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NGD 2013 ES 1959-335 Memphis CS

1jamman

New member
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
610
Ok Here’s the ES-335 I got Yesterday . I waited most of Today
to get a few minutes of ok Sunlight so I could get a few Pics. The Blister on this top is lighter colored and difficult to Photograph . It’s very 3-D and I haven’t learned the best angles to capture it in Pics Yet . Zooming in on the Picture will show a lot more of it . But , it’s there .

I’ll post some thoughts of what I think about the guitar in a day or so . I oiled the fret board, changed the strings and adjusted the Action today and then played a couple more hours . Me likey , a lot so far . The guitar has a big full sound/tone and at 7.6 LPS. Is easy on the back .



 

Minibucker

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Joined
Jan 12, 2003
Messages
6,372
Nice...I like that the burst pattern is up in the horned area as well.
 

PHILBERT

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Nov 25, 2006
Messages
1,659
Congrats, 1jammin! :salude

I see the blister. Nice! I really like blister. :ganz

You are the first here to have a 2013 '59 (I think), so we must have a proper tone report. I want to know if all that hide glue makes a difference. I watched a bunch of Ani '63 vids yesterday, and also a couple of 2013 Nashville '63 (yes, Nashville does make them...and they are still BUTT UGLY) vids, and the Nashville guitars were the usual general 'just ok' tone guitars. The new Memphis 335's kicked their asses in almost every way. Why is that? Could it be just the long TP studs? It has to be more than that IMO.

So, how about some tone impressions? :peace2
 

1jamman

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Feb 28, 2013
Messages
610
Thanks guys , I'm really lovin this guitar . Sweet, is a spot on description . As My first impression was how sweet the guitar sounded . I'd say roll off the tone pot a little on the Neck Pup and Imo you going into Jazz Country .

I'm working on a fuller Eval today and tomorrow and will post it shortly . It's a Winner, imo . [FONT="Calibri","sans-serif"]Description[/FONT]
 

Progrocker111

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Dec 10, 2003
Messages
4,013
Beautiful ES335. I would like to compare it direct against 63 50th anniversary.
 

PHILBERT

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Nov 25, 2006
Messages
1,659
Beautiful ES335. I would like to compare it direct against 63 50th anniversary.

Me too, but after watching Greg Koch play a bunch of different 63's I would expect some variation. We need Greg to play a couple of 59's through the Tone Master setup to compare the real difference it may have in tone. So I'm staying tuned to Wildwood for those eventual videos. I just hope Greg still uses the same Tone Master setup! :dude:
 

1jamman

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Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
610
BUMP

I want to hear more about this guitar! :peace2

I'll post a Opinion about the guitar in a few days ,. I've been loving this guitar so much , I've been playing it moe than thinking about what to write . It's a great guitar . If it had a slim taper neck or 60's neck , I dare to say Perfect , for what i play . Tone wise , I find the pups on mine better than the BB's of before , I think (and i will post pics of both types CB's &BB's) that the new BB's are just CB's with different Magnets . The BB's in this guitar had their covers removed and resoldered on , or a very bad soldering job by Gibsons' Standards.

Clean the guitar really shines . Crunch channel leaves something to be disired . I can see swapping the pickups out . The Pots and Caps work very well and I don't feel the need to change them .

I have some Early Pat.#'s looking for a Home :rofl

I haven't felt 1 minute of buyers remorse and I feel that I made a good choice in going for the '59 and not the '63 as I had originally desided on buying . I dig Bling , inlays , Double ring tuners , And Reflectors like I never can get enough of them . But the '59 is so nice, I don't miss all that .

More to come :bug
 

guitarjb44

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Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
76
Beautiful guitar. I own a 1960 historic reissue ES-335 that was made last year- mine looks like your '59.

I am a little surprised that I am not thrilled with the sound of my guitar. Mine came with '57 Classic pickups, which also surprises me because: A) I have never had a problem with '57 Classics in other guitars (yes- I know every guitar is unique to some extent), and B) Burstbuckers are touted as replicas of '50s/early '60s-era Gibson humbuckers.

Anyhow...
I decided to try replacement pickups; I have a good deal on a set of SD Antiquities, so I will be installing those tomorrow. I am also gong to completely rewire the guitar using parts from a previously unused Dr. Vintage Les Paul wiring upgrade kit (his proprietary pots and PIO caps).

To get a head-start, earlier today I removed the '57 Classic pickups along with the entire Gibson wiring harness. In doing this, I noticed that the original pots are the standard "Gibson" embossed 500k pots- not the Gibson Historic Reissue spec. CTS pots. This isn't necessarily a huge deal in terms of tone, but it seems crappy that they would use the regular old Gibson USA production pots on a supposed "Historic Reissue" Custom Shop guitar. I know the Gibson "Bumblebee" caps are a farce, but they don't bother me- and they do look cool.

I don't mean to hijack this thread- just throwing out some info. on a guitar that's very similar to yours (mine does have the slim neck!!). I like my 335, I just know the tone can be better; on looks and playability, it's top-notch.

So again, just sharing some info. I am curious to hear how things work out for you and your '59 as you play it more and more.

Joe
 

guitarjb44

New member
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
76
Beautiful guitar. I own a 1960 historic reissue ES-335 that was made last year- mine looks like your '59.

I am a little surprised that I am not thrilled with the sound of my guitar. Mine came with '57 Classic pickups, which also surprises me because: A) I have never had a problem with '57 Classics in other guitars (yes- I know every guitar is unique to some extent), and B) Burstbuckers are touted as replicas of '50s/early '60s-era Gibson humbuckers.

Anyhow...
I decided to try replacement pickups; I have a good deal on a set of SD Antiquities, so I will be installing those tomorrow. I am also gong to completely rewire the guitar using parts from a previously unused Dr. Vintage Les Paul wiring upgrade kit (his proprietary pots and PIO caps).

To get a head-start, earlier today I removed the '57 Classicmm pickups along with the entire Gibson wiring harness. In doing this, I noticed that the original pots are the standard "Gibson" embossed 500k pots- not the Gibson Historic Reissue spec. CTS pots. This isn't necessarily a huge deal in terms of tone, but it seems crappy that they would use the regular old Gibson USA production pots on a supposed "Historic Reissue" Custom Shop guitar. I know the Gibson "Bumblebee" caps are a farce, but they don't bother me- and they do look cool.

I don't mean to hijack this thread- just throwing out some info. on a guitar that's very similar to yours (mine does have the slim neck!!). I like my 335, I just know the tone can be better; on looks and playability, it's top-notch.

So again, just sharing some info. I am curious to hear how things work out for you and your '59 as you play it more and more.

Joe



I forgot to mention, in case it matters: mine was also made in Memphis.

Joe
 

DoubleBoogie

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 6, 2004
Messages
4,800
Beautiful guitar. I own a 1960 historic reissue ES-335 that was made last year- mine looks like your '59.

I am a little surprised that I am not thrilled with the sound of my guitar. Mine came with '57 Classic pickups, which also surprises me because: A) I have never had a problem with '57 Classics in other guitars (yes- I know every guitar is unique to some extent), and B) Burstbuckers are touted as replicas of '50s/early '60s-era Gibson humbuckers.

Anyhow...
I decided to try replacement pickups; I have a good deal on a set of SD Antiquities, so I will be installing those tomorrow. I am also gong to completely rewire the guitar using parts from a previously unused Dr. Vintage Les Paul wiring upgrade kit (his proprietary pots and PIO caps).

To get a head-start, earlier today I removed the '57 Classic pickups along with the entire Gibson wiring harness. In doing this, I noticed that the original pots are the standard "Gibson" embossed 500k pots- not the Gibson Historic Reissue spec. CTS pots. This isn't necessarily a huge deal in terms of tone, but it seems crappy that they would use the regular old Gibson USA production pots on a supposed "Historic Reissue" Custom Shop guitar. I know the Gibson "Bumblebee" caps are a farce, but they don't bother me- and they do look cool.

I don't mean to hijack this thread- just throwing out some info. on a guitar that's very similar to yours (mine does have the slim neck!!). I like my 335, I just know the tone can be better; on looks and playability, it's top-notch.

So again, just sharing some info. I am curious to hear how things work out for you and your '59 as you play it more and more.

Joe

Joe..Send me an e-mail please.
 

GotTheSilver

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Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
2,433
I see (Thanks to a friend Down Under) Gibson has finally put up their
Listing for this guitar . If anyone cares to look here it is . :biggrin:

http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/ES/Gibson-Memphis/1959-ES-335.aspx

Wow, Gibson has done a great job of confusing their 335 product line. There is a 1959 ES-335 from Memphis and a 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue from Nashville, a 335 Dot, a 335 Dot Fat Neck, and they are making 50th Anniversary 1960 335s in years other than 2010! Do their marketers have any clue what they are doing? If I were in the market for a new 335 right now (let alone trying to buy a used one on eBay), I would have no idea what I was looking at!
 

bluesjuke

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Joined
Feb 6, 2005
Messages
7,007
Congrats 1jamman!

I've got two '59 Historics, one 7.5lbs. and the other 8.75lbs.(same finish as your's on the latter).

Both are great but the 7.5lbs sure is sweet and it's my greater preference in the tone department too, not better but more to my liking.
 

1jamman

New member
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
610
Yeah, the more chaos the better. :wah

Life without Choas and drama would be Boring , I thinks .:laugh2:

Wow, Gibson has done a great job of confusing their 335 product line. There is a 1959 ES-335 from Memphis and a 1959 ES-335 Dot Reissue from Nashville, a 335 Dot, a 335 Dot Fat Neck, and they are making 50th Anniversary 1960 335s in years other than 2010! Do their marketers have any clue what they are doing? If I were in the market for a new 335 right now (let alone trying to buy a used one on eBay), I would have no idea what I was looking at!

Take your time sorting it all out and once you find the guitar you like . Than figure out which 1 it is . Worked for me .

Congrats 1jamman!

I've got two '59 Historics, one 7.5lbs. and the other 8.75lbs.(same finish as your's on the latter).

Both are great but the 7.5lbs sure is sweet and it's my greater preference in the tone department too, not better but more to my liking.

Thanks , This is a great guitar . Quickly becoming my #1 . After playing this and than pickup up a LP , it's no contest . The Sound is some much bigger and more full , it's an easy choice (for me).
The guitar has so much sustain . It's a step above my 356 . Which is a killer guitar in itself .
Having to adjust to the fatter neck over the last few weeks , I've got to a very comfortable place with this guitar . I don't play as fast on this 1 as I can on a Slim Taper or 60's neck ,but that's all good . I don't on my R9's either .

The tone of this guitar , playing clean is great . Very clear and responds to touch well (neck pup) . I play mostly clean and only at times use OD. On the bridge Pup , I feel a lot is left to be desired. And where i would want a pup change first . I have no love for the bridge pup at all . But that's only my opinion. Compaired to the Early Pat. #'s and PAF i have , when these BB's are driven , they do not "sing" like Vintage does .

I believe this BB's are CustomBuckers with the magnets swapped and no more . I hear some of the same traits from both (I can do a back to back having both) Imo .

I think the pups need to be changed to get a better tone for playing OD . An in thr long run better pups will get you a much better clean tone along the way .
 
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