willdguitar Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 So, I fell in love with an ES-335 dot that I played at a friends house, and have ever since been browsing the internet for good deals on the guitar. My concern is that even though the guitar I'll end up buying is the same model, that the tone will be much much different. If I buy a used guitar, what are the chances that it's tone will be extremely different? Will a 2010 Gibson Es-335 Dot Figured Top sound very different than a 2009 model? Does every single guitar sound different to one another? Will bringing the guitar in for a professional setup fix any tone differences? If I could, I'd buy the guitar that I played in the first place, but my friend has no interest in selling it. So how should I go about buying one that's as close to identical to it as possible? Thanks much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 The sound of the guitars will be similar, but not necessarily identical. The character of the sound of any ES 335 comes from a combination of the wood, the pickups, and the strings. Not to mention the amp, of course. Guitars, like people, are individuals. They may be virtually identical genetically, but the are all...different. Just as with acoustic guitars, you gotta play the guitars to know what they will really sound like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdguitar Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 The sound of the guitars will be similar, but not necessarily identical. The character of the sound of any ES 335 comes from a combination of the wood, the pickups, and the strings. Not to mention the amp, of course. Guitars, like people, are individuals. They may be virtually identical genetically, but the are all...different. Just as with acoustic guitars, you gotta play the guitars to know what they will really sound like. What would you suggest then for buying guitars online? I don't really want to spend $2,200 on a guitar that ends up having a completely different sound to what I want, and not being able to return it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Will - assuming you in the US, most of the online Gibson dealers have a good return policy where you have anywhere from ten to 45 days to return the guitar. Of course, it has to be in pristine condition to return it, or there might be a problem. I have bought three expensive guitars from Musician's Friend and they all have been fine. Like, for instance, I just bought a Martin 000-28 from them and I would have had ten days to return it if I didn't like it. Even if I just didn't like the looks of it, I could return it. If you are looking for a 335, you can call their "Private Reserve" guys, who have a bunch of guitars in a separate stockroom and they can pick one out for you and send you pix and then they'll do a setup and handle your purchase until it gets out the door. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/search/search.jsp?question=es+335 http://community.musiciansfriend.com/community/private-reserve There are other dealers who will give you the same kind of service. Wildwood guitars and Sweetwater show pictures of the actual guitars that are in stock right on their website, so you can browse them on the web. http://wildwoodguitars.com/electrics/gibson/es/ http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=es-335 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Will - assuming you in the US, most of the online Gibson dealers have a good return policy where you have anywhere from ten to 45 days to return the guitar. Of course, it has to be in pristine condition to return it, or there might be a problem. I have bought three expensive guitars from Musician's Friend and they all have been fine. Like, for instance, I just bought a Martin 000-28 from them and I would have had ten days to return it if I didn't like it. Even if I just didn't like the looks of it, I could return it. If you are looking for a 335, you can call their "Private Reserve" guys, who have a bunch of guitars in a separate stockroom and they can pick one out for you and send you pix and then they'll do a setup and handle your purchase until it gets out the door. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/search/search.jsp?question=es+335 http://community.musiciansfriend.com/community/private-reserve There are other dealers who will give you the same kind of service. Wildwood guitars and Sweetwater show pictures of the actual guitars that are in stock right on their website, so you can browse them on the web. http://wildwoodguitars.com/electrics/gibson/es/ http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=es-335 Great advice. My 2009 Nashville '59 ES 335 Historic came from the Private Reserve stash. They seem to have people there who know what they are doing. Having said that, there's no substitute for playing a guitar. Generally speaking, the Memphis ES 335's are probably a bit more mass-produced and variable in quality than the Nashville Historics, according to the numerous QC complaints that have shown up here. Most of those have been fit and finish problems, rather than tone. Since pickups are now machine-controlled during manufacture, those variances should be relatively small when you're talking about new guitars. That doesn't mean every ES 335 will sound identical. You may pay a bit more using the dealers mentioned here--but maybe not--but the ability to return a guitar that isn't what you expected is a big deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Cecil Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Getting a guitar to sound like the ideal you're chasing is a hard task. I sometimes can't get one guitar to sound the same as it did on a previous occasion, even when its playing through the same amp, using the same pick, and with the same strings. Some days you get it, other days you don't. That's just the way it goes. Having said that, if you're buying new, nothing will beat calling ahead to music stores in the area you want to operate in, and find out what instruments they have in stock. Then go there and play them, until you find an instrument that responds to you the way you want it to. Keep on going and playing until you do find the right guitar. You may also want to try playing through the same kind of amp you played your friend's 335 through. If you're interested in used instruments, call some of the quality firms that advertise in mags like Vintage Guitar, and ask the reps if they will try out the instruments you're interested in --while you're on the line -- and advise you regarding their sound, condition, and playability. Elderly does that, and I believe Buffalo Brothers does that as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willdguitar Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Thanks for the replies everyone! Living in Austin, there are simply too many guitar shops here to need to resort to the internet. I found a beautiful 335 with a Bigsby installed, and played through my equipment with it. The purchase is finalized this coming Sunday; I can hardly wait :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Thanks for the replies everyone! Living in Austin, there are simply too many guitar shops here to need to resort to the internet. I found a beautiful 335 with a Bigsby installed, and played through my equipment with it. The purchase is finalized this coming Sunday; I can hardly wait :D If you can't find a good guitar in Austin, you can't find one anywhere. Welcome to the wonderful world of the ES 335. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunburst PB Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Will - assuming you in the US, most of the online Gibson dealers have a good return policy where you have anywhere from ten to 45 days to return the guitar. Of course, it has to be in pristine condition to return it, or there might be a problem. I have bought three expensive guitars from Musician's Friend and they all have been fine. Like, for instance, I just bought a Martin 000-28 from them and I would have had ten days to return it if I didn't like it. Even if I just didn't like the looks of it, I could return it. If you are looking for a 335, you can call their "Private Reserve" guys, who have a bunch of guitars in a separate stockroom and they can pick one out for you and send you pix and then they'll do a setup and handle your purchase until it gets out the door. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/search/search.jsp?question=es+335 http://community.musiciansfriend.com/community/private-reserve There are other dealers who will give you the same kind of service. Wildwood guitars and Sweetwater show pictures of the actual guitars that are in stock right on their website, so you can browse them on the web. http://wildwoodguitars.com/electrics/gibson/es/ http://www.sweetwater.com/store/search.php?s=es-335 I agree with badbluseplayer, talk to Chris Swope at Musicians Friend Private Reserve. Chris worked at the Gibson Custom Shop and can give you detailed information about any of the guitars they have. He can send pictures of specific serial numbers and will let you know how a specific guitar sounds. In my case he helped me by sending pictures of the ES-345s I was interested in and ultimately he helped my custom order an ES-355 in the finish I wanted. They are great guys over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aerial Man Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Getting a guitar to sound like the ideal you're chasing is a hard task. I sometimes can't get one guitar to sound the same as it did on a previous occasion, even when its playing through the same amp, using the same pick, and with the same strings. Some days you get it, other days you don't. That's just the way it goes. Could not be a truer comment than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheraton Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I would have asked the exact same question. Now, how much is a plane ticket to Austin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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