phil_104
Cheesesteakologist
Feautures of note :
Solid center maple block
Laminated front, back, sides
30-60 neck profile
57 classic and 57 classic plus pickups
“Memphis tone circuit”
Side mounted jack
Author’s note:
In the spirit of remaining transparent, please note that this guitar was bought on the fly, with no prior research, or preconcieved notion of the guitar. I use it as part of my guitar stable, along side a strat, gretsch, les paul, and a few acoustics. I do have a bias towards Gibson guitars; I have three, and I dig them, that’s no secret. I’ve only ever played this guitar through a Fender Blues Jr ltd edition with Jensen speaker and sparkle mod. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now, and I’ve ran it through the paces.
Construction and body style :
The ES339’s distinguishing feature is it’s smaller body. A tad bigger than a Les Paul, it is considerably smaller than an ES335, and has a solid maple block down the middle of the guitar. For me, this was the reason to get into ES style guitars, as the 335 had never felt comfortable, was a little dark, and I struggled with feedback when playing those. The feedback is considerably reduced, the guitar feels more comfortable to play standing up, and the overall tone is very different; punchier and more defined, while retaining the woody and airy nature of a semi hollow. In my opinion, the body and style of this guitar would be geared more towards rock players, where a 335 would be more suited towards blues and jazz styles. The focus works well for such a style, but blues and jazz players might prefer a bigger body with a more predominant low end.
Neck profile:
I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play many Gibson neck profiles, from the beefier one on my LP Trad, to the neck of my J45, the 60s neck on a 61ri SG I had on loan from a friend for about 4 months this summer, to the big, gigantic 50s neck profile on my friend’s ES339. Out of all the Gibson necks I have played, the 30-60 is probably the most comfortable shape I have encountered. It retains the quickness of the 60s neck, whit adding just a touch of girth that allows the hand to rest comfortably during more complex chords. I sorta wish my Les Paul had such a neck. The 50s neck on these models are not bad if you like big necks, but they are by far the largest carve I have seen. Ever.
Electronics
It’s almost like Gibson made this guitar for me, including the excellent 57 classic set. In my opinion, the finest pickup they make. If you are not familiar with it, do yourself a favor and try it out. It’s also the set I have in my Les Paul, and I don’t feel the need to change them out what so ever. The guitar also features a “memphis tone circuit”, which is essentially fancy wire trickery, that makes it so your high end doesn’t roll off with your volume. It’s actually, really, really cool.
Finish
It’s a Gibson; thus be warned. I’ve seen a few really bad ones. I wanted an all black one they had there, but the binding wasn’t super hot, specially on the edges of the fretboard. This one is pretty decent though. Nice deep red finish, with nice wood grain, and no finish flaws that I can find. It's a nice deep red, not the overly bright red you often see. I think they call it Antique Red. I always feel like when I get a new Gibson though, the finish is sticky until I play the damn thing for a half a year. I dunno, I might just be picky, but the finish always feels a little bit sticky, but that eventually settles down.
Hardware.
Pretty standard here. Some people hate the tuners. Be warned though; without a proper tech setup, this guitar pinched the G string like mad. A set up (like with any new guitar imho), is required. Not a big fan of Gibson nuts to start with, but it could be worst.
Overall impression.
Overall I am very impressed. This is, in my opinion, THE best bang for buck Gibson out on the market, save maybe the LP Trad. It’s a CS guitar, at the 2k price range, new, which is difficult to beat. I searched long and hard for my perfect LP, and this one was more of an impulse buy ; they had 4 in stock, I got the best one. Even at that, I do notice a difference between the regular Gibson line, and the CS. The custom shop seems to have higher standards in terms of finishing, and general build. The guitar, overall, feels old. I’ve had a few friends play it, and this keeps coming up. It’s a very traditional feeling instrument, with a very new approach to the design for modern players. If you are a modern player, influenced by the 50s-60s-70s who’s trying to get his own sound, this might be a guitar to look into. This is probably going to become my #1 guitar.
Pros :
- Great Price
- Classic sounds, great electronics
- New spin on a classic that will appeal to those wanting a more compact guitar, for more modern sounds, without sacrificing the old school vibe.
- Custom shop quality
Cons :
- Walking the line : the guitar tries to be a just middle between the LP and 335. It’s amazign if you dig it, but some will find they would just rather play either a LP, which has more focus, on 335, which has a more open and lose sound. It might be trying to compromise to much.
- Some really dislike the tuners, and the fact that it was in bad need of a setup doesn’t help when it comes to tuning stability. I did find that with a good setup though, no issues occurred, even during longer sets.
- Don’t expect zero feedback with super heavy distortion; it is still a semi-hollow (this shouldn’t be a con, it’s more like an
Solid center maple block
Laminated front, back, sides
30-60 neck profile
57 classic and 57 classic plus pickups
“Memphis tone circuit”
Side mounted jack
Author’s note:
In the spirit of remaining transparent, please note that this guitar was bought on the fly, with no prior research, or preconcieved notion of the guitar. I use it as part of my guitar stable, along side a strat, gretsch, les paul, and a few acoustics. I do have a bias towards Gibson guitars; I have three, and I dig them, that’s no secret. I’ve only ever played this guitar through a Fender Blues Jr ltd edition with Jensen speaker and sparkle mod. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now, and I’ve ran it through the paces.
Construction and body style :
The ES339’s distinguishing feature is it’s smaller body. A tad bigger than a Les Paul, it is considerably smaller than an ES335, and has a solid maple block down the middle of the guitar. For me, this was the reason to get into ES style guitars, as the 335 had never felt comfortable, was a little dark, and I struggled with feedback when playing those. The feedback is considerably reduced, the guitar feels more comfortable to play standing up, and the overall tone is very different; punchier and more defined, while retaining the woody and airy nature of a semi hollow. In my opinion, the body and style of this guitar would be geared more towards rock players, where a 335 would be more suited towards blues and jazz styles. The focus works well for such a style, but blues and jazz players might prefer a bigger body with a more predominant low end.
Neck profile:
I’ve been fortunate enough to have the opportunity to play many Gibson neck profiles, from the beefier one on my LP Trad, to the neck of my J45, the 60s neck on a 61ri SG I had on loan from a friend for about 4 months this summer, to the big, gigantic 50s neck profile on my friend’s ES339. Out of all the Gibson necks I have played, the 30-60 is probably the most comfortable shape I have encountered. It retains the quickness of the 60s neck, whit adding just a touch of girth that allows the hand to rest comfortably during more complex chords. I sorta wish my Les Paul had such a neck. The 50s neck on these models are not bad if you like big necks, but they are by far the largest carve I have seen. Ever.
Electronics
It’s almost like Gibson made this guitar for me, including the excellent 57 classic set. In my opinion, the finest pickup they make. If you are not familiar with it, do yourself a favor and try it out. It’s also the set I have in my Les Paul, and I don’t feel the need to change them out what so ever. The guitar also features a “memphis tone circuit”, which is essentially fancy wire trickery, that makes it so your high end doesn’t roll off with your volume. It’s actually, really, really cool.
Finish
It’s a Gibson; thus be warned. I’ve seen a few really bad ones. I wanted an all black one they had there, but the binding wasn’t super hot, specially on the edges of the fretboard. This one is pretty decent though. Nice deep red finish, with nice wood grain, and no finish flaws that I can find. It's a nice deep red, not the overly bright red you often see. I think they call it Antique Red. I always feel like when I get a new Gibson though, the finish is sticky until I play the damn thing for a half a year. I dunno, I might just be picky, but the finish always feels a little bit sticky, but that eventually settles down.
Hardware.
Pretty standard here. Some people hate the tuners. Be warned though; without a proper tech setup, this guitar pinched the G string like mad. A set up (like with any new guitar imho), is required. Not a big fan of Gibson nuts to start with, but it could be worst.
Overall impression.
Overall I am very impressed. This is, in my opinion, THE best bang for buck Gibson out on the market, save maybe the LP Trad. It’s a CS guitar, at the 2k price range, new, which is difficult to beat. I searched long and hard for my perfect LP, and this one was more of an impulse buy ; they had 4 in stock, I got the best one. Even at that, I do notice a difference between the regular Gibson line, and the CS. The custom shop seems to have higher standards in terms of finishing, and general build. The guitar, overall, feels old. I’ve had a few friends play it, and this keeps coming up. It’s a very traditional feeling instrument, with a very new approach to the design for modern players. If you are a modern player, influenced by the 50s-60s-70s who’s trying to get his own sound, this might be a guitar to look into. This is probably going to become my #1 guitar.
Pros :
- Great Price
- Classic sounds, great electronics
- New spin on a classic that will appeal to those wanting a more compact guitar, for more modern sounds, without sacrificing the old school vibe.
- Custom shop quality
Cons :
- Walking the line : the guitar tries to be a just middle between the LP and 335. It’s amazign if you dig it, but some will find they would just rather play either a LP, which has more focus, on 335, which has a more open and lose sound. It might be trying to compromise to much.
- Some really dislike the tuners, and the fact that it was in bad need of a setup doesn’t help when it comes to tuning stability. I did find that with a good setup though, no issues occurred, even during longer sets.
- Don’t expect zero feedback with super heavy distortion; it is still a semi-hollow (this shouldn’t be a con, it’s more like an
