replacement and basic maintenance, so he tell me that the guitar has a twisted neck and It couldn't be fixed. The guitar really has a good tone, sounding, but... I can't get the “my guitar has a twisted neck and can't be fixed” out of my mind. What Should I do?

Edited by Hector Grecco
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I've owned a few Gibson from the mid to late 70s with twisted necks. It's something I watch for now. As to any "fix", I've not heard of anything that works. I've heard tall tales. I don't believe any of them. 

I would not buy any guitar with a twisted neck, period.  Having said that, I have a 1998 Seagull that looks like it went through the war and it has a twisted neck. It is obvious. However it still plays fine. I have another S6 neck waiting in the wings if it ever "fails". 

If you like the guitar, you might overlook the flaw, as long as it plays okay. 

If not, bail. Even if you lose money. Bail and take the loss, otherwise it will eat your brain.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/21/2020 at 12:18 PM, Larsongs said:

If you really like this Guitar & think it's a keeper, You could call Gibson, make arrangements to send it to them & have them install a new Neck..

 

That is a great idea, but with the worlds current situation it my take about 3 years to get back and what is something like that going to cost from Gibson. Neck resets on guitars (mostly done on acoustics) are $3 to 500, and that is just to reset a neck that is in playable condition where the angle is now off due to age, and that just being the nature of the beast of owning an acoustic . He will also need to pony up for the price of a new neck (not sure what that would be), plus any re-finish work that needs to be done, and shipping, and he wants a fret job (doesn't need to be performed by Gibson). Then he will have a 1976 Gibson ES-335 with a neck that will have different serial number.  If you bought it and it was not disclosed it had a twisted neck  and they knew that prior, I would get back with whoever sold it and put a claim in if you can. If you can't looks like sadly someone dumped a lemon on you.

Edited by Sgt. Pepper
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You say it plays well and stay in tune so I assume intonation is good as well?  If so, just keep it and play it.  Fixing it would be costly and difficult.  As long as it plays well and sounds good don't worry about it.  You'll get over it with time.

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11 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

That is a great idea, but with the worlds current situation it my take about 3 years to get back and what is something like that going to cost from Gibson. Neck resets on guitars (mostly done on acoustics) are $3 to 500, and that is just to reset a neck that is in playable condition where the angle is now off due to age, and that just being the nature of the beast of owning an acoustic . He will also need to pony up for the price of a new neck (not sure what that would be), plus any re-finish work that needs to be done, and shipping, and he wants a fret job (doesn't need to be performed by Gibson). Then he will have a 1976 Gibson ES-335 with a neck that will have different serial number.  If you bought it and it was not disclosed it had a twisted neck  and they knew that prior, I would get back with whoever sold it and put a claim in if you can. If you can't looks like sadly someone dumped a lemon on you.

Yeah, I agree.. But, if it's "The One" it may be worth it to the OP?

Personally, I'd Sell it. Take my lumps & buy a new 335..... Full Lifetime Warranty & Brand new. To my desired Specs..

Actually that is what I did recently... It's perfect...

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14 minutes ago, Larsongs said:

Yeah, I agree.. But, if it's "The One" it may be worth it to the OP?

Personally, I'd Sell it. Take my lumps & buy a new 335..... Full Lifetime Warranty & Brand new. To my desired Specs..

Actually that is what I did recently... It's perfect...

So he is already in for the price of what he paid for the guitar, and what do you think the kind, loving, generous people at Gibson are going to charge him for a new neck, removing the neck, reinstalling a new one, more than likely some refinish work, and shipping both ways. $1000 + easy.  Yeah he could dump it on someone else. If it was 'the one', he would not be here telling us this, he would be playing it, and it would have been a NGD with a happy ending.

I couldn't find any 335 necks for sale cause there are not like Fenders where, 4 screws and 3 minuets later your neck is off.

Edited by Sgt. Pepper
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On May 23, 2020 at 6:02 AM, Sgt. Pepper said:

Now I'm gonna say $2500. Hope you can send it back.

Sounds high but Gibson ain't cheap! They're usually quite a bit higher than your local Luthier.

Which makes a good Case for buying new to begin with.. I have had to use the Lifetime Warranty on a couple of my Guitars over the years.. Gibson stood by their Warranty  & their workmanship was excellent... 

Whether it is or isn't the one, yours or my  part is speculation.

If the OP didn't like the Guitar why waste 2 seconds here? He should be working on returning it & getting his money back if possible. He'll find out how good a friend he has.....

Also, he could Part it out... 

If he can't return it, doesn't want it, he should take his lumps & sell it. With honest full Disclosure... Then, buy a new one with a Lifetime Warranty..

Edited by Larsongs
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I didn't see he bought it from a friend. Maybe not anymore. Maybe his friend knew - maybe not. I'm suspecting he did. 

I've only owned 2 new Gibby's. A 335 and LP Studio. I have had to use my warrenty on my D-28 when I opened my case one day and the back of the bridge didn't look right. 

Edited by Sgt. Pepper
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On May 24, 2020 at 6:44 AM, Sgt. Pepper said:

I didn't see he bought it from a friend. Maybe not anymore. Maybe his friend knew - maybe not. I'm suspecting he did. 

I've only owned 2 new Gibby's. A 335 and LP Studio. I have had to use my warrenty on my D-28 when I opened my case one day and the back of the bridge didn't look right. 

After 30 + years of Ownership I had to use my Martin Warranty.. They were excellent.. It had a Bridge issue too.. But when they got it they told me it needed the Bridge & Neck Reset, the Pickguard re-installed as it was starting to lift & some Braces replaced.. I said, Great! How much is this going to cost? They said, Nothing. It's covered by their Lifetime Warranty.... They did a great job! That was about 10 years ago & it's still perfect..

My Lifetime Warranty experiences with Gibson were quite comparable as well.....

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12 minutes ago, Larsongs said:

After 30 + years of Ownership I had to use my Martin Warranty.. They were excellent.. It had a Bridge issue too.. But when they got it they told me it needed the Bridge & Neck Reset, the Pickguard re-installed as it was starting to lift & some Braces replaced.. I said, Great! How much is this going to cost? They said, Nothing. It's covered by their Lifetime Warranty.... They did a great job! That was about 10 years ago & it's still perfect..

My Lifetime Warranty experiences with Gibson were quite comparable as well.....

Neck resets under warranty are long gone. I took mine to a Martin Tech in Richmond. 

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On 5/22/2020 at 12:58 PM, Sgt. Pepper said:

That is a great idea, but with the worlds current situation it my take about 3 years to get back and what is something like that going to cost from Gibson. Neck resets on guitars (mostly done on acoustics) are $3 to 500, and that is just to reset a neck that is in playable condition where the angle is now off due to age, and that just being the nature of the beast of owning an acoustic . He will also need to pony up for the price of a new neck (not sure what that would be), plus any re-finish work that needs to be done, and shipping, and he wants a fret job (doesn't need to be performed by Gibson). Then he will have a 1976 Gibson ES-335 with a neck that will have different serial number.  If you bought it and it was not disclosed it had a twisted neck  and they knew that prior, I would get back with whoever sold it and put a claim in if you can. If you can't looks like sadly someone dumped a lemon on you.

 

Another thing with a new neck.  With all due respect,  Larsongs , even if it is a "good one" or  "the one" (a valid and good point), I think a new neck can have an appreciable effect on it being a "good one" to the point of it possibly not being as good with a replaced neck.  I think that is a risk to consider, too.

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1 hour ago, Wmachine said:

 

Another thing with a new neck.  With all due respect,  Larsongs , even if it is a "good one" or  "the one" (a valid and good point), I think a new neck can have an appreciable effect on it being a "good one" to the point of it possibly not being as good with a replaced neck.  I think that is a risk to consider, too.

I agree. If it were me I'd try to get my money back or I'd sell it & move on....

Like I said, hard for me to think of a 70's Guitar as Vintage.... 

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1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Neck resets under warranty are long gone. I took mine to a Martin Tech in Richmond. 

In my experience the so called Factory Authorized Techs aren't always truthful & in "some cases" not worthy of their Title. I had a horrible experience with one from San Diego on my 1959 Gibson ES345.. There were a couple other incidences too...

I sent my D-35 to Martin Factory... I sent my Gibsons to Gibson Factory as well...... 

When it comes to serious Repair or Warranty work on my Expensive Guitars I don't trust the other guys anymore....

Edited by Larsongs
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