Tom Hollyer Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 335s have been my particular passion since I got my first one used in 1966. It was a 64 I bought from a lady in my neighborhood. Been playing them, among other things, ever since. I have built a web site devoted to these great old axes, The Golden Era of Gibson Thinlines, and would love to add more guitars to it. So, if you guys have any, please feel free to contact me and send some pics. To get things going, I will share a photo of a very rare 1959 blonde with flames and a 2-piece top. I have never seen one quite like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benoit Trow Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 That sure is a beauty Tom!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I not sure if I have any website quality photos of this guitar (I no longer own it), or if you have any interest in Norlin era 335's, but here's a pic of my 1975 sunburst. I 'borrowed" this guitar from a bandmate for a recording session in 1980, and refused to give it back (he was an SG guy anyway). We finally worked out some kind of cash/trade deal and it became my main guitar for the next twenty years. I finally played it to death (literally), to the point I had to have the bridge re-arched, and it was in dire need of a fret job (ever heard of a "fretless wonder" 335). I decided to sell it "as was" to maximize my profit, for it was still completely original. I replaced it in 2000 with a Historic Series ES-345, which is now my main rock and blues guitar. I kind of wish I had kept it around for old times sake, but I'm not made of money and sold it for 4x's what I paid for it. Let me know if you have any interest in this guitar for your website, and I will hunt for more photos, serial number, documentation, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Hollyer Posted June 5, 2009 Author Share Posted June 5, 2009 Larry, the site is pretty specific to 1964 and earlier. Primarily because that is the era I know best. Until I get more stuff from that era, I will wait on the Norlin stuff. Benoit, I would love to have shots of your 60 ES-345. It would fit right in. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm1100 Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Here is a picture of my 58 Gibson ES-335 in its original Lifton case, enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted June 5, 2013 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Here is a picture of my 58 Gibson ES-335 in its original Lifton case, enjoy! So... you're here to tell us you own one of the first 50 ES-335 ever made? Please do tell! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm1100 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 So... you're here to tell us you own one of the first 50 ES-335 ever made? Please do tell! Well, ok. My father has recently past away and the guitar was handed down to me. The story I was told by my uncle, My grandfather traded a guy an octagon barreled shotgun for the ES-335, even trade back in the late 50's! I don't play, don't have anyone to hand it down to and don't have the time to learn how to play so I will be putting it up for sale as soon as I have it appraised. Keep an eye out! I've been doing some research and have found that this jewel is a hot item, wait, I cant find another one like mine! More pictures to come soon. If anyone knows of an appraiser, please let me know. I will be the first to admit, this should go to someone that lives, breaths and bleeds guitars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Very nice. What's the serial number? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Judging by the cherry finish, short pick guard, white switch tip and dot fingerboard, I'll guess that the serial number will reflect 1961 through early 1962. Nice guitar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 Judging by the cherry finish, short pick guard, white switch tip and dot fingerboard, I'll guess that the serial number will reflect 1961 through early 1962. Nice guitar! Agreed, and I was going to say the same thing, except the vol/tone knobs appear to be bonnets with no reflector caps, which would suggest no later than mid-to-late '60 (same time the guards got shorter). I think. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm1100 Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 The serial# is 40307. Hm, with further research Im pretty sure I made a mistake. Now I want to say its a 54??? According to the orange sticker, that's what it is. How the heck are you guys putting these huge pictures on here? Every time I try, it says they're too big. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 That serial number also corresponds to 1961. Since this model didn't come out until 1958, I think '61 is more likely. Plus, the specs match the year except for the knobs. I think they have been changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 That serial number also corresponds to 1961. Since this model didn't come out until 1958, I think '61 is more likely. Plus, the specs match the year except for the knobs. I think they have been changed. I think the most dangerous way to date them is by easily-replaceable details such as knobs, pickguards, etc. I've got a late-60's ES 335 whose knobs have been changed at least once, and I'm going to use repro parts to get it back closer to what it was, even if I don't particularly like witch hats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY Guitar Show Posted June 7, 2013 Share Posted June 7, 2013 my 60' 335 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted June 8, 2013 Share Posted June 8, 2013 1370617735[/url]' post='1384928']The serial# is 40307. Hm, with further research Im pretty sure I made a mistake. Now I want to say its a 54??? According to the orange sticker, that's what it is. How the heck are you guys putting these huge pictures on here? Every time I try, it says they're too big. You get an account on Photobucket or Flickr and upload all pics there. Then, you share them to this site by posting a link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitbucket Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Hi, Anybody have an idea what the story might be with the guitar in the attached PDF? It looks like an ES (330? or 335?) Some guy I met is thinking of selling it for a relative. He sent me the 4 photos in the PDF. The first thing I noticed is there's no serial number stamped into the head stock. The folks at Gibson said that happens sometimes. The guy who sent me the pics said it was 1966 ES-335, at first, now he thinks it's a '59 for some reason - thinks he can get $14,000 for it. Anybody have any ideas about the guitar judging by the photos? Did they have black top hat knobs in the 50s? Sorry the photos are of such poor quality, I would've taken better ones. Thanks, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm1100 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 So....An update to my previous post seven months ago. I had the thing looked at and did more research after finally being able to get home for vacation and snap a few more pictures. I found out its more like a '61 335. Its in pretty rough shape and in need of some repair. I cant decide between restoring it or leaving it the way it is. The guy that appraised it for me said "Its not pretty but it still plays like a dream. My main concern now is that it will sit and rot since I don't play at all. None the less, here are a few more pictures http://s1330.photobucket.com/user/jehallinc/library/?sort=3&page=1 Hope that works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 Hey! That looks MY-T-FINE to me. Exactly like I like 'em. I hope it serves you well, as you should have no problem finding a willing buyer, if you decide to take that route...Nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 That guitar has some serious mojo, at least visually. I find it easy to believe that it plays like a dream, though. Not a bad thing to have inherited! Now that I've seen better photos, I think those vol/tone knobs look original, but the reflector caps are gone. With vintage guitars, you generally don't want to do any restoration unless you absolutely have to. Since it apparently plays well and functions well, I'd be very hesitant to do anything to it, other than get a new ("aged") set of tuner buttons. The old ones are going to continue to degrade. I would also think about replacing the fretboard binding on the one side. The pickguard... maybe replace that too, but it's not a big deal. The back of the neck looks pretty funky. If somebody already attempted to refinish that, it might be something to consider addressing, otherwise I would just leave it alone. Hopefully there was never a break at the head. It looks like the guitar has been in some serious smoke over the years. Was it ever saved from a fire? Maybe it could be carefully cleaned (the binding in particular). At any rate, with a guitar this valuable, you need to be very careful and conservative with restorations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm1100 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 That guitar has some serious mojo, at least visually. I find it easy to believe that it plays like a dream, though. Not a bad thing to have inherited! Now that I've seen better photos, I think those vol/tone knobs look original, but the reflector caps are gone. With vintage guitars, you generally don't want to do any restoration unless you absolutely have to. Since it apparently plays well and functions well, I'd be very hesitant to do anything to it, other than get a new ("aged") set of tuner buttons. The old ones are going to continue to degrade. I would also think about replacing the fretboard binding on the one side. The pickguard... maybe replace that too, but it's not a big deal. The back of the neck looks pretty funky. If somebody already attempted to refinish that, it might be something to consider addressing, otherwise I would just leave it alone. Hopefully there was never a break at the head. It looks like the guitar has been in some serious smoke over the years. Was it ever saved from a fire? Maybe it could be carefully cleaned (the binding in particular). At any rate, with a guitar this valuable, you need to be very careful and conservative with restorations. Thanks for your input Jim. Im gonna try cleaning it up a bit and see what it looks like under the "protective" layers of tar and nicotine. With a little more research ill come up with the best thing I can find to do so. The original finish has never been messed with, its all wear. You are correct about the smoke, not a fire but cigarette smoke and im talking about all 50+ years of being in a heavy traffic home with hours of stagnant smoke. Im starting to get an itch for a Gibson restore on this sucker. I wouldnt mind having it look like it did when it was new. I do realize it'll affect the value but its not about that for me anymore. After all, its been through my grandfather and fathers hands now. Just cant be replaced! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Worm, I totally understand your desire for this one to look new again. I think the best option would be to go to your local Gibson dealer and buy a brand new shiny ES-335 so you can play the heck out of it. It probably won't cost you too much more than it would to have a good luthier refinish it. This way you'd still have a sweet ES-335 sitting under the bed that hasn't been messed with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm1100 Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Worm, I totally understand your desire for this one to look new again. I think the best option would be to go to your local Gibson dealer and buy a brand new shiny ES-335 so you can play the heck out of it. It probably won't cost you too much more than it would to have a good luthier refinish it. This way you'd still have a sweet ES-335 sitting under the bed that hasn't been messed with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Worm, I totally understand your desire for this one to look new again. I think the best option would be to go to your local Gibson dealer and buy a brand new shiny ES-335 so you can play the heck out of it. It probably won't cost you too much more than it would to have a good luthier refinish it. This way you'd still have a sweet ES-335 sitting under the bed that hasn't been messed with! What TVguit says here. The wear looks perfectly normal. I would not even clean it unless you have done this before on a vintage Gibson. If you want to sell it, consider consigning it through somebody like Charlie Gelber at es-335.org, who specializes in ES-335/345/355 guitars from 1958 through 1965, and is one of the experts on them. The guitar should clean up very well, but since it is so obviously grungy, it should only be cleaned by someone who really knows what he is doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitman3 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stubert Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I bought these two about three years ago from a friend who has quite a collection. 1963 SG Les Paul junior and a 1965 ES335, both in suberb condition particularly the SG which is virtually untouched with clean and completely intact croc' case. The 65 335 has wear to the back of the neck but it is that "good wear" if you know what I mean. The tuners are double ring Klusons (I think these were original to the guitar) but there is evidence of Grovers having been fitted at one time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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