neilford Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I recently purchased a 2008 Cherry ES-335. Supposedly it is a Custom Shop. The serial number says it was made in Nashville. The orange sticker inside says Memphis. The rod cover says "Custom Shop". The serial number has no "CS" in it and there is no Custom Shop logo on the guitar. So, what do I have? Do they go back and forth between shops as they make it? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarfish Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I have an '09 ES-335 like you. The "Custom" isn't the same as "Custom Shop." It's confusing. The Guitar Dater Project says my ES-335 was made at Nashville, TN plant, but it says under that "Most hollow and semi-hollow body guitars are made at a separate plant in Memphis Tennessee." My understanding is that our ES's are made in Memphis. Maybe this thread will shed some light: Gibson Memphis vs. Gibson Nashville...can someone explain the difference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastEnder Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 If the label says Memphis, it's Memphis. Does your truss rod cover really say "Custom Shop?" Never seen that before. "Here a custom shop, there a custom shop, everywhere a custom shop." Yes, it's confusing. But I think they're in Tennessee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 . AFAIK the builds all the ES hollow- and semi-hollow bodied guitars, the white Les Paul and the Gibson EDS-1275 double-neck, whether called Custom with a split diamond inlay, or a Custom Shop decal on the back of the headstock, or not. I have a ES-359 with a split diamond inlay, a custom shop decal, a CS serial# and the label says Memphis. There is also a Custom Shop operation in Nashville for solid body (weight relieved and chambered) guitars. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Here is pic of front of headstock. I recently purchased a 2008 Cherry ES-335. Supposedly it is a Custom Shop. The serial number says it was made in Nashville. The orange sticker inside says Memphis. The rod cover says "Custom Shop". The serial number has no "CS" in it and there is no Custom Shop logo on the guitar. So, what do I have? Do they go back and forth between shops as they make it? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastEnder Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Here is pic of front of headstock. Sorry, never saw that truss rod cover before. Looks wrong and could be aftermarket. Other members will correct me if I'm mistaken (which is always possible). EDIT: Looks like a cover available from ebay seller "guitarheads". Perhaps the original Gibson cover cracked and was replaced. Do you have a shot of the whole guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 The seller wasn't "guitarheads", but it may be after market. I don't know. Never saw this on any other Gibson. Here is more of the guitar. Sorry, never saw that truss rod cover before. Looks wrong and could be aftermarket. Other members will correct me if I'm mistaken (which is always possible). EDIT: Looks like a cover available from ebay seller "guitarheads". Perhaps the original Gibson cover cracked and was replaced. Do you have a shot of the whole guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 If the label says Memphis, it's Memphis. Does your truss rod cover really say "Custom Shop?" Never seen that before. The label on my Historic ES-345 says "Gibson Custom, Nashville, TN". The label denotes the assembly plant. The TRC is clearly after-market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Okay, if the label says Memphis, it was assembled in Memphis. the how come when I look up serial number, it says it came out of Nashville? Do you think the neck and headstock were assembled in Nashville and the serial number came with the neck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastEnder Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Okay, if the label says Memphis, it was assembled in Memphis. the how come when I look up serial number, it says it came out of Nashville? Do you think the neck and headstock were assembled in Nashville and the serial number came with the neck? If you're using the decoder from the Guitar Dater Project, there are some caveats and ambiguities. If you call Gibson support they'll be only too happy to provide any information that you request concerning your guitar. 1-800-4Gibson. EE P.S. Nice guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 Thanks. I love almost as much as my children;-) If you're using the decoder from the Guitar Dater Project, there are some caveats and ambiguities. If you call Gibson support they'll be only too happy to provide any information that you request concerning your guitar. 1-800-4Gibson. EE P.S. Nice guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Okay, if the label says Memphis, it was assembled in Memphis. the how come when I look up serial number, it says it came out of Nashville? Do you think the neck and headstock were assembled in Nashville and the serial number came with the neck? Essentially, the serial number de-coder is useless. The label is definitive. Both the Nashville and Memphis facilities go by the "custom shop" name. 99% of the ES 335's are made in Memphis. The only Nashville-built 335 models are the Historics, either the Historic-labelled '63 Block Neck, or the '59 ES 335 Historic. I believe the '59 Historic is out of production right now. Memphis makes their own versions of both the '59 and '63, but they do not carry the Historic label, and are not completely identical to the Nashville-built models. The Nashville guitars are significantly more expensive. Opinions differ on whether they are worth the extra money. I have a '59 Historic, and it was worth the extra money to me. Your experience may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 I heard somewhere that there might be some info under the pickups pertaining to manufacture. Is this true? Also, is the Gibson Dater project really useless? It seemed to nail down where my previous Les Paul was made. Thanks in advance. neilford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I heard somewhere that there might be some info under the pickups pertaining to manufacture. Is this true? Also, is the Gibson Dater project really useless? It seemed to nail down where my previous Les Paul was made. Thanks in advance. neilford "Useless" is the wrong term. But it doesn't deal well with unusual serial numbers, and appears to be inconsistent. There have been several threads about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 Could you direct me to the threads? There's like 50 pages of threads here. Thanks. neilford "Useless" is the wrong term. But it doesn't deal well with unusual serial numbers, and appears to be inconsistent. There have been several threads about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LPDEN Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 +2 on calling Gibson to get the definitive answer on your guitar legitimacy. They should be able to verify everthing you have there is legitimate or not. Like the others, I've never seen that TRC and it looks to be aftermarket. It does look nice though! Hope you get the answers you're looking for. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 I am going with the consensus that the TRC is not original and am replacing it. I am not concerned about the legitimacy of my guitar, but more curious about where it was made. It seems that there is an issue with the dater to place es guitars in Nashville. I have tested my serial number and several others I found on Internet and the dater puts them all originating in Nashville. Is the dater maintained or is it an orphaned project? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I am going with the consensus that the TRC is not original and am replacing it. I am not concerned about the legitimacy of my guitar, but more curious about where it was made. It seems that there is an issue with the dater to place es guitars in Nashville. I have tested my serial number and several others I found on Internet and the dater puts them all originating in Nashville. Is the dater maintained or is it an orphaned project? The dater is not very "smart", and I doubt that it is actively maintained. There are plenty of references to the difficulty of using it throughout the Gibson forums. I tried to find the specific thread in which someone knowledgeable explained exactly how it works, but with 177 threads containing references to serial numbers, I gave up after a half hour of searching. In general, Gibson serial numbers are not known for their consistency or clarity. The current labels, however, accurately reflect the shop in which the guitar's assembly was completed. Call Gibson Customer Support--number given elsewhere in this thread--and they will tell you exactly when and where your guitar was made, so I'm told. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 The orange sticker inside says Memphis. I'm not trying to be a **** here, but why does this debate continue. The guitar is clearly labelled "Memphis". Just because you wish this guitar to be something special from the Nashville Custom shop, regardless of who you ask or what websites you reference, this guitar is a standard Memphis production model, and is properly labelled as such. If it were made in Nashville, it would say "NASHVILLE". If it was made in the Nashville Custom Shop, it would say "GIBSON CUSTOM NASHVILLE". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastEnder Posted March 22, 2012 Share Posted March 22, 2012 I'm not trying to be a **** here, but why does this debate continue. The guitar is clearly labelled "Memphis". Just because you wish this guitar to be something special from the Nashville Custom shop, regardless of who you ask or what websites you reference, this guitar is a standard Memphis production model, and is properly labelled as such. If it were made in Nashville, it would say "NASHVILLE". If it was made in the Nashville Custom Shop, it would say "GIBSON CUSTOM NASHVILLE". +1000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 22, 2012 Author Share Posted March 22, 2012 I don't "wish" my guitar to be anything but what it is. Like anyone who wants to have knowledge, I am interested in the reliability of the sources of that knowledge. If there is a source that is giving erroneous info, I want to know the nature of the misinformation so that I can make more informed decisions or discussions in the future. Thanks for your contribution to the subject. I'm not trying to be a **** here, but why does this debate continue. The guitar is clearly labelled "Memphis". Just because you wish this guitar to be something special from the Nashville Custom shop, regardless of who you ask or what websites you reference, this guitar is a standard Memphis production model, and is properly labelled as such. If it were made in Nashville, it would say "NASHVILLE". If it was made in the Nashville Custom Shop, it would say "GIBSON CUSTOM NASHVILLE". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 I don't "wish" my guitar to be anything but what it is. Like anyone who wants to have knowledge, I am interested in the reliability of the sources of that knowledge. If there is a source that is giving erroneous info, I want to know the nature of the misinformation so that I can make more informed decisions or discussions in the future. Thanks for your contribution to the subject. What you are discovering is that Gibson does not always make things clear when it comes to understanding the various shops. There are very knowledgeable people here that are more than willing to help, but we sometimes forget that not everyone comes to the table with the same level of experience that we have when it comes to the funkiness of Gibson. Listen, and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilford Posted March 23, 2012 Author Share Posted March 23, 2012 And ask questions? ;-) What you are discovering is that Gibson does not always make things clear when it comes to understanding the various shops. There are very knowledgeable people here that are more than willing to help, but we sometimes forget that not everyone comes to the table with the same level of experience that we have when it comes to the funkiness of Gibson. Listen, and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted March 23, 2012 Share Posted March 23, 2012 And ask questions? ;-) Not to the degree that you belabor a point for no apparent reason. In your case, there was/is no doubt about where the guitar was built. Completely built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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