Re: 1966 Gibson ES-335, too old to play?
I just looked at the pix. Man, that thing is super clean, and the finish is rare (no way it's a factory 3TSB with a faded outer layer – that didn't happen, and the guitar is so otherwise clean that it obviously hasn't had to UV exposure necessary for finish fading). Its condition actually would give me pause about treating it like any old guitar, especially since it has such an interesting and rare finish. I play my '68 without pause, but it's nowhere near as clean. If your guitar wasn't a 3rd-generation family heirloom, I'd recommend selling it to a hardcore collector and using the money to buy a more "player grade" one. But since it is, just be super careful with it. Quite the find.
That said, 330s from that period aren't as valuable as some people are making them out to be. They are not from Gibson's most collectible period, and most find the 330 far less "usable" than the 335 (you can't account for people's poor taste). Additionally, if going for a hollowbody with P90s, most collectors tend to favor the Epiphone version of the same guitar, the Casino, because of The Beatles and Stones connections (Lennon/McCartney/Richards couldn't afford the Gibson versions when they bought theirs). 330s of that period are something like C to D grade guitars in terms of collectibility. Still "valuable," but not crazy valuable like some other '60s Gibsons.
I just looked at the pix. Man, that thing is super clean, and the finish is rare (no way it's a factory 3TSB with a faded outer layer – that didn't happen, and the guitar is so otherwise clean that it obviously hasn't had to UV exposure necessary for finish fading). Its condition actually would give me pause about treating it like any old guitar, especially since it has such an interesting and rare finish. I play my '68 without pause, but it's nowhere near as clean. If your guitar wasn't a 3rd-generation family heirloom, I'd recommend selling it to a hardcore collector and using the money to buy a more "player grade" one. But since it is, just be super careful with it. Quite the find.
That said, 330s from that period aren't as valuable as some people are making them out to be. They are not from Gibson's most collectible period, and most find the 330 far less "usable" than the 335 (you can't account for people's poor taste). Additionally, if going for a hollowbody with P90s, most collectors tend to favor the Epiphone version of the same guitar, the Casino, because of The Beatles and Stones connections (Lennon/McCartney/Richards couldn't afford the Gibson versions when they bought theirs). 330s of that period are something like C to D grade guitars in terms of collectibility. Still "valuable," but not crazy valuable like some other '60s Gibsons.
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