The Gibson ES-335

Rare as they come-a blonde block neck. Certainly a custom order. The fact that it has the "custom" truss rod cover actually helps authenticate it and the fact that its a lefty helps too. Who would fake a lefty? It's a stunning and important find. Too bad I'm not the one who found it.

I love the odd ones. The one of a kinds. The ones that make Gibson so unpredictable. Gibson will insist that they never made a red 345 in 1959 (they made at least 5) or a sunburst 355 (I know of at least 2) or a mono 345 (still haven’t seen one). But they made a fair number of custom guitars and one of them walked into my studio this week and dazzled. There are no blonde block necks made between 62 and 68, right?  There are 69 and later. Well, there’s one that I know of now. And it’s a lefty. It kind of makes sense in a slightly illogical way. Lefties were usually special orders and as long as you have to have your guitar made for you, why not ask for something beyond the available finishes? The guitar shown at the top has a 64 serial number, a very 64 like neck and a most un-64 like body. Those are full on Mickey Mouse ears and they aren’t generally seen past mid 63 or so. So, how did this very cool one of a kind come about? My guess is that it was special ordered by a shop for a customer in the first quarter of 64. The serial number indicates a delivery date of mid to late May. So, first off, they need a body that is either drilled as a lefty of isn’t drilled at all. It can’t be finished yet either since blonde was no longer offered as a standard finish. It’s no secret that lefties are pretty uncommon, so it isn’t out of the question that there might be a leftover 63 body that they drilled for lefty but never sold. That would explain the MM ears. The one element that struck me when I inspected the guitar was the relatively sloppy work around the neck join-it doesn’t look like a reneck but I’ve seen cleaner work. So, I figured maybe it was an employee project where perhaps a particular employee is making something “off the books” and doesn’t want too many people to know about it. So he does some work himself (perhaps off hours too) that he might not do on a regular basis-thus the slightly sloppy neck join. Again-all speculation. It could simply be somebody ordered a blonde lefty in 64 and the guy who was doing the neck glue ups that day was hungover. My first inclination was that it was reneck since the body wasn’t a 64. Renecks usually have the serial number restamped larger than normal when done at the Gibson factory. This one is deeper than usual but not larger. Again, I go back to my theory of it being an employee doing work that’s outside his usual sphere. I told the owner that I was 98% certain of its authenticity. That’s about all you’re allowed with Gibsons because you really can’t be too sure of anything they did during the era. Someone could bring me a 335 that was red on the back and sunburst on the front and I wouldn’t dismiss it. Anything is possible at Gibson in the 50s and 60s.

Why is Muddy smiling? Read on.

Everybody gets stuff forwarded to them on email that someone else thinks is funny. Funny enough, it usually isn’t that funny. Last night, my friend Kent, in Nashville, sent me the following. It was funny. Real funny. I don’t like to simply post stuff without giving credit (much as I’d love to take  credit for this), so I asked him where he got it. He got it from his friend Spencer who thought he might have gotten it from his son David. As soon as someone tells me who wrote this full credit will be forthcoming. It’s too funny and clever not to post.

Do’s and don’ts of Blues Music:

If you’re new to Blues music, or you like it but never really understood the whys and wherefores, here are some very fundamental rules:

1. Most Blues begin with: “Woke up this morning…”

2. “I got a good woman” is a bad way to begin the Blues, unless you stick something nasty in the next line like, “I got a good woman, with the meanest face in town.”

3. The Blues is simple. After you get the first line right, repeat it. Then, find something that rhymes — sort of:

Got a good woman with the meanest face in town.

Yes, I got a good woman with the meanest face in town.

Got teeth like Margaret Thatcher and she weigh 500 pound.”

4. The Blues is not about choice. “You stuck in a ditch, you stuck in a ditch…ain’t no way out.”

5. Blues cars: Chevys, Fords, Cadillacs, and broken-down trucks.

Blues don’t travel in Volvos, BMWs, or Sport Utility Vehicles.

Most Blues transportation is a Greyhound bus or a southbound train. Jet aircraft and state-sponsored motor pools ain’t even in the running. Walkin’ plays a major part in the Blues lifestyle. So does fixin’ to die.

6. Teenagers can’t sing the Blues. They ain’t fixin’ to die yet.
Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, “adulthood” means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.

7. Blues can take place in New York City, but not in Hawaii or anywhere in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle are probably just clinical depression.     Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Memphis, and N’awlins are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the Blues in any place that don’t get rain.

8. A man with male pattern baldness ain’t the Blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg ’cause you were skiing is not the Blues. Breaking your leg ’cause a alligator be chomping on it is.

9. You can’t have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.

10. Good places for the Blues:
a. highway,
b. jailhouse,
c. empty bed,
d. bottom of a whiskey glass.

11. Bad places for the Blues:
a. Nordstrom’s,
b. gallery openings,
c. Ivy League institutions,
d. golf courses.

12. No one will believe it’s the Blues if you wear a suit, less you happen to be an old person, and you slept in it.

13. Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if:
a. you’re older than dirt,
b. you’re blind,
c. you shot a man in Memphis,
d. you can’t be satisfied.

No, if:
a. you have all your teeth,
b. you were once blind but now can see,
c. the man in Memphis lived,
d. you have a 401 K or trust fund.

14. Blues is not a matter of color. It’s a matter of bad luck. Tiger Woods cannot sing the Blues. Sonny Liston could have. Ugly white people also got a leg up on the Blues.

15. If you ask for water and your darlin’ gives you gasoline, it’s the Blues. Other acceptable Blues beverages are:
a. cheap wine,
b. whiskey or bourbon,
c. muddy water,
d. black coffee.

The following are NOT Blues beverages:
a. Perrier,
b. Chardonnay,
c. Snapple,
d. Slim Fast.

16. If death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it’s a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So are the electric chair, substance abuse, and dying lonely on a broken-down cot.

You can’t have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or while getting liposuction.

17. Some Blues names for women:
a. Sadie,
b. Big Mama,
c. Bessie,
d. Jennie.

18. Some Blues names for men:
a. Joe,
b. Willie,
c. Little Willie,
d. Big Willie.

19. Persons with names like Michelle, Amber, Jennifer, Debbie, and Heather can’t sing the Blues no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

20. Blues Name Starter Kit:
a. name of physical infirmity (Blind, Cripple, Lame, etc.),
b. first name (see above) plus name of fruit (Lemon, Lime, Peach, etc.),
c. last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.).
For example: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Pegleg Lime Johnson, or Cripple Peach Fillmore, etc.

21. I don’t care how tragic your life is; if you own a computer, you cannot sing the blues, period. Sorry.

I know why Freddie is smiling. Look what he's playing.

This photo was posted on the LPF and shows the difference between a real vintage 335 and the modern "reissue". Note the ears and the position of the f-holes and stoptail. There are some pretty big variations among vintage but not quite this big.

There is a bit of a debate raging on one of the many guitar forums. OK, it’s the Les Paul Forum and the issue is the Gibson Historic ES-335 59 and 63 reissue guitars. I’ve stayed out of it  mostly because I don’t have strong feelings about whether a reissue is accurate or not. It would be nice if they got them to look right but I don’t buy them or play them so I don’t really have a dog in this fight. I’ve taken a few in trade and they are very nice guitars. They look OK, they just don’t (among other things) look like a vintage 335. I’m a vintage guy and there is so much more to vintage than looks. But someone pointed out a little bit of Gibson PR that I found appalling. Gibson says, and I quote, “This limited production model from Gibson Custom captures this desirable classic in greater detail than any “reissue”-style guitar previously produced. It is truly an instrument born in the image of its inspiration.”  Or this, from the Guitar Center site: “Perfect to the last detail, this world-class semi-hollowbody is indistinguishable in every way from the 335s that rolled off the line in ’59. It’s even made on the exact same forms used then”.  The latter quote is an out and out lie. So, let me get this straight-Gibson says this is the best they or anyone else can do, right? I know of at least 2 luthiers out there who have gotten closer than Gibson has. As far as the Guitar Center quote goes, consider the source. Feel free to hand me a real ’63 and a ’63 reissue and I’ll tell one from the other with my eyes closed and never playing a note. Same goes for the 59. These reissues can sound very, very good-good but not the same as vintage. But they don’t feel the same-even the lacquer feels different. Perhaps age is a big factor in that. The shape of the ears is, of course,  wrong.  That makes it a reissue, I guess, and not a replica. It is Gibson’s cost effective (I’m sure) imitation of a Mickey Mouse ear body. Somehow, they got the non MM ears right on the Clapton reissue. Perhaps a sticker price of $12,000 compels the bean counters to allow the product be somewhat accurate and to perhaps use the computer technology that comes with the modern era. With CNC technology, it seems there would be no excuse for things being shaped wrong. I’ve never worked in a guitar factory, so I’m shooting from the hip here a bit but it seems that getting the shape to be the same as it was in the days of non computer aided design would be pretty simple. I believe that Gibson is making some really excellent guitars, especially the Historics but they are new guitars. The feel new, they smell new and the play new. One more time, with feeling–vintage isn’t so much about looks and wear but about the effects the actual passage of time and actual playing has on a guitar. You can make a relic look vintage all right but it won’t be the same in so many ways. I just sold a mint 60 ES-345 that couldn’t have had 100 hours of play on it. It was an absolutely stunning guitar and a wonderful player. Even with only minimal play in the past 50 years, it only looked new. It didn’t feel new or sound new. I don’t know what exact effect the passage of time has on the pickups and the wood but it makes a difference. I daresay these Historics will be wonderful vintage pieces in 30 years or so. Time won’t change the shape of the ears or the configuration of the components but really, is anyone going to care that much in 30 years? Here’s a good example–the 68 Les Paul goldtop is a pretty special guitar and its different in a hundred ways from a real 50’s goldtop. Nobody cares that much because, on its own, its a great guitar. They may have cared a lot more in 1968, however. There is no real equivalent in 335s.  Clearly, if you want to get close to a “Golden Era” 335 for a more reasonable price, there are options that aren’t new. The 335s from 66-early 69 can be quite wonderful if you can handle the small necks. These can be had for less than the sticker price of a Historic. The 81-85 “reissue” is even less accurate than the Historic in terms of shape but they usually play great, feel great and, yes, a 30 year old guitar counts as vintage. I’ve seen these for less than $2000. I’d take almost any 81-85 over a Memphis 335 and probably over a Historic as well. But then, I’m a vintage guy. Thanks to “Vintage 58” (Chris) on the LPF for kicking this off. I love a good pissing match and I love the fact that people actually care that much about the accuracy of a “reissue”. And another thing…why does the 63 have an amber switchtip? That seems like a pretty easy detail to fix.

Long, long, short. All wide bevel. Yes, the one on the right has a partial refinish.

Funny, I thought I had covered this but a reader says no. And I think he’s right-I did a kind of general “plastics” post but never really got down to the nitty and the gritty (If you’ve spent any time under a vintage pickguard, you are well aware of the gritty part).  You wouldn’t think it would be that big a deal but pickguards are another good example of just how nutty collectors are. I can go out and buy an original 68 guard for $75. But a 66 (which is the same as a 61) will cost me more like $450. And if that isn’t nutty enough, a 58-60 will cost me in excess of a grand. Want a long guard for a 355? Good luck. Every time Gibson changed a part, it seems the motivation was economics. From 58-60 the pickguard on all 335s, 345s and 355s extended below the bridge-hence the term “long guard”. I think they look great and they have always been my preference for no other reason than appearance. Gibson, with the idea of using less plastic and thus saving a few pennies per instrument, shortened the guard in late 60 so that it extended only to the bottom of the bridge pickup ring. The transition extended into 1961 and 61 long guards are not common but they aren’t rare either. It seems to me (from observation) that the 345s got the short guard first and then the 335s. The 355s follow their own schedule because the guard is totally different. It is tortoise shell instead of black and has a separate binding rather than a bevel edge. They also tend to disintegrate over time, often due to “gassing off”. Google it-it’s science (and science is fun and good for your head). The 355s followed approximately the same schedule. I’ve seen a few short guard 60’s but I don’t recall seeing any long guard 61’s. All the 3×5 guards were held to the guitar the same way-a small screw up by the neck pickup and a bracket that inserted into a plastic block glued to the back of the guard. The bracket is a four part thing consisting of a threaded rod, an open nut, a closed nut and the bracket that screws into the binding at the waist. If you aren’t sure if your guitar was an original long guard or short guard, the position of the bracket will give it away. It’ll be lower on a long guard. Look to see if there’s more than one screw hole in the binding. Look to see if the plastic block on the underside was moved, look to see if the threaded rod has been bent. Any of those things will reveal that a short guard was substituted for a long one or (less likely) vice versa). The ES-335/345 guard is five ply b-w-b-w-b. The bevel is wide and the bottom white layer is wider than the top white layer. By late 66/early 67, the guard changed again. the shape is more or less the same but the bevel is much narrower. Probably another money saving change-it probably was cheaper to source the guard with the narrow bevel or it took less time to make them. You have to look closely because it can be very hard to tell a wide bevel from a narrow bevel in a photo. The angle is critical. The wide bevel is really wide. One other thing to look at-Look at the space between the top of the guard and the cutaway. It’s totally inconsistent. I had a 345 that extended a good 1/4″ past the cutaway. I’ve had others that end at least a 1/4″ below it. That’s what handmade means.

Narrow bevel guard on a 68. Also, look at how much daylight there is above the guard compared to the 66 345 below it

Wide bevel on a rare Mickey Mouse ear 66. Look at how far into the cutaway the guard extends.

I found this 335 birthday cake on the internet. Feel free to send me one if you have the baking chops. I thought it was pretty cool being it was a stoptail dot neck and all. I wonder if the PAF stickers are under there?

Before you go all nuts, there are no vintage 52 ES-335s. Most of you know they were first marketed in 1958. The vintage 52 item is me. I don’t do a lot of personal posts because this is a blog about the guitars and not, generally, about me. But today, just this once, I’m going to take a moment to reflect on turning 60 an event which occurred this morning at 2 AM. My Mom never let me forget that I ruined a perfectly good night’s sleep. What shocks and amazes me is how fast time has started going. It seem like yesterday I was 30. The first 30 years took forever but the second thirty flashed by in little more than a heartbeat. I hope the next thirty have the decency to slow down a little. My Dad lived to be 95 and he didn’t get a lick of exercise after the age of 50. My Mom would have lived forever (or at least to 100) had she had not been a crime victim in 2009. Her siblings are into their 90’s now. So, I have a shot at another 30 years. Thirty more years to try to become a better guitar player. Thirty more years to be a good father to my grown son. Thirty more years to be a good husband to my first and only wife. Thirty years to find all the great 335s, 345s and 355s that are lurking under beds and in basements. I still run 10 or 15 miles a week depending on the weather (and my joints) and I still try to play guitar for at least 5 hours a week. Those two activities are what keep me young(ish). Perhaps if I still had my hair I could pull off looking younger but bald gray guys tend to look old even if  still wearing pants with a 32 waist (OK, sometimes 33). Tom Petty once said (in a lyric, of course) “you never slow down, you never grow old.” I kind of think that’s true. If I’m going to die, I’d rather do it while I’m out running (which is likely) or while I’m playing guitar. But people keep telling me 60 isn’t old any more. The problem is that everyone who is telling me that is over 60. Also, consider this…I get plenty of guitars that are in excess of 50 years old. Some are mint, some are beat to hell-looking like they’ve endured thousands of hours of use and abuse. There are a hundred “in betweens” as well. The point here is that how old the thing is has almost nothing to do with how well it works. And, while guitars don’t have a lifespan in the sense we do, they don’t last forever. The idea, I think, is to be as functional as possible for as long  as possible. So, damn the arthritis, I feel a song coming on (which I’ll play as soon as I get back from my run).

This is a very flamey 83. But it looks funny. This is the "stubby" version that I really think is ugly. They seem to be most common in 83 and 84 and mostly on designated "Custom Shop" versions. Most 81-85s have very accurate looking bodies. Look for those.

What’s good and cheap these days for a 335? You can find them for under $2000 pretty routinely but a lot of them will be from the Norlin Era (beer, cement) and that can be hit and miss. When the suits took over Gibson, building quality guitars was no longer job one. Or job two. making more guitars for less money was job one and cutting corners was job two. Job three might have been convincing people that Gibson still made quality instruments. History has spoken to that. Most of you who read me regularly know that I don’t like ES-335s that were built between 1969 and 1981. There are good ones from the era but it’s a crapshoot at best. My rule when it comes to 70’s guitars is this: If you can’t play it first or there isn’t a liberal return policy, don’t buy it. Many ES models from the 70s suffer from poor builds, cut corners, heavy woods and poor fit and finish. Despite all that, there are still some good ones out there. There are a number of models unique to the era that don’t get a lot of press and I’ve written about many of them-the ES-347, the ES-325, 320, 340, Artist, Pro and ES-369. There are good ones and there are bad ones (and there are really, really awful ones). Like I said, play before you buy. That brings me back, again, to the bright spot among the Norlin guitars. Good and cheap (and vintage). It’s hard to believe that the ES-335 dot reissue came out 31 years ago. 1981 seems like a few years ago to me. Think about this. Had you bought a 59 dot neck in 1990, it would have been the same age as a first year ES-335 dot reissue. I’m not saying that the 81 is going to rival the venerable 59 in another 20 years but considering they run about one tenth the price of a 59 (and less than a Historic), they really are a pretty good deal. The other thing about the last of the Norlin 335’s is that they aren’t all created equal. The first year dot neck reissue has one unique characteristic-it uses a Schaller bridge which looks kind of clunky but is a pretty good bridge with a lot of mass and good tone and sustain. Late 81’s and all subsequent dot reissues made during the Norlin Era (until 1986) have the Nashville bridge-also a perfectly good bridge but, again, a bit clunky looking if you’re used to seeing an ABR-1. All of the 81-85s have Shaw PAFs (except for a few that came with EMGs). These are very good sounding pickups with a real vintage vibe. The guitars also came with 300K pots which have what most feel is a detrimental effect on tone. I’m not sure why but I’ve changed out the harness on more than a few 81-85 335s and heard a marked difference. The guitar brightens up considerably. The neck tenon is smaller than it was during the “Golden Era” but the guitars have no problems with stability. Necks can  be three piece or one piece. Again, no problems with stability from either. I’ve been told the tops on some of these are birch-not maple. These two woods can be really hard to tell apart but birch is not usually figured and a lot of mid 80’s 335s are heavily flamed. So, if any of them are birch, they would be the plain ones. Plywood is not a tone wood, so I don’t think the makeup of the plywood is much of an issue.  Lastly, there were two distinct body shapes. One is very close to the original dot neck and the other isn’t. The one that isn’t is a narrower through the waist and has stubby little horns. Ugly, ugly iteration. Avoid it if you care (they play fine). The other last thing is that if you want to get one cheap and, by cheap, I mean under $2K, look for a red one or a sunburst. The blondes (and first years) command a premium and usually cost around $3000-$4000.  I think the 80’s sunburst is pretty awful looking but that’s just a matter of taste. The red is much more of a Ferrari red which can look pretty good. There are also black ones  (nice!) and a special edition pearlescent white one (really ugly, if you ask me).  I see sunbursts and reds routinely for $1600-$1900. Really good 335. Cheap.

1981 (first year) ES-335 dot reissue. Note the oddball bridge. It's big and heavy but it works pretty well. Gone by 82.

Can't see the difference in body shape? How about now? The one on the right is an 85 with a few mods-an ABR-1 and a big guard.

Andreja Marovic of Belgrade, Serbia. Goodbye, friend.

I’ve been writing this blog for 2 years now and I have nearly 50,000 unique readers in more than 140 countries. Many have emailed, a few have Skyped and through our shared passion for old Gibsons, many have become friends. Only in the age of the internet could I have friends in so many places. It has been an immense pleasure to get to know so many of you. And most of you say nice things about me and the blog which is very gratifying. I had 2 readers in a far off place that I never would have associated with a love of American vintage guitars. Serbia… Serbia! It wasn’t even a separate country until the breakup of Yugoslavia. I’ll bet 98% of high school graduates couldn’t find it on a map or tell you the capital city. But my friend, Andreja, lived right there in Belgrade (the capital) and was a constant reader who became a good friend. I never erase my emails, so I thought I would see how many I have from Andreja. I count over 100. Subjects like

look amazing mix of features…64 335 input- output jack + cans…is this a correct case? who is the manufacturer???…did u buy this one?

Andreja was an aficionado. He owned a beautiful 64 335 and quite a lot of other guitars. He was an enthusiast’s enthusiast. Andreja made me a better blogger by asking questions that sometimes didn’t even occur to me. I met him “in person” through Skype not long ago and we spent an hour or so talking about the great guitars we had, or we missed or we sold. I kept going upstairs and bringing guitars down to the computer so he could see them. And, in this way, he invited me into his home and I invited him into mine.  It’s all very 21st century and it’s all good. When my interest in vintage guitars began, the only way to connect with like minded folks was to go to a guitar show. Now, there are dozens, if not hundreds of guitar related communities all over the internet. This is as close to World Peace as we get, I think. When folks of very different cultures share a common passion, the result is, usually, respect and friendship.  My friend and guitar buddy Andreja Marovic of Belgrade died suddenly on Saturday April 14th. I don’t know the details of his death but I know that he never mentioned any health problems and he was always upbeat and energetic. We’d go 10 or 15 emails into a subject in the course of 20 minutes. My sincere condolences go halfway around the world to his wife and daughter . I sent them an email but I don’t know if they got it since the only email I have was Andreja’s. There are pages of wonderful tributes on the Les Paul Forum for Andreja. He was a regular contributor and was a friend to many there.  I will miss him as will the rest of the vintage guitar community.  His great passion and enthusiasm touched so many of us and he will not be forgotten.  Збогом, мој добар пријатељ. zbogom moj dobar prijatelj. Goodbye my good friend.

One of Andreja's favorites: His 64 ES-335.

Who doesn't love a red 335/345/355? I would have kept all of them if I could have. Left to right: '60, 64, 63, 60.

The guitar closet at my house. This is pretty much the whole collection. You can see a few 335s and 345s in their cases (black and brown), the Taylor 12 string, Robin Ranger in the square case and my tweed Tremolux (with a custom 2-10" baffle)and "El Grande"-a 54 Supro Spectator and a BF Fender reverb unit underneath everything else. The modern case in the back corner is what I use as a shipper if a guitar needs work..

You might figure that since I buy up most of the good (and well priced) 58-64 ES-335s, 345s and 355s out there, that I’ve played them all and my collection is complete and I’m happy to let all these wonderful guitars slip though my hands. Au contraire. That’s French for nope. If I kept every guitar I fell in love with, I’d probably have 20 or 25 guitars. I have only 5 “keepers”. I have a 64 ES-335 in red. I have a 53 J200. I have a 2003 Taylor 655 12 string. I have a 1998 Robin Ranger that was my son’s first decent electric and I have a rotating stock of ES-345s.  More about that later. But, like most players, I have a wish list. Really. You would think I would have found everything I want by now but I haven’t-or I have and I, stupidly, sold it. I’ve been searching for the most elusive one- a red 59 dot neck- for years and I’ve found a couple but they keep slipping through my fingers. There was one in Nashville not too long ago that was at Joe Glaser’s shop and my Nashville bud Kent tipped me off to it. By the time I got to it, it had (apparently) gone to Vince Gill. There was another in California that another guitar buddy had heard about and I missed that one too. I’ve also been looking for a blonde dot neck and they keep eluding me as well. I’m not about to spend $50K plus on a 335, so the likelihood of finding one I like is slim. I think the “blonde premium” is far too much (that goes for guitars and women) so until I find one (the guitar, not the woman-I’ve already got a blonde one) for $30K or less, I’m going to do without. The 345s, however, are another thing altogether. I’ve owned more 59-60 345s than any other model and year. I just love these guitars-especially the late 59 early 60’s with their very 64 like neck profile. What’s so interesting is that they are all different. There must be 4 or 5 neck sizes and at least 3 different body depths during this period. The reason I haven’t found a keeper is that I keep finding better and better examples. I almost always have one in stock but sometimes a customer asks me to find one and the only one I can find is the one in my closet. This happened recently with an absolutely wonderful sounding 59 sunburst. There’s a mint 60 living in the closet now that I’m quite taken with. Now, I’m partial to the earlier red ones but they don’t come up that often. The red 59 I had with a pair of zebra PAFs had the misfortune of showing up early in my adventure as a dealer. If I got that one today, I never would have sold it. While I appreciated how rare it was, I didn’t appreciate how great it was. It was also the earliest red 345 that has surfaced. It had that perfect fade that the early ones get. I called it “The Watermelon”. The photo will tell you why. So, I’d like to find another one of those. The next thing I want is a stoptail mono 355. These are pretty rare too but I’m going to see one this week in New Jersey. There’s another in Nashville that I know of. I’d really like to find a black mono stoptail 355 but I’m not sure it exists. Gil Southworth will probably write me to tell me he has one (he had the blonde 355SV stoptail in the book “Gibson Electrics: The Classic Years” by A.R. Duchossoir). So, if you’re out there and you enjoy reading my stuff and you have one of these guitars on my wish list, just pack it up and send it to me. I’ll send you a whole pile of money and a hand written thank you note.

The elusive red 59 dot. This one comes from Tom Hollyers wonderful site at www.es-335.net and I think I know who owns it. Maybe if I win the lottery, I'll make him an offer he can't refuse. I know of two others but they are both Bigsbys.

"The Watermelon" The best 345 I've ever owned and, like a dope, I sold it. It is the earliest known red 345.

Check out the gold Varitone knob. It's factory and pretty unusual. This is a very late 60 ES-345

I love  the really little stuff. The details that other 335 aficionados either ignore or don’t know about. Over the past few years, I’ve seen a couple of ES-345s that had an unusual Varitone switch. The chickenhead knob, which is usually black, is painted gold. When I saw the first one, I figured it wasn’t factory-it was just someones aesthetic choice. Then I saw two or three  more and realized that this is, in fact, a factory feature.

When's the last time you saw the pull ribbon on the case pocket of a 52 year old guitar look like this?

The guitar in the photo is one of the last 345s to leave the factory in 1960. It’s only about 100 numbers from the end of the year, so I figure its from the last week or second to last week in December. It has a number of features that are more common in 61-most notably the sideways trem which really only shows up on 345s for 2 years-61 and 62. It also has a white switch tip which is more commonly associated with 61. The long guard says 60 though, loud and clear.  But what about the gold chicken head? Gibson was always trying to eliminate steps in the manufacturing process. The thinking was, fewer steps means less production time which means lower costs and higher profits. There were dozens of cost cutting measures put into effect during the era, not all to the good of the instrument. That’s another post. But why add the step of spray painting the knob? Seems kind of dumb, doesn’t it? Granted, it was probably less than an hours work to do a years worth of them but still, the corporate culture was dictating otherwise. One other thing to note. You can see in the photo that the trem arm is in the way of the Varitone switch. Bad design? Well, partially. The ES-355’s that got the sideways often got a round knob rather than the chickenhead but there’s more to it than that. Back in 1960, nobody even made the ultralight gauge strings we’re all used to today. The average set of strings were .12’s and were probably flats. That causes a lot more tension on the trem and would cause the arm to sit closer to the housing, perhaps making enough room for the chicken head to actually turn. Or not. There isn’t much more to say about the switch but there’s plenty to say about the guitar. I’m pretty careful with my guitars but, even so, I still manage to whack the closet door with the guitar every now and then if I leave it open. Or, I smack the headstock into the wall in the laundry room where I do my repairs and setups. It just happens a couple of times a year. So how in the world does a guitar exist for 52 years and stay mint. It boggles my mind. This particular 60 defies logic, it’s so clean. It has one ding on the entire guitar at the very top of the headstock. That’s all. No wear, no checking. A little pitting on the gold on the trem and the shrunken tuner buttons are the only things that tell you this isn’t a reissue. I got it from the second owner who never played it (drummers, go figure). The original owner had it for more than 40 years, so I assume he played it once in a while. The thing that just blows me away is thecondition of the inside of the case. The ribbon on the case pocket always gets trashed first. This one looks brand new-like no one ever opened the pocket. There’s a reason these time capsule examples command a premium. How many are you going to come across? In the past two years since I’ve gotten serious about the vintage thing, I’ve seen 2. Both, coincidentally, red 60 ES-345s. Maybe they’re just too pretty to play or else it has something to do with the gold chicken head.

Here it is on my repair guy's bench. What's wrong with this picture? What's wrong is the guitar needs nothing, so why is it even on the bench?

A 68 is a relatively good value and what I consider to be the last of the great 335s. It still has the one piece neck and long tenon (gone by mid 69) and some even have pre T-tops-more than you would think. Big f-holes tell you its a 68 and not a 67. Knobs have been changed to the older type. Witch hats belong on an amp.

A while back, I wrote about the erroneous common belief that Gibson returned to the wide nut in 1968. They didn’t but the neck got a good bit larger everywhere else-at least when you compare it to mid 65 through 67. I’m currently in possession of a somewhat compromised 68 but, now that I’ve spent a little time with it, it has some surprising good points. 68 is a tricky year because there were a number of changes that are confusing. You start seeing a pantograph type logo but you also still see the conventional logo and you even begin to lose the dot on the “i” in the conventional logo. Gibson also enlarged the  f-holes If you’re trying to identify your guitar and the serial number is ambiguous (used up to 4 times), then the f-holes are your best guide. As far as aI can tell. the larger f-holes started showing up almost from the start in 68. The changes of 67 are all still evident-narrow bevel guard, witch hat knobs, lower flowerpot inlay on the headstock but the big f-holes will give away a 68 every time. It’s not so easy to tell if you only have a 68 in front of you but if you have anything earlier to compare it to, it’s pretty obvious. I’m not sure why the made this particular change since they stopped stuffing the harness in through the f-holes in the early 60’s when they cut a chunk out of the center block to make harness installation easier and faster. 1968 is also the year Gibson had the bright idea to offer a Gretsch Country Gent-like walnut finish. Gretsch was selling a lot of them thanks to George and Gibson, I guess, thought they could grab a share of the market by making a 335 in the same color. Although the shipping charts show the walnut starting in ’70, they really started in 68. Of course, Brazilian rosewood had disappeared during the mid 60’s as well and while you might find it on a 66, you aren’t likely to find it any later. My 68 has Indian. My 68 also appears to have pre T-tops. They have the Philips screws on the back which isn’t conclusive, but since the pickups are still sealed, I have no plans to open them up. I haven’t owned very many 68’s-this is only my third-but the other two had pre T-tops even though they are not as common as T-tops by this time. The guitar is nicely constructed and finished well even though Gibson had been struggling to keep up with demand and was just catching its breath by the time the market started its decline after peaking in 67. ES-335/345/355 production dropped from over 7250 in 67 to around 5000 in 68. That’s a 30% drop which is huge. Remember that’s the era that almost saw Fender discontinue the Stratocaster because sales dropped so precipitously from 66-68. Still 5000 ES 335/345/355’s is a  lot of guitars especially when compared to as recently as 64 when they only made about 2000. Quality had suffered a bit due to the boom but not that much-certainly not compared to what would happen the following year when they sold the company to Norlin. I consider the 68’s to be the last of the really good 335s, although it slopped over into early 69. The end of the long neck tenon, the three piece neck and the volute all made 69 a less than “golden” year. But 68 is still pretty darn good if you can handle the narrow nut-which, to be sure, is made more palatable by the bigger neck profile. Now, the one I just got has a headstock crack, so it falls outside of the price range of most 68s but you can figure that $4000-$5000 for a 335 and maybe $500-$1000 less for a 345 or 355.

1968 is also the year the less than desirable walnut version showed up. I am not a big fan of these.