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ES 335 Real or Fake


blankmansb

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I am looking for some help. I picked up a used ES-335 yesterday and I have some concerns that it is a Chinese knock off. If it is a fake then they did a really great job with it but there a re a few things that just don't seem right.

 

I was told by the owner that he had replaced the pups with burstbuckers so the wiring obviously isn't stock. The other thing is the label inside is missing but you can see where it originally was.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

I have attached some pictures

 

Thanks

post-33539-075857500 1306707096_thumb.jpg

post-33539-088251900 1306707104_thumb.jpg

post-33539-028624800 1306707290_thumb.jpg

post-33539-044741400 1306707319_thumb.jpg

post-33539-032425900 1306707398_thumb.jpg

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Fake.

 

-The placement of the knobs is off considerably.

-The pickup selector should be slightly lower than the bridge when viewing the guitar upright.

-The headstock width should be wider at the top, narrower at the base by the truss rod cover.

-I didn't know they made 335's with the split diamond inlay on the headstock, which is typically found on LP Customs. I'd be looking for a crown inlay here.

-Jack placement isn't even close to correct, it should be closer to the strap button.

 

I hope you can get your money back.

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Fake, for all the reasons listed by the other writers. The only split-parallelogram ES 335 headstocks were on the ES 335-12 back in the late 60s. Put a real ES 335 side-by-side, and the differences will be obvious. This sort of looks like a hybrid 335/345/355 fake.

 

Not even close, but you have to know what you're looking at.

 

I have two ES 335s, by the way: a 1968 ES 335-12, and a 2009 Nashville '59 Historic.

 

It's scary what people are trying to sell out there.

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Fake.

 

-The placement of the knobs is off considerably.

-The pickup selector should be slightly lower than the bridge when viewing the guitar upright.

-The headstock width should be wider at the top, narrower at the base by the truss rod cover.

-I didn't know they made 335's with the split diamond inlay on the headstock, which is typically found on LP Customs. I'd be looking for a crown inlay here.

-Jack placement isn't even close to correct, it should be closer to the strap button.

 

I hope you can get your money back.

 

and that concludes our News Of The Day ladies and gentlemen, IT'S A FAKE!!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

I know that this is really really late but its a Gibson 336. Not a 335 but still a Gibson. You probably know by know though.

 

No it's not. The Gibson 336 is a Custom Shop issue, hence the CS-336 nomenclature . I know because I have one. The headstock does not have the Diamond head, but it like a ES-335

headstock with just the M.O.P. crown centerpiece and the Gibson logo. The fretboard also has dot inlays, not block.

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I know that this is really really late but its a Gibson 336. Not a 335 but still a Gibson. You probably know by know though.

 

Welcome Diddy.

 

PP_CS336 is correct. The back, sides and center block of a 336 are carved from one single piece of mahogany - take a look at that back again in the OP - it's maple.

 

It's a fake.

 

.

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