New 2022 335 DOT Owner - Now I Get That This is a "Modern Interpretation" - NOT a traditional ES-335

[MarkR]

Hello All,

My name is Mark. I recently purchased a new ES-335.  

It's new PY22 DOT Ebony.

I've played many ES-335s over the years and this one doesn't sound anything like them to me.

The T-Top pickups are "ice picks" to the ears and the body of the guitar sounds and  feels like it was dunked in a vat of lacquer. Thick and fairly dead.

The result seems to be a plastic sounding box with ice pick pickups.

I know they say the Murphys are much better guitars. Maybe they still sound like traditional ES-335s.

 

I'm not sure why Gibson make such a shift away from traditional 335s with their base model?

Was there consumer demand for a  thinner twangier sounding version of the 335 ? 'Cause you can get a Gretsch for that.

Just wondering what you experts here think.

I'm not sure what to do with this thing at this point. It's been relegated to the closet.

 

Thanks In Advance,

Mark

[merciful-evans]

Sorry, but you haven't got an expert view yet. I have yet to play a ES-335 at all, but wonder what versions you have used before? The Murphy Labs and Custom shop ones all use unpotted pickups (that I have seen anyway) and perhaps that is what you are accustomed to? Whatever pickups are in your new dot are likely to be potted.

Sad to hear about your disappointment with your new guitar. Keep your options open and dont settle for anything you dont like. Good luck.

[MarkR]

Hi Merciful-Evans,

I've got a chance to try the 335 on a few of my amps today, my SR, DR, and even my JTM45 and I think I'm starting to figure out how to use this semi-hollow body.

Don't get me wrong, it's a very nice guitar. It just doesn't sound like the vintage examples I've had the chance to play over the years.

But I'm starting to play with pulling out treble and volume on the guitar and lowering playing dynamics to avoid the edgy tone and I can see where this 335 could be useful.

Thanks,

Mark

[Larsongs]

New Gibsons aren’t Vintage. Back in the 50’s they accidentally did some things & somehow Humbucker Pickups ended up sounding amazing! I’ve owned a couple vintage 50’s.. A Les Paul & an ES345. I was so naive & foolishly sold them thinking newer is better. That is so not true! I’ve been chasing that Sound ever since..

I've finally settled on a couple of Guitars.. An ES335 with 57’s, an LP with 490R & 498T & an ES LP with MHS Pickups.. They all sound really good & their Sound comes close… But, no new Gibson HB Guitar I’ve played has compared to the Sound of those vintage 50’s PAF’s…..

Gibson & lots of Boutique Guys have been trying to reproduce the Sound of those amazing Original PAF Humbuckers.. Most are unsuccessful.. Some are ok.. A few are quite good.. Close but no Cigar. IMO….

That said, there are some extremely well Crafted & great sounding new & newer Gibsons.. If you’re not happy with the one you got, exchange it… 

Edited January 14, 2022 by Larsongs

[rschleicher]

A general opinion seems to be that the current "calibrated T" pickups used on the non-custom shop 335's are somewhat on the bright side, and that rolling the tone controls down to 7 or 8 makes them more like some of the previously used humbuckers were at 10.

The finish on the current models is still nitrocellulose, same as it used to be, and I wouldn't think it would be applied much differently.  But the drying out of the wood and the nitro finish over the years no doubt changes the tone (slowly).

[Twang Gang]

It is what it is.  Did you get to play the guitar before you bought it?  You say you are learning to dial in the tone a little with the knobs and amp, but if you really don't like the sound I'd return it and get something else. 

[MarkR]

Thanks Again Everyone,

Well, I'm finally learning my way around this particular model 335 (The DOT).

I decided to start pulling the guitar volume and tone way way back while playing through my HW DR, and the result is far more what I expected from a 335 but level course  is way down.

Apparently being such a novice with semi-hollow bodies, my expectations were that the current DOT would sound very similar to the 335s I had heard before.  

I think I now have come to my unexperienced opinion that it's T-Type pickups that I really don't like.

It's funny, I happen to call Gibson the other day checking on a LP sn# and mentioned that I bought the DOT. I mentioned it was a bright and the guy said "Yeah, I'd put '57 Classics in it."

I seem to be hearing this as a recurring choice for new DOT buyers.

Now that I think I can "hear" the guitar past the pickups I think a different set of pickups would make a very big difference with this DOT.

 

Please Comment Everyone.

 

Mark

[Larsongs]

I have 57’s in my 2013 ES335 Dot & think they sound bright compared to the MHS Humbuckers in my Gibson Memphis ES Les Paul or the 490R & 498T Humbuckers in my Gibson Les Paul Std Plus…

Everyone has a different technique for dialing in their Guitars.. Recently I’ve started started setting 3 way Switch in middle position (both Pickups), Guitar Volume & Tone at 5, or equivalent, & adjusting to desired Sound & Tone as needed… Set the Amp Volume at the edge of breakup, Volume & Tone to 5 or equivalent. Then dial in the Bass & Treble sweet spots on the Amp…

Then I have more choices on my Guitar to work the Knobs for a wide variety of Volume, Tone, Clean, Breakup, as well as Pickup combinations.. I don’t have to keep resetting the Amp controls… I can still use my Pedal Board as desired…..

Seems to work pretty well for me….

Edited January 16, 2022 by Larsongs

[Twang Gang]

Pay attention to what Lars is saying in the above post.  I can't tell you how many players I've seen that put all four volume and tone controls on 10 thinking that is the way to get the most out of their pickups.  It doesn't work that way with a Gibson regardless of the model.

[MarkR]

Hi Twang Gang,

I see what you and Larsongs are saying.

I'm used to dialing in my LPs to a volume of about 6-7 and leaving tone alone.

With the 33 DOT In the center position, when I pull volumes down to 5, and tones down to 3, it finally sounds like a 335 to me, and I can hear the guitar past the pickups and electronics. 

It's great.

I don't think I should have to strangle these pickups that much to stop the screech.

I'm  probably heading the '57 Classic route and would greatly appreciate  pros/cons/preferences and observations. And any different recommendations. 

 

Thanks Again Everybody,

Mark

[SteveFord]

My 2007 ES-335 has  57 Classics, my Lucille has 490R and 490T pick ups.

I think you'd be happy with either set, the 57 Classics have some real snarl to them.

[MarkR]

Some snarl sounds good  Steve. Hopefully the '57s would replace some shrill with some of that snarl.

With my guitar volume and tone levels so low, and I can finally hear a great throaty, woody, sound, especially in the mid to upper neck. Classic stuff there.

I'll have to learn more about the 490R/490Ts

 

Thanks,

Mark

[docr]

Interesting discussion. I have bought a 335 Sixties Cherry from the "orignal" series, built in October, 2021 - with T-style pickups. 

The nitro finish of the ES335 is not thicker than on any other of my Gibson electrics (LP 50s, LP specialk, SG Special 1961, SG Standard 1961, all of them built between 2019 und 2021). A nice red color,  no orange peel, drops of lacquer etc. The structure of the maple is nicely shining through the coating.

I had no chance to compare this ES335 to an old one as I only have an 2004 Epiphone Dot but this is totally different. I like the "T" pickups. I´m playing Fender amps (Princeton, Deluxe Reverb, Tonemaster Deluxe Reverb) and it sounds great for me - very open, good clean tone, the "acoustic" component shimmers through the tone. Never had the impression to have "ice picks" on the guitar - but maybe this is the calibration of my ears as I´have played a lot on Telecasters. The "Rhythm" pickup even delivers a lot of bass tones. Chords sound with a good resolution, even with some overdrive. My Volume pickup is never full open, mostly between 4 and 6, Tone Control on 10. Amp setting mostly around 12 o´clock for bass and treble.

That´s just my personal observation. As already mentioned I had no chance to play an older ES335. But the one I bought is fine for me. I´m glad not to have a thick "Jazz" tone.

[msaint]

On 1/13/2022 at 6:56 AM, MarkR said:

Hello All,

My name is Mark. I recently purchased a new ES-335.  

It's new PY22 DOT Ebony.

I've played many ES-335s over the years and this one doesn't sound anything like them to me.

The T-Top pickups are "ice picks" to the ears and the body of the guitar sounds and  feels like it was dunked in a vat of lacquer. Thick and fairly dead.

The result seems to be a plastic sounding box with ice pick pickups.

I know they say the Murphys are much better guitars. Maybe they still sound like traditional ES-335s.

 

I'm not sure why Gibson make such a shift away from traditional 335s with their base model?

Was there consumer demand for a  thinner twangier sounding version of the 335 ? 'Cause you can get a Gretsch for that.

Just wondering what you experts here think.

I'm not sure what to do with this thing at this point. It's been relegated to the closet.

 

Thanks In Advance,

Mark

I just bought a brand new 2021 ES-335 Figured from zZounds, and it came with a broken tone pot and won't stay in tune even 1 second. With tax and their processing fee it cost over $4,300. It plays and sounds wonderfully but can't stay in tune long enough to get through a song's introduction. zZounds reached out to Gibson for a replacement tone pot....ain't heard back from Gibson yet. Seems like the only way to get a good Gibson anymore is to buy it from the CS, which of course prices the poor man out of the equation and out of the market. A damn shame.

[msaint]

On 1/17/2022 at 10:49 AM, MarkR said:

Hi Twang Gang,

I see what you and Larsongs are saying.

I'm used to dialing in my LPs to a volume of about 6-7 and leaving tone alone.

With the 33 DOT In the center position, when I pull volumes down to 5, and tones down to 3, it finally sounds like a 335 to me, and I can hear the guitar past the pickups and electronics. 

It's great.

I don't think I should have to strangle these pickups that much to stop the screech.

I'm  probably heading the '57 Classic route and would greatly appreciate  pros/cons/preferences and observations. And any different recommendations. 

 

Thanks Again Everybody,

Mark

Gibson has so much ambiguity and QC issues due to their greed, that one never knows what those pups are going to sound like. I love Gibson guitars, I owned a guitar store in the 1960s and 1970s in Southern Cal and used to sell them, no greed or QC issues back then. Today when I buy a Gibson I don't even bother to listen to what it sounds like because I always have a pair of Lollar's already waiting for the guitar when it arrives.

[sunking101]

Few people seem to like the new T-Type pickups and changing them in a 335 is a monumental PITA. The best stock 335s have MHS-2 pickups IMO. If swapping the stock pikups go for SD Seth Lovers or Antiquities. If your budget is larger then get some Lollars....

[msaint]

On 4/13/2022 at 9:27 PM, sunking101 said:

Few people seem to like the new T-Type pickups and changing them in a 335 is a monumental PITA. The best stock 335s have MHS-2 pickups IMO. If swapping the stock pikups go for SD Seth Lovers or Antiquities. If your budget is larger then get some Lollars....

Thanks for replying and forgive me for being late replying back to you. I was for some unknown reason, unable to log into this forum. I was only able to log in today, and even then I was still forced to create another password. What I wanted to say was the entire range of these these guitars sound their very best with Classic 57s. If you want to verify this scientifically you can hook it up to an Oscilloscope and view the sign waves as compared to other pups. The way these guitars are constructed, the 57s just seem natural for them.  Best way to see for yourselves is to fire one up, wait a few minutes, then listen to how good your axe sounds when playing it thru the 57s as compared to the other pickups.

[Willsjazz]

I just tried out a new 2023 ES-335 standard issue.  I can say is that it doesn't even compare to to my 2009 335, in either sound or workmanship. 

[jdgm]

Very informative thread, many thanks to all.

[Willsjazz]

I agree with you. The T-Tops don't even compare to Classic 57s.  I have a 2009 and a 2011 and they both sound better than the newest examples I tried out.  Don't know why Gibson would make that change, but IMO it was a bad idea.