355 marking

[MissoulaFlood]

Here's something curious. Today I pulled the neck pickup on my 335 and saw this marking on the body.

 

[Grog]

There is a guy who posts on the “Les Paul Forum” in the “Other Gibsons” thread that worked at the Nashville factory. His name is Strings Jr and his thread is “Where are they now?” He likely knows the employee with those initials & has answered many people with similar questions. It’s an interesting read!

 

P.S. I had to go back 10 pages to find it. The last post was June 29,2022.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Grog

[MissoulaFlood]

Thanks Grog. I've sent him a message. The interesting thing to me is the markings are ES355 00, while this guitar is a 335. Hopefully, he'll have some insight. 

[Grog]

Good luck!

[IanHenry]

Keep us posted, I'm sure a lot of people would like to know 🙂

[MissoulaFlood]

At Grog's suggestion, I reached out to the member on the Les Paul forum. His response:

 

......More than likely, at some point in the production process before neck fit, it was decided that this "body" would become a 335 instead of a 355. Another guess is the WC initials were possibly who signed off on the change. Again, just a guess.

[MissoulaFlood]

I noted the same thing, but it seemed to make more sense that is a "five" rather than an ''S". Who knows, will probably remain a mystery. The guitar is gloss.