sgt_steiner
Member
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2007
- Messages
- 145
Massive thanks to Charlie Gelber at OK Guitars for helping make my dream of owning a legit vintage blonde Gibson ES-330 a reality.
If you're not familiar with Charile (or his killer ES-335.org website) he's largely considered the foremost authority on vintage Gibson hollows and semi-hollows in the world, having owned, played or sold somewhere in the neighborhood of SIX HUNDRED of them. That's right, my friends, not a misprint I've been conversing with Charlie and following his site for a couple years now, and when I saw this listing late one night, I knew my ship had finally come in.
One great thing about Charlie, he's about as straight a shooter as they come -- a man after my own heart. He ran everything down for me and with every detail my confidence grew. Was this, finally, gasp!, The One? Early '60's wide/thin neck profile. Monster screaming original P90's (9.2K bridge, 8.45K neck). Weigh = 5 lbs. 13 oz. (Hallelujah, yes!) Scale from 1 to 10, he estimated this beauty was a 9+. "Bright, lively and LOUD", was his description. "As good a 330 as he's ever had."
And this is coming from a man not prone to exaggeration. Then, of course, there were her looks...
After decades playing and collecting everything under the sun, I fell in love with Gibson hollow/semi-hollows over the past year. Picking up a sick Warren Haynes 335 is what started the brushfire, and an outstanding '61 Cherry 330 is what hooked me on the hollow bodies. I'd forgotten how FANTASTIC vintage P90's sounds, especially in the neck with a little overdrive. The resulting cream factor is simply off the charts. Are they noisier than 335's with buckers? Hell, yes. Does it bother me? Not in the slightest. The trade-off? A guitar weighing approx. 6 lbs. instead of a 335's 8 lbs.
Added bonus -- her rarity. Gibson only made 79 Blondes in 1959, and 215 in 1960. A grand total of just 294 of these heart-stoppers ever left the factory. As Charlie himself posted recently -- "The best example of a very rare guitar that is desirable but is vastly underpriced is a blonde 59 or 60 ES-330."
(Full post -- http://www.es-335.org/2017/08/16/upside-down-market/)
What I really love about this guitar is that it was clearly well-played and well-loved over the past half-century. She has all the earmarks of someone's beloved #1, with a ton of honest playwear but zero abuse. IMHO, this is the best of all worlds for vintage pieces. If she wasn't a killer guitar, she never would've been played this much in the first place. As many of us have encountered, those many decades of playing and gigging call forth a tone and mojo that closet queens rarely -- if ever -- possess.
THANKS AGAIN, CHARLIE! You've helped yet another vintage gear addict reach unexpected heights, my friend
If you're not familiar with Charile (or his killer ES-335.org website) he's largely considered the foremost authority on vintage Gibson hollows and semi-hollows in the world, having owned, played or sold somewhere in the neighborhood of SIX HUNDRED of them. That's right, my friends, not a misprint I've been conversing with Charlie and following his site for a couple years now, and when I saw this listing late one night, I knew my ship had finally come in.
One great thing about Charlie, he's about as straight a shooter as they come -- a man after my own heart. He ran everything down for me and with every detail my confidence grew. Was this, finally, gasp!, The One? Early '60's wide/thin neck profile. Monster screaming original P90's (9.2K bridge, 8.45K neck). Weigh = 5 lbs. 13 oz. (Hallelujah, yes!) Scale from 1 to 10, he estimated this beauty was a 9+. "Bright, lively and LOUD", was his description. "As good a 330 as he's ever had."
And this is coming from a man not prone to exaggeration. Then, of course, there were her looks...
After decades playing and collecting everything under the sun, I fell in love with Gibson hollow/semi-hollows over the past year. Picking up a sick Warren Haynes 335 is what started the brushfire, and an outstanding '61 Cherry 330 is what hooked me on the hollow bodies. I'd forgotten how FANTASTIC vintage P90's sounds, especially in the neck with a little overdrive. The resulting cream factor is simply off the charts. Are they noisier than 335's with buckers? Hell, yes. Does it bother me? Not in the slightest. The trade-off? A guitar weighing approx. 6 lbs. instead of a 335's 8 lbs.
Added bonus -- her rarity. Gibson only made 79 Blondes in 1959, and 215 in 1960. A grand total of just 294 of these heart-stoppers ever left the factory. As Charlie himself posted recently -- "The best example of a very rare guitar that is desirable but is vastly underpriced is a blonde 59 or 60 ES-330."
(Full post -- http://www.es-335.org/2017/08/16/upside-down-market/)
What I really love about this guitar is that it was clearly well-played and well-loved over the past half-century. She has all the earmarks of someone's beloved #1, with a ton of honest playwear but zero abuse. IMHO, this is the best of all worlds for vintage pieces. If she wasn't a killer guitar, she never would've been played this much in the first place. As many of us have encountered, those many decades of playing and gigging call forth a tone and mojo that closet queens rarely -- if ever -- possess.
THANKS AGAIN, CHARLIE! You've helped yet another vintage gear addict reach unexpected heights, my friend