My ES335 has no TOM!

[Shah]

I had purchased a 1959 VOS reissue ES335 and its weird that it has no tune o matic Bridge..does gibson has a period that they stop installing the TOM to some reissues?? It's also weird that there is no serial number stamped at the back of the headstock, its seen only at the sticker inside the "f" hole..Can someone help me with this

[moosesyr]

I'm no expert, but that looks highly suspicious.  It looks like a tailpiece and not a wraparound bridge.  What's the point.  

[eldorado2001]

It would be a good idea to run the serial number by Gibson customer service.

[Sgt. Pepper]

I asked him to look at under the TRC on the other thread about the same thing , l and said if its metric or hex wrench (Allen Wrench) to adjust it its fake. No word yet.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[rct]

I know I posted something here.  huh.  Anyway, no, a 59 Reissue does not have stop bar only.  I don't think they made 335 in the days of no bridge piece and only stop bar.  That would be an interesting guitar if it is an actual '59 RI.

rct

[rschleicher]

I also notice that the stain and finish on the side-walls of the body seem to show the burst colorings of the top, but not "aligned" the same as the top (for example, the apparent amber of the side wall at the "ear").  I thought that the side walls were supposed to be a consistent color everywhere.  At least that's how it is on my recent Vintage Burst ES-345, where the sides are a uniform brownish color (but maybe '59 RI's are different?).  

I looked at several ads for '59 re-issues, and the side walls in those ads seem to show the uniform brownish color (at least on the burst '59 re-issues).  I also noticed (and was somewhat surprised by) that the other guitars for sales also had no serial number stamped on the back of the headstock (FWIW).....

I agree that a couple of things things seem odd on this guitar.  But I don't know enough to say whether odd means "rare", or "wrong".

 

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by rschleicher

[Twang Gang]

Every '59 re-issue 335 on the internet has a Tune-O-Matic bridge and a stop bar.  This one doesn't.

[SteveFord]

Let us know what Gibson says, please.

[Sgt. Pepper]

8 hours ago, SteveFord said:

Let us know what Gibson says, please.

I don’t think we’re gonna be shocked with his answer if we hear back. 

[pohatu771]

Gibson produced some of these 59 reissues with wraparound bridges. I remember them in 2010 and some in 2014. The unusual burst pattern on the sides matches this.

They are "reissues" because of the body and neck, but original 1959s did not have a wraparound bridge.

As far as this being a "tailpiece and not a bridge," the compensated wraparound wasn't introduced until 1961. All wraparound bridges up to then were essentially the same as what we now call a stop bar tailpiece. You'll see the same on reissue Les Paul models.

Edited May 12, 2022 by pohatu771

[Sgt. Pepper]

Who doesn’t want a guitar that is hard to intonate.

[mihcmac]

I remember lots of 50's Gibsons having smooth un-compensated wrap-around bridges, which had hex screws to help with intonation. One problem with them was the plain strings would dig in making a grove that would cause the string to buzz. This would lead people to use a piece of matchbook under the plain strings to fix the buzz. Most of these 50's models that were played a lot would get upgraded later with the compensated wrap-around, but there was still a problem, the first compensated wrap-around was designed for a wound G string, light gauge was not very common yet. Eventually the Lightening Bar Wrap-Around got it right but the TOM bridges were easier to get intonated, even though the solid metal wrap-around had some unique characteristics that were also affected by the use of different metals.

Edited May 14, 2022 by mihcmac

[rct]

On 5/12/2022 at 7:45 PM, pohatu771 said:

Gibson produced some of these 59 reissues with wraparound bridges. I remember them in 2010 and some in 2014. The unusual burst pattern on the sides matches this.

They are "reissues" because of the body and neck, but original 1959s did not have a wraparound bridge.

As far as this being a "tailpiece and not a bridge," the compensated wraparound wasn't introduced until 1961. All wraparound bridges up to then were essentially the same as what we now call a stop bar tailpiece. You'll see the same on reissue Les Paul models.

Who thinks of this crap?  It's like a '59 Reissue Ford Mustang.  Jesus H.

rct

[pohatu771]

9 hours ago, mihcmac said:

I remember lots of 50's Gibsons having smooth un-compensated wrap-around bridges, which had hex screws to help with intonation. One problem with them was the plain strings would dig in making a grove that would cause the string to buzz. This would lead people to use a piece of matchbook under the plain strings to fix the buzz. Most of these 50's models that were played a lot would get upgraded later with the compensated wrap-around, but there was still a problem, the first compensated wrap-around was designed for a wound G string, light gauge was not very common yet. Eventually the Lightening Bar Wrap-Around got it right but the TOM bridges were easier to get intonated, even though the solid metal wrap-around had some unique characteristics that were also affected by the use of different metals.

The compensated bridges were also designed to be mounted straight across the body, while the originals were mounted at an angle. The compensation wouldn't really do anything if it was mounted at the angle of the originals.

[Sgt. Pepper]

My acoustics use a piece of bone that sits in a slot. Its pretty Neanderthal. 

Edited May 15, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Dub-T-123]

Not gonna lie I like the way it looks and would love to try it