YeRedHouseOverYonder
New member
And boy am I a believer now! Jeez. I picked this '66 Gibson ES 335 12 String for a good deal since it had a stoptail conversion (could have been done better) and the hardware had been changed. I'm going to stop flipping gear soon and this is one of my last purchases. Someone in the booth was pretty liberal that day. It's marked as a 2nd and I believe it's due to the dark spots with the cherry sunburst. She's aged well. Tons of vertical checking. Honest play wear.
Unplugged, the acoustic resonance is pretty insane. It is louder than a semi hollow guitar w/ wraparound bridge that I have at the moment. Definitely night and day between my nephews Chibson 335. It plays okay, but sounds "plinky" unplugged. She has a pronounced round bass/woody/ open tone. Not as focused (attack) as my R8, but a welcomed change. The responsiveness when playing is the most enjoyable part of playing this guitar. Something only my Koa 356 (upcoming NGD thread) can mimic.
I peeked under the hood and can see the original Sprague black beauty caps. Patent # pickups, more than likely T Tops, but I'd have to remove the covers to be sure. Neck pickup is airy and has warmth to it when played clean. Bridge pickup can really hang in there when played with dirt. Playing Zeppelin riffs with the right setting is all Page in spades.
As far as the, neck width. It's definitely on the smaller size. I believe it's 1-9/16". It doesn't bother me much. Every guitar has it quirks and I like to work around them. Playing this with 12 string might prove to be tricky tho. I currently have it strung with Dunlop Heavy Core 10-48s. No issues at all other than a minor setup.
Might add a new nut if I decide to keep it with 6 strings, but will give it a go with a proper 12 string setup. Switched out the abr and stoptail for some spare Gibson parts I had. It came with an old Gibson bridge and import tailpiece. Will have to switch out the thumbwheels and bridge bushings on the next string change. All in all, a fun guitar to play. She's a player for sure. Having the old wood and pickups is the cherry on top.
Sent from my LG-H931 using Tapatalk
Unplugged, the acoustic resonance is pretty insane. It is louder than a semi hollow guitar w/ wraparound bridge that I have at the moment. Definitely night and day between my nephews Chibson 335. It plays okay, but sounds "plinky" unplugged. She has a pronounced round bass/woody/ open tone. Not as focused (attack) as my R8, but a welcomed change. The responsiveness when playing is the most enjoyable part of playing this guitar. Something only my Koa 356 (upcoming NGD thread) can mimic.
I peeked under the hood and can see the original Sprague black beauty caps. Patent # pickups, more than likely T Tops, but I'd have to remove the covers to be sure. Neck pickup is airy and has warmth to it when played clean. Bridge pickup can really hang in there when played with dirt. Playing Zeppelin riffs with the right setting is all Page in spades.
As far as the, neck width. It's definitely on the smaller size. I believe it's 1-9/16". It doesn't bother me much. Every guitar has it quirks and I like to work around them. Playing this with 12 string might prove to be tricky tho. I currently have it strung with Dunlop Heavy Core 10-48s. No issues at all other than a minor setup.
Might add a new nut if I decide to keep it with 6 strings, but will give it a go with a proper 12 string setup. Switched out the abr and stoptail for some spare Gibson parts I had. It came with an old Gibson bridge and import tailpiece. Will have to switch out the thumbwheels and bridge bushings on the next string change. All in all, a fun guitar to play. She's a player for sure. Having the old wood and pickups is the cherry on top.
Sent from my LG-H931 using Tapatalk
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