PenelopeES335 Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 Wondering if I can get the history behind this stunning guitar if I ask here at the source. I purchased this beautiful ES-335 125th Anniversary at a local guitar shop in Manchester, NH on Saturday 9/11/21. They are a Legitimate Authorized Gibson Dealer. When I brought her home (I named her Penelope), I tried to do some research online but couldn't find absolutely anything other than a couple of pics from NAMM 2019. I posted a a few pics on Reddit and someone from Gibson was able to give me a bit of information which is as follows: "Was supposed to start in Memphis since it was a 335. When we moved to Nashville the Supreme's were running but the 335’s were behind. We were focusing on getting the quality on the 335’s and didn’t want to start a fancy guitar. By the time we started running them it was almost past our 125th anniversary. So we never finished the run. Not sure how many we actually made, but I’m almost certain it wasn’t 125 of them. So in short, it’s a rare guitar for sure with an interesting story" I guess what I'm trying to find out is: How many of these were actually made / What number out of the batch is the one I own / Was it supposed to come with case candy and if so what? I bought it new but didn't get much in the case other than an original picture from the factory and the warranty card. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 WOW! That's a new one on me - congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenelopeES335 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Share Posted September 13, 2021 Hey Steve, thanks! This one's staying with me forever 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 TBH I think this is too rare for folks on this forum to know much about it. Beautiful guitar - I googled too, but can't find out anything. I don't know if emailing Gibson.com is still worth a try; I never got an answer but that was years ago. Best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenelopeES335 Posted September 14, 2021 Author Share Posted September 14, 2021 (edited) Thank you, I did email Gibson as well. I’m hoping they will get back to me at some point. For now, I’m just enjoying playing her. Edited September 14, 2021 by PenelopeES335 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted September 15, 2021 Share Posted September 15, 2021 Phone calls to Gibson work far better than emails which most of the time are unanswered. Beautiful 335! I’ve never seen that one before either… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenelopeES335 Posted September 15, 2021 Author Share Posted September 15, 2021 Oh?!? Thank you for that. In this era of emails and texts, I sometimes forget getting on the phone and placing a simple call. Hopefully there’s not a lot of automation on their lines 😂. I’ll attempt to do that today. Thanks again for the idea, truly appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazer Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 I own the same guitar, and like yourself, I have had a very hard time getting any concrete information on this model. What I have learned agrees with what you have posted, although I seem to remember getting some case candy. I would have to go open the case again to confirm. At one point I was told that Gibson was only able to produce 37 copies of this guitar before ending the run. This guitar is not only rare, but premium in every way including looks, tone, and playability. This guitar is definitely one to keep. -Hazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazer Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 I found this listing... it will be interesting to see if this guitar brings in the asking price or not.https://reverb.com/p/gibson-memphis-125th-anniversary-es-335-2019 -Hazer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PenelopeES335 Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 Hey, thanks for the update. Appreciate it. I actually have been watching that listing on Reverb. I love the guitar, I try to keep it clean and not use it too much. Perhaps it's time to look it up for a few years. I agree on the quality. Did yours come with a COA? Thanks, Max Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wmachine Posted October 6, 2022 Share Posted October 6, 2022 Did you ever call Gibson? Calling still works best even now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 I don't see what is so special about it. It's a 2019 ES335 that has a 125th anniversary logo on the headstock. The quote from Gibson says they don't know how many they made so no one on this forum will know either. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful guitar but in reality, it's a 3 year old 335 with a fancy headstock. For my money that doesn't make it worth anywhere near $30K. OK it's considered rare because they only made few - but is there anything else special about it? Does it have unique pickups, a special neck carve, special woods for body or neck? The fact is a used guitar is only worth what someone is willing to pay you for it. I say play it and enjoy it and don't worry about its rarity or supposed value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 5 hours ago, Twang Gang said: I don't see what is so special about it. It's a 2019 ES335 that has a 125th anniversary logo on the headstock. The quote from Gibson says they don't know how many they made so no one on this forum will know either. Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful guitar but in reality, it's a 3 year old 335 with a fancy headstock. For my money that doesn't make it worth anywhere near $30K. OK it's considered rare because they only made few - but is there anything else special about it? Does it have unique pickups, a special neck carve, special woods for body or neck? The fact is a used guitar is only worth what someone is willing to pay you for it. I say play it and enjoy it and don't worry about its rarity or supposed value. He could sell it for 30k, but in the real world might get no more than what ever 2019 ES-335's go for, and maybe just a touch more due to it being a special run. Now if you had a '59 ES-335 then that one would command a lot more $. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 10 hours ago, Twang Gang said: I say play it and enjoy it and don't worry about its rarity or supposed value. I don't know when the alleged "rarity" of a guitar made it something fabulous. They just didn't make that many, that's all. It could be rare because it sucked. It's not like that hasn't ever happened with all kinds of things, not just guitars. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wmachine Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 On 10/7/2022 at 11:22 AM, Twang Gang said: ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The quote from Gibson says they don't know how many they made so no one on this forum will know either........................... Just a note here. Gibson is quite tight lipped about production numbers. Who knows why, but the fact is they are. But sometimes the production numbers are made known when they are new and (truly) limited production. And they are advertised that way by dealers, with the info coming from Gibson. Usually worded "only xx produced for world wide distribution". Yet if you later contact Gibson even giving them the number to verify, they will either ignore the question or say they can't verify or confirm the production numbers. I have gone though this a number of times with Gibson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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