Problems with Es 335 60 Anniversary special?

[rcwilk]

Hi again,

 

I have some questions about a guitar I have on 30 day trial. They may seem trival, but I thought to some of you that buy and sell and collect guitars, these might be signs of other problems to check for, or to just not worry about:

 

It is a 335 es 50yr anniversary special (1960)re-issue, vos

 

Love the look, the sound... but....

 

 

I had to special order this, there wasn't one in the shop, so I decided to buy it on a 30day trial.

 

 

Some things seemed odd to me:

 

1. The pick guard goes down past the bridge, so that on that side, it can't be lowered without cutting away a little of the pick guard or moving the pick guard (which if the pick guard were moved, would that it self create problems, besides being visually slanted off the pickups? )

 

2. the screws that hold the pick up covers, or the frame around them actually, seem to be some kind of copper. I thought at first they were rusted, and I just don't see these on other gibsons.

 

3. I'm moving over from a world of acoustic and (electric)solid bodies, this is my first semi hollow body. Again, love the sound, movin' into de blues, but should it be so hard to play? Suggestions please on strings and action height. I mostly play at home, occasionally with friends and small groups.

 

Hard to play : well, it's true I don't know whether to treat this guitar as a acoustic or electric. It seems to be very sensitive and chords have to be played as lightly as possible to sound right, but Im kind of used to being very physical with blues stretching and want to dig in a bit, which tends to really distort the sound. If I go with heavier strings, too hard to stretch, but I'm concerned that lighter strings won't give me the tones I want.

 

The other question, it seems all new gibson es that I play, the frets themelves are really high and Is this just something one gets used to? I don't notice that on old Gibsons, the frets seems very low.

 

Thanks for any, all advice on selling, techniques, etc...

 

hmm, the photo attachment software isn't working... ok, here is a pic

 

http://dreamgate.com/images/gibson335td-60Reissue400223.gif

 

RC

[cdntac]

From what I can see in that pic, everything looks right.

 

In regards to string height....whatever feels comfortable for your style. I have the action on my Byrdland quite low (BTW, using 10-46 gauge strings) though I have a very light picking style. A friend of mine picks quite heavy and he's actually moved the big E string right out of my Byrd's saddle!

 

Some guitars you need to have a light touch though IMO often with different guitars you have to adjust your playing style somewhat to accommodate the idiosyncrasies of each guitar.

 

No doubt you'll get used to it after using it a bit longer.

[Versatile]

Hi RC, a lot of these issues come down to personal preference

Some people set their 335's up for 'strumming' styles of playing

Which I have never found successful personally...I tend to play in an 'electric' manner

Enjoying the special size, feel and tone of the 335...the amp is as ever, important.

It is interesting to compare with the ES330/Epi Casino which, being fully hollow with P90's

Has a different response and perhaps 'strummier' role to play...think Beatles and Paul Weller.

All in all though a beautiful instrument which might take time for the player to get the best from......

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS I have used 9's and 10's on mine depending on the amount of 'bending' required.....

[g6120]

Ive got the Gibson ES 335 58 50th Anniversary Sunburst new old stock with the pickups a bit frosted as well the finish but its not like a Fender the way they relic .

 

Been playing Fender and Gretsch since the mid 60s love um but this ES 335 is the best guitar Ive yet to play purchased a couple of years ago from Wildwood .

 

Since then Ive added a Gibson Les Paul nos 1960 model frosted pickups and such and thats another dandy again so Ive been lucky both guitars were perfect from the get go .

The Gibsons sound great with my Fender 57 twin amplifier the best sounding tweed in my opinion .

 

My thoughts .... The ES 335 is the best guitar on the planet .... Sorry Leo !

[g6120]

Deleted

[g6120]

ES335

[roadhog96]

 

1. The pick guard goes down past the bridge, so that on that side, it can't be lowered without cutting away a little of the pick guard or moving the pick guard (which if the pick guard were moved, would that it self create problems, besides being visually slanted off the pickups? )

 

1. That pick guard is correct. It is modeled after the early guards. You might be able to make small adjustments to it but I believe it's suppose to look like it does. A lot of players change the guard to the smaller version Gibson makes and keep the long version for originalality reasons.

 

2. the screws that hold the pick up covers, or the frame around them actually, seem to be some kind of copper. I thought at first they were rusted, and I just don't see these on other gibsons.

 

2. I'f your talking about the four screw in the corners of the PUP rings and this is a VOS model, I bet the screws were treated like the rest of the guitar so the original finish was compromised. It's to give that worn, aged look to the finish. Usually the metal hardware gets tarnished or and rusted from this process. I have no idea why they would look copper unless they had chrome over it and it was removed. Usually chrome plating has a copper base. Come to think of it I think I remember reading that the Nickle finish has a copper base also. This would explain it. The new screws original color is black.

 

3. I'm moving over from a world of acoustic and (electric)solid bodies, this is my first semi hollow body. Again, love the sound, movin' into de blues, but should it be so hard to play? Suggestions please on strings and action height. I mostly play at home, occasionally with friends and small groups.

 

3. The action should work for you. If it's not set up to your liking then it will be almost impossible to play and like. There is plenty of good setup info online, do a search or if you are not capable of doing the work find a good guitar luthier to do the work after explaining what you need to have done. If he's good he will suggest some helpful things. Neck releif, intonation, PUP height and string pole adjustment is critical to the type of strings you are using. Improper adjustments can really hurt the guitars tone and be way to harsh or dull sounding.I've found that with Gibson's because of the shorter scale legnth of the neck I can acually go up a set of string gauges. In other words, I usually play 10-46 string but with Gibson I can use 11-48 and it doesn't feel any different than 10-46 on a 25.5 scale like Fender has. I am presently using 10-48 and it feels and works out good. When I first picked up a Gibson I kept sliding the strings off the sides of the fret board. I couldn't figure out why. It never happed on my other guitars then it hit me. It was because of the shorter scale the strings have less tention so they bend easy. Later I found an article that confirmed this. I've discovered that using Pure Nickle strings vs Nickle coated Steel strings sounds much nicer on a 335. Changing string guages will affect all of the set up adjustments so make sure you have the right string before you set up the guitar.

 

Hard to play : well, it's true I don't know whether to treat this guitar as a acoustic or electric. It seems to be very sensitive and chords have to be played as lightly as possible to sound right, but Im kind of used to being very physical with blues stretching and want to dig in a bit, which tends to really distort the sound. If I go with heavier strings, too hard to stretch, but I'm concerned that lighter strings won't give me the tones I want.

 

It's a Semi Acoustic "Electric" So it's an electric with a Acoustic touch to it's tone. Try playing with the volume and tone controls. A lot of players end up upgrading their electronics to Audio Taper pots and do the 50's wiring so that the tone controls are more efficient. You don't loose the highs when the volume controls are turned down. I've done this myself, it works well. Tweaking the amps controls might help. I've done so much experimenting with all of the above including cable length and it all plays an important part of your tone. It took me a long time till I finally found the right combination. The truth is, it's a never ending journey.

 

 

The other question, it seems all new gibson es that I play, the frets themelves are really high and Is this just something one gets used to? I don't notice that on old Gibsons, the frets seems very low.

 

Most all new Gibson's have larger frets than the older guitars had. Some of the Historic models have the smaller frets. Most players like the bigger frets for doing string bends for example. When ever you switch to a different guitar it takes some time to get use to it especially if you switching from a totally different kind of playing style and guitar. Give it some time. No more than 30 days of coarse other wise you own it. I've done this very same thing, 30 day trial with two different guitars. made my mind up the first day. Good way to test drive before you buy. It's rare to find a new guitar that is set up perfect from the factory. I hope some of this is helpful to you and others.

[Hall]

rewilke:

 

Looks as though all your questions are answered here-in. Does that do it for you? If not, holler back again. Otherwise, looks like the guys covered your concerns on the button. I have two ancient 335s. I used Les Paul nickels .010-.046 as long as Gibson made their own strings. I'll go to D'ad 110s when I run out of Pauls. Your guitar was made now. I did not know you could special order a single anything anymore on electrics including Memphis mades. By the way, the treatment can be polished off; easiest way is to just be patient and just rub her down everywhere after each use. Good luck and get back to us on this one.

[roadhog96]

Hey rewilke:

 

Thanks for all the questions you needed help with. All of us here have nothing better to do than answer questions for ungreatful people like you who can't even acknowledge whether or not the answers were helpful or not. A simple Thank You would have been nice to let us know your still breathing. :wacko:

[ES345]

Unfortunately most of the new guitars do have frets that are too high for my liking, you can bring it to a good tech/luthier and have them worked on, but be sure he has

a good reputation. The only newer guitar that i have that has lower frets is a 2003 les paul R6, feels like vintage frets.

[Hall]

Hey rewilke:

 

Thanks for all the questions you needed help with. All of us here have nothing better to do than answer questions for ungreatful people like you who can't even acknowledge whether or not the answers were helpful or not. A simple Thank You would have been nice to let us know your still breathing. :wacko:

 

 

Amazing isn't it, roadhog. I second your sentiments.