Ignatius Posted February 4, 2008 Author Share Posted February 4, 2008 Yea that's the brown. I changed the knobs and pickups (Duncan Seth Lovers) and its a killer guitar. You can find them in the -$1000 range' date=' often with a case.[/quote'] That's the downside. We talked about this in another thread. At least from what I am seeing, it looks like the 333s have crept up into the $1200-1400 range these days on both ebay and gbase. I'm going to remain on the lookout, but once these get over $1200 or so, the price point between them and the satin 335 with warranty and classic '57s pretty much disappears (at least for me) by the time you have to change out pickups, etc. and get a case for the 333. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TattooedCarrot Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 That's the downside. We talked about this in another thread. At least from what I am seeing' date=' it looks like the 333s have crept up into the $1200-1400 range these days on both ebay and gbase. I'm going to remain on the lookout, but once these get over $1200 or so, the price point between them and the satin 335 with warranty and classic '57s pretty much disappears (at least for me) by the time you have to change out pickups, etc. and get a case for the 333. Ignatius [/quote'] I got mine for $799 out the door with a case new when they were first released a couple years ago. The price shot upt to $1199 almost immediately. I haven't priced them in a while and I'm surprised they are that much, especially in a soft market like now. The biggest thing for me is the neck binding, you won't get it on the 335 satin and IMO it just isn't right without it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noisepolluter Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I own a gloss red dot 335 - I must admit that in my addled brain, when I think "335" I get a picture of a big, red, shiny guitar so I had to go with this one. I played a satin finish red one recently and was pleasantly surprised at how it looked and felt - though the uncovered pickups weren't to my liking. I didn't pick up on any difference acoustically, though I wasn't able to A/B them. My experience of Gibsons is that they do vary quite dramatically, so you're just as likely to get variations in resonance in two identical guitars as you are between satin and gloss finish. My advice would be to allow plenty of time to look around, and aim to pick a nice resonant one. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Has anyone mentioned the ES-339 yet? I know it's a couple inches smaller than the 335 (for some people, that's not a bad thing) but it's still such a great sounding guitar, clean or dirty. For $200 cheaper than a satin 335, you get a Gibson Custom Shop instrument with '57 Classics, and a choice of neck profiles. I snapped one of these up before Gibson smartens up and raises the price on these. I also wouldn't be surprised if, due to the overwhelming demand, they stop making these in the Custom Shop. Here's a shot of mine; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 Has anyone mentioned the ES-339 yet? I know it's a couple inches smaller than the 335 (for some people' date=' that's not a bad thing) but it's still such a great sounding guitar, clean or dirty. For $200 [u']cheaper[/u] than a satin 335, you get a Gibson Custom Shop instrument with '57 Classics, and a choice of neck profiles. I snapped one of these up before Gibson smartens up and raises the price on these. I also wouldn't be surprised if, due to the overwhelming demand, they stop making these in the Custom Shop. Hey GuitarJunkie-- I was very pumped when I first heard about the 339, but for the life of me, I have not been able to find one to try out. Every Guitar Center in my area only offers them as a special order. There is a place a couple hundred miles away from me that appears to carry them, and so they could be on my list of potential purchases when the money gets closer, but I think Gibson really missed the boat when they limited the availability of these basically to Guitar Center and a few online outlets (most of which are Guitar Center subsidiaries). I live just outside Chicago and am regularly up in Milwaukee, and I have not been able to find a single 339 in the region. Still, the 339 remains on my list of possible future guitars. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 I own a gloss red dot 335 - I must admit that in my addled brain' date=' when I think "335" I get a picture of a big, red, shiny guitar so I had to go with this one. I played a satin finish red one recently and was pleasantly surprised at how it looked and felt - though the uncovered pickups weren't to my liking.[/quote'] Hey noisepolluter-- I am guessing you either tried out a 333 or a satin 335 with swapped or altered pickups because the satin 335, like the gloss finish versions, has the covered '57 classic humbuckers. And I know what you mean about the red, shiny thing. In fact, that is part of the problem I am working to overcome as I look at guitars. I feel like Homer Simpson when I stand at the rack, "Ahhh, shiny red 335. . . ." and my objective brain just goes to mush. Actually, what started this whole thread is the other experience that you are describing: I truly like (maybe even prefer) the satin finish 335 in terms of appearance and feel. I have been trying other guitars to make sure I don't make a final decision too quickly, but man, I actually think I might prefer the satin 335 if I find one that is set up right. I own a Larrivee acoustic, and I intentionally chose the satin finish low-end, not because I was unwilling to spend the money on a "better" guitar, but because the sound and feel of the satin-finish just blew me away. I liked it better than much more expensive acoustic Gibbys or Martins in the exact same shop. I wasn't looking for a dread, though, and that probably is part of the issue. I picked up an OM style body, and that smaller body size is also what is going to make me wait to buy a semi-hollow until I have tried a 339 at some point: those slightly smaller bodies can make a heck of a difference in playing comfort. I did try a CS-336 and a CS-356 and thought the bodies felt great. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad I have to save to buy this guitar because it is forcing me to do a lot more shopping and thinking about what the instrument is going to need to be. And threads like this have been an enormous help. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Lucky for me, they're available in Canada at any Gibson dealer. Sorry, they were available at any Gibson dealer in Canada. There's a three month (plus) wait for one now. The store I went to only had one because they ordered for a customer when they first came out. It came in with the wrong neck and when they called Gibson to re-order, they said "3 month wait". They finally agreed to bump them to the top of the list since it was Gibson that sent the wrong one. They got this one in and kept leaving messages for the guy, but he never called back. When I went in to ask about ordering one, they said there was one in the basement on hold but I could have it if I wanted it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 BTW, here's a good shot to show the size (plus the cherry red looks awesome too). Les Paul, ES-339, ES-330 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 BTW' date=' here's a good shot to show the size (plus the cherry red looks awesome too). [img']http://www.gibson.com/Files/aaFeaturesImages/gibson_comparison.jpg[/img] Les Paul, ES-339, ES-330 Is it just me, GuitarJunkie, or is the 339 red a deeper red than the typical 335 cherry? It looks like a beautiful guitar, both yours and the red one in the group shot. How would you compare the sound of the 339 to that of the 335? I still look at Telecasters and other solid-bodies from time to time, but I just cannot escape wanting the 335 tone. I thought the CS-336 sounds a bit too much like a solid-body for my liking, but does the 339 live up to the Gibson promise of 335 sound in a smaller package? Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I'd have to A/B it with a 335, but I think it's probably much closer to an ES than to a Les Paul. I think anyone looking to add a 335 to their collection wouldn't be disappointed tone-wise with the 339. As far as the 336, it's a much different guitar than the 339. The 339 is built exactly the same as a 335 but smaller. It has a maple top, back, and rims with a maple center block. The 336 is a solid mahogany back that's routed out, then a maple top is added. You could argue that, since all new Les Paul Standards are chambered, it's essentially a Les Paul with f-holes. The predominantly mahogany construction would give it a very different sound than a traditional ES. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ignatius Posted February 6, 2008 Author Share Posted February 6, 2008 As far as the 336' date=' it's a much different guitar than the 339. The 339 is built exactly the same as a 335 but smaller. It has a maple top, back, and rims with a maple center block.The 336 is a solid mahogany back that's routed out, then a maple top is added. You could argue that, since all new Les Paul Standards are chambered, it's essentially a Les Paul with f-holes. The predominantly mahogany construction would give it a very different sound than a traditional ES.[/quote'] That's an interesting way of explaining the difference in sound that makes a lot of sense, GuitarJunkie. I did like the sound of the CS-336, no question, but it still sounded like a solid-body to me. The chambered Les Paul comparison turned on the lightbulb for me; now I get what I was hearing. It leads to an interesting question of how people define words when discussing guitars. I think a lot of guitar discussion confuses sustain and resonance (or perhaps I am the one who is confusing the terms). My understanding is that acoustic instruments resonate, but solid-body instruments are measured in terms of how long a tone can be sustained by the vibration of the body. An ES body, to me, should have good resonance because it is a semi-acoustic instrument, and one wants that acoustic sound added to the signal the pickup is communicating to the amp. A solid-body guitar should have sustain--you won't hear much from the body when strummed or picked acoustically, but the body should be vibrating in support of the strings. The CS-336's mahogany body should increase sustain (which I felt when I tried it out), but it is also surprisingly resonant (i.e., has more acoustic sound than a solid-body). I am curious though to hear and feel whether the 339 has the resonance of the 335. I can hear a 335's tone quite well when played acoustically and get a feel from that for what it will sound like through an amp. I could not have done that with the 336, and in fact, I imagined it completely wrongly because the actual amped sound of the 336 sounded very different from what I expected. That was a long detour, but it arose because your comments on the 336 just helped me to understand a bit more of what I have been hearing from the instruments. Ignatius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewie Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I was at my local shop last week and they had a slightly used RED ES339 for 1475. I was not in the market but that seemed to be a pretty good price. It was absolutley mint. I guess the guy ordered it and didn't like it after a couple of weeks. I am not sure how long it lasted or if it still there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarJunkie Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 I was at my local shop last week and they had a slightly used RED ES339 for 1475. What part of the "Great White North" are you from? I could use a red on to go with my sunburst model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lkmuller Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 I'm not a big fan of online ordering of instruments' date=' although funnily enough, it has been the way I've ending up buying almost all my current instruments. I've never bought anything from Sweetwater before, but so far their customer service has been second to none. Just an FYI for everyone on the prowl these days. Ignatius[/quote'] I've purchased two instruments from Sweetwater so far - a 62RI Stratocaster, and the latest, an es335 Block Inlay. Can't say enough about the customer service. Just excellent. And they really do check their guitars out carefully before they're shipped. The 335 was flawless when it arrived by 2nd day air. The stratocaster's neck had shifted during shipping (I should have picked 2nd day air but tried to save a few bucks and went with the standard shipping), but one phone call to Sweetwater resolved the issue. Their tech talked me through the adjustement and everything was fine. I will be buying again from Sweetwater. When I retire this year I'm going to treat myself to either an es175 or an L4, and it will be from Sweetwater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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