loduck Posted February 13, 2008 Share Posted February 13, 2008 I have an ES330. Could anybody tell me what production year this would be? The serial number is 812301 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epinder Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 http://www.gibson.com/Files/downloads/bluebook/GibsonSERIALNUMBERS.pdf Try this page. Good Luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loduck Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 thanks it just states 1966-1969 being close to the ending number i would assume it's a 1969 thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougg330 Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Hi, Loduck - 330's are my favorite guitar - I've had 3 over the years, still have a '66. You need to look at other details besides the serial # for true dating, since Gibson saw fit to recycle those numbers in such a confusing manner. Where does the neck join the body? Are the knobs the reflector top or witch hat models? And what color is your 330 (if it's walnut, it's def. a '69). The knobs changed form reflector tops to witch hats in '67 - but some early '67 models will still have the reflector top knobs. And the 335-style long neck wasn't available in '66 or '67 - only later. Hope this helps. best, Dougg330 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loduck Posted February 28, 2008 Author Share Posted February 28, 2008 thanks for your post....mine does have the reflective top knobs, it joins the neck at the sixteenth fret, it is a sunburst fronot with a darker looking back color, what year do you think it is? thanks,loduck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 6, 2008 Share Posted March 6, 2008 My ES-330 is one of my favorite guitars. I bought it for $300 back in the early 80s. I play sax, flute, wind synth, keyboard, and guitar on stage, and since my ES-330 is now worth well over $3,000, I don't want to bring it on stage. Playing so many instruments just multiplies the opportunities for dinging up a guitar, and I don't want to ding up the 330 now that it is a collectors item. So I played a Kramer/Focus/Faux-strat on stage for a while, figuring I could still hear the single-coil pickup sound I like, and not ding up my ES-330 - but I never liked the fatter neck on the Faux-strat (feels like a baseball bat) and found muting the strings with my right hand uncomfortable on the Kramer. Plus the pickups just didn't sound as nice (to my ears) as P90s. So I traded my Kramer/Focus/Faux-strat in for a used Casino since it is the closest thing to a 330 currently in production, and I'm very happy with it. I replaced the white pick-guard with a black one and put witch-hat knobs on it so it looks more like my 330. The 330 gives me access to higher frets than the Casino (joins at the 19th -- see pictures below - note: since the pix was taken, I also replaced the white switch on the Casino with a black one). Now I have two favorite guitars, the 330 and the Casino. BTW, the Gibson sounds better as an acoustic and the Casino sounds brighter plugged in (could be where the bridge is placed on the body, or the fact that the Casino has metal bridge parts vs. nylon/plastic ones on the Gibson or the pickups are set higher on the Casino - I'm not sure) To get back on the subject, my 330 was made in 1970. Gibson didn't keep very good track of serial numbers back then, so I had to go by a lot of clues. 1) The serial numbers put it in the 1969-1971 range, most likely 69 or 70 2) "Made in USA" was stamped below the serial number making it 70 or later 3) The walnut color puts it in the same date range 4) It has a voulte on the back of the neck which also puts it in the same era. So I figured it is a 1970 with a good degree of confidence. But it took a lot of research and questions in forums, with Gibson, with the guitar dater project, and a number of other places that I cannot remember. Good luck finding the year. No matter what year you have, it's a nice axe. Picture of my Gibson and Epiphone side by side for comparison. Note the difference in where the neck joins the body, and therefore where the bridge sits on the body and where the pickups are. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougg330 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 My ES-330 is one of my favorite guitars. I bought it for $300 back in the early 80s. I play sax' date=' flute, wind synth, keyboard, and guitar on stage, and since my [i']ES-330[/i] is now worth well over $3,000, I don't want to bring it on stage. Playing so many instruments just multiplies the opportunities for dinging up a guitar, and I don't want to ding up the 330 now that it is a collectors item. So I played a Kramer/Focus/Faux-strat on stage for a while, figuring I could still hear the single-coil pickup sound I like, and not ding up my ES-330 - but I never liked the fatter neck on the Faux-strat (feels like a baseball bat) and found muting the strings with my right hand uncomfortable on the Kramer. Plus the pickups just didn't sound as nice (to my ears) as P90s. So I traded my Kramer/Focus/Faux-strat in for a used Casino since it is the closest thing to a 330 currently in production, and I'm very happy with it. I replaced the white pick-guard with a black one and put witch-hat knobs on it so it looks more like my 330. The 330 gives me access to higher frets than the Casino (joins at the 19th -- see pictures below - note: since the pix was taken, I also replaced the white switch on the Casino with a black one). Now I have two favorite guitars, the 330 and the Casino. BTW, the Gibson sounds better as an acoustic and the Casino sounds brighter plugged in (could be where the bridge is placed on the body, or the fact that the Casino has metal bridge parts vs. nylon/plastic ones on the Gibson or the pickups are set higher on the Casino - I'm not sure) To get back on the subject, my 330 was made in 1970. Gibson didn't keep very good track of serial numbers back then, so I had to go by a lot of clues. 1) The serial numbers put it in the 1969-1971 range, most likely 69 or 70 2) "Made in USA" was stamped below the serial number making it 70 or later 3) The walnut color puts it in the same date range 4) It has a voulte on the back of the neck which also puts it in the same era. So I figured it is a 1970 with a good degree of confidence. But it took a lot of research and questions in forums, with Gibson, with the guitar dater project, and a number of other places that I cannot remember. Good luck finding the year. No matter what year you have, it's a nice axe. Picture of my Gibson and Epiphone side by side for comparison. Note the difference in where the neck joins the body, and therefore where the bridge sits on the body and where the pickups are. Notes I just finished playing my similar pair: a sunburst '66 ES-330 and a new vintage sunburstCasino. I replaced the white pg on the Casino with a B/W/B guard like the on the 330, and also changed out the tuners for white button Klusons so my Casino now looks just like my 330. I have the opposite sonic relationship, though: my Casino is much darker amplified than the 330. Neck pickups are surprisingly similar, but I'd like some more brightness from the Casino's bridge pickup. Any ideas on how to get that? Both guitars have their bridge PU's raised on spacers so the neck/bridge outputs match better, BTW. Thanks - Dougg330 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 <...> I have the opposite sonic relationship' date=' though: my Casino is much darker amplified than the 330. Neck pickups are surprisingly similar, but I'd like some more brightness from the Casino's bridge pickup.Any ideas on how to get that?<...> Dougg330[/quote'] I have no idea how to get that, but I find it very interesting. I bought the Casino used, so I have no idea of its history. I did notice that the Kluson tuners were replaced with Grovers and the old holes filled in and matched expertly. (BTW: I know a lot of people prefer Grovers to Klusons, but I've never had any problem with the Klusons on my 330. A drop of teflon "oil" every 5 or so years, and some pencil lead in the grooves of the nut every time I change strings, and my 330 tunes up easily and stays in tune -- as well as the Grovers on my Casino.) Then when I replaced the Casino's knobs with the witch hats, and later (not in the photo) the switch cover with a black one, I found out they were USA sized parts (the Casino was made in the Peerless factory in Korea in 2000). So the previous owner put some work into it. I suspect the pickups may have been replaced as well. There is a very small gap on the neck pup between the chrome cover and the body of the guitar on the neck side of the pup. Not even enough to get a small pick in. OK, that's not enough of a clue, since that could have been done at the factory in Korea. But I'm guessing that if the previous owner changed the potentiometers, tuners and switch, there is a good chance he/she also replaced the pickups. I don't know how to tell the difference between USA and Asian pickups, and it is the tail end of the heavy gigging season here in Florida, so even if I did, I'm not going to take the guitar apart to find out. Instead, I'm just going to enjoy playing it and be happy that I got a better deal than I originally imagined when I bought the guitar at GC in West Palm Beach, Florida. Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dcmusic21 Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 1203101377[/url]' post='6431']thanks it just states 1966-1969 being close to the ending number i would assume it's a 1969 thanks again 18004442766 that is gibsons number just got off the phone with them to make sure mine was62 and they confirmed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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