Gibson 339 Quality!

[KDRR]

I have a 339 but is one from 07. A Friend want to but one but they don`t have any in the stores here to play. He wants to know and I guess I do too if their still making them with the qualiy mine has. Some times companys cheeze down the line but I`m not suggestion Gibson has. I just thought I`d ask. I`m sure some new owners can give me their opinions. Thanks K

[Tim Plains]

Quality always varies from guitar to guitar. Just because you both like your particular 2007, doesn't mean you'll like all 2007s. The same applies to the new ones.

[KDRR]

Quality always varies from guitar to guitar. Just because you both like your particular 2007, doesn't mean you'll like all 2007s. The same applies to the new ones.

 

 

Thats true. After 40yrs of playing I`ve learned that.K

[rocketman]

Gibson definitely has not "cheezed down" on any of their guitars. If your friend has access to any 339 then he/she should play until they are comfortable with it. Yeah you hear horror stories about some issues with guitars but for every one of them there are 1,000 good stores. I've never had any issues with my Gibsons.

[KDRR]

Cool , sounds good to me. Thanks , K

[badbluesplayer]

From what I hear, they had more quality problems with the older 339's, like the 2007 models. I don't see so many complaints about the newer ones.

[KDRR]

From what I hear, they had more quality problems with the older 339's, like the 2007 models. I don't see so many complaints about the newer ones.

 

 

I asked the question, I accept all answers. K

[stein]

Besides "quality" being subjective, Gibson guitars tend to vary quite a lot in tone from one guitar to another. I have noticed that the 335 models vary in sound to a greater degree than the solid body ones. They can vary a LOT. I have not any experience with the smaller ones like the 339 or the cs-336, but I do recall one poster sharing about the differences between individual guitars not being as much as with the larger 335's and less than the Les Pauls. And he also mentioned the tone of the models as a whole falling somewhere in between Les Pauls and 335's as well.

[vincentw]

Yeah, the new 339s are awesome guitars.

[Wolfj]

I have a 339 but is one from 07. A Friend want to but one but they don`t have any in the stores here to play. He wants to know and I guess I do too if their still making them with the qualiy mine has. Some times companys cheeze down the line but I`m not suggestion Gibson has. I just thought I`d ask. I`m sure some new owners can give me their opinions. Thanks K

 

I have a new 339, finished on March 9, 2011 and delivered to me through Musicians Friend Private Reserve on late March. Private Reserve does another set up or at least double checked it with my special requests in mind. They had told me that wouldnt ship one out to anyone with as much as a scratch on it.

 

And right they were. The quality on this 339 is good. I went over it carefully when I got it, looking over every inch of it. No bumps, no scratches, just a perfect guitar -- every inch.

 

The low E though is a little hotter than the other strings, so I will be lowering the bridge pup a bit (but I tend to lower my pickups anyway, so no big deal).

 

While not being an expert on the quality or the 07's and considering the high quality of my 011, I think one could conclude that Gibson's quality on its 339's has been consistent. I am very pleased with mine.

[Wolfj]

I have a 339 but is one from 07. A Friend want to but one but they don`t have any in the stores here to play. He wants to know and I guess I do too if their still making them with the qualiy mine has. Some times companys cheeze down the line but I`m not suggestion Gibson has. I just thought I`d ask. I`m sure some new owners can give me their opinions. Thanks K

 

 

P.S. I forgot to mention the reason why I ordered my 339 through Musicians' Friend and passed up the 339's at the local Guitar Center.

 

Simple: The two 339's at the local GC were a little funky -- handled too much. One of them had a slight scratch on the back -- someone's belt buckle, perhaps? One of them couldnt seem to stay in tune -- don't quite know why. With the new Plek machine gibson has, I doubt if the nut was bad -- maybe it was the Kluson tuners ( Im not sure if I really like them that much)-- whatever the case, too many hands are on the GC guitars and that really turned me away. At Musicians friend, I knew that I would be getting an axe right out of the box -- and two set ups" Gibson's and Musicians' Friends.

[bobouz]

My '09 339 was purchased from GC last year. Don't know how long it had been out on display, but it only has one tiny small scratch on the back that's barely visible, and the build quality is top notch. Anyway, here's my comment: As nice as it is to get one new in a box, there can be amazing variations in tone & playability from one guitar to the next. At GC, I was able to sample three 339s side by side & ended up with one that sounded significantly better than the other two. In the last two years the same scenario has played out in the purchase of a Martin OM and Epi Elitist. Each time, I was able to choose from either three or four guitars, and each time a clear winner emerged. Back in '07, it was five guitars between two stores in the purchase of a 335. Being able to do side by side comparisons is a real eye opener. I'll gladly live with a scratch or two if a guitar's tone and/or playability is superior. That said, I recognize that sometimes you've got no choice: Yesterday I ordered a 330L, which cannot be found in any store, darn it!

[bobouz]

Update: The 330L arrived Friday, and it's amazingly good. Guess I'll have to rethink my position on mail order guitars!

[Mule 1]

I have a 2009 ES-339 Figured. While the guitar is absolutely amazing there were some minor flaws. The first was that there were some small cracks in the finish along the binding. It looks as if the finish separated where the binding meets the guitar. Thr rest of the finish is flawless.I've bought so many Gibson's at this store they sold it to me for cost and beautifully repaired the flaw. The other is the area around the 3d fret on the high E you can easily pull the string over the edge of the fret. I hear this is common on the 339 though and I've gotten used to playing it more delicately than a LP or Firebird and its fine now.

 

I didn't get to compare between models other than a black one that I was not interested in but I like the tone of mine. They did later get another one in that may put off more acoustic volume and I wonder what that would sound like amplified? All in all I'm happy with my 339!

[dponzi]

From what I hear, they had more quality problems with the older 339's, like the 2007 models. I don't see so many complaints about the newer ones.

 

I have a 2007 339, and I haven't had a problem. Its a beautiful guitar. The finish is perfect, and it sounds fantastic.

 

[Baird6869]

My 2008 339 is perfectly constructed and have had no problems with the fit/finish/quality.

 

And it sounds great!

[jt335]

I bought a 335 from GC in Feb 2010 (it was built in Oct 09). The finish and binding were perfect but it would not stay in tune at all. I took it to a local tech who said tuning issues are very common with Gibsons. He filed the nut some and the bridge some and it's fine now. The only issue I have with it is that the high E string slips off of the frets very easily. Since then I've played several others and this seems to exist in most 335's to varying degrees. Other than that, I like the guitar so much I live with it, it looks great and sounds great.

[JLHooker]

I have a 339 purchased new in 2010.It is supposed to have different wiring from my LP's.I think they call it 50's style or Memphis style.I play it with my amp volume turned up and the guitar volume at around 2.When I do this, I get a good amp tone but the tone pots have no effect on the tone of the guitar.Is this normal with this type wiring?

If I turn down the amp and turn up the guitar's volume the the tone pots work some but not much.

Other than that, I really like this guitar.It looks good.The neck is the 30-60 and it plays easy.

Hooker

[guitarzan55]

I bought a 335 from GC in Feb 2010 (it was built in Oct 09). The finish and binding were perfect but it would not stay in tune at all. I took it to a local tech who said tuning issues are very common with Gibsons. He filed the nut some and the bridge some and it's fine now. The only issue I have with it is that the high E string slips off of the frets very easily. Since then I've played several others and this seems to exist in most 335's to varying degrees. Other than that, I like the guitar so much I live with it, it looks great and sounds great.

 

From what I find, many a high e on the 339's slip -- mine does too. You learn to adjust for it though. I had tried a couple of 339's at GC and one of them had a scatch and the other I couldnt get tuned -- neither could the salesperson. He commented: "It must be the new strings." (chuckle) The strings werent all that new. Glad you got it to where you like it. they are fantastic instruments!

[guitarzan55]

My '09 339 was purchased from GC last year. Don't know how long it had been out on display, but it only has one tiny small scratch on the back that's barely visible, and the build quality is top notch. Anyway, here's my comment: As nice as it is to get one new in a box, there can be amazing variations in tone & playability from one guitar to the next. At GC, I was able to sample three 339s side by side & ended up with one that sounded significantly better than the other two. In the last two years the same scenario has played out in the purchase of a Martin OM and Epi Elitist. Each time, I was able to choose from either three or four guitars, and each time a clear winner emerged. Back in '07, it was five guitars between two stores in the purchase of a 335. Being able to do side by side comparisons is a real eye opener. I'll gladly live with a scratch or two if a guitar's tone and/or playability is superior. That said, I recognize that sometimes you've got no choice: Yesterday I ordered a 330L, which cannot be found in any store, darn it!

I hope you ordered your new 330l from Private Reserve: they do a very good job and take care of their customers. Let us know how the purchase works out

[bobouz]

I hope you ordered your new 330l from Private Reserve: they do a very good job and take care of their customers. Let us know how the purchase works out

 

Yes, my 330L was purchased from MF & Private Reserve. It was a used level 2 in Beale St blue. Expecting to find a number of pick marks or finish checks, to my surprise the guitar is in 100% mint condition except for a pen point size dimple near the input jack. I negotiated with them on the price due to a sale that was occurring, and ended up with a super good deal. To say I'm completely satisfied would be an understatement! The build quality is very high, and the 30/60 neck is one of the most comfortable I've played. So glad I broke the self-imposed "no mail order" rule.