Gibson ES-339 Semi-Hollow Guitar

[Bubbalou]

Originally Posted by Jon Chappell

Gibson ES-339 Semi-Hollowbody Guitar ($1,799 street)

Gibson has been making headlines recently through two high-tech innovations—the slick-looking, self-tuning Robot Guitar and the technically deep (if gawkily named) HD.6X-Pro Guitar System. But the Custom Shop division of Gibson recently introduced another guitar that showed innovation from within the low-tech arena. They revisited the ES-335 semi-hollowbody by addressing its most-questioned design choices: the large size and top-mounted output jack.

The result is the ES-339, which is something like an ES-335—but with a smaller body and a side-mounted jack—yet altogether a different guitar and a unique instrument in its own right. I’ve had two review models in my possession for some time now, an Antique Red with a ’59 neck and a Light Caramel Burst with the 30/60 neck. I can say that these guitars have really grown on me—meaning in appeal; fortunately, their size has remained the same. That leads to my most important (and perhaps controversial) point: They are much more in scale to my way of thinking of “guitars” than the 335. More on that below.



This is the Antique Red finish. It has a vintage look and a translucent finish that allows the maple top to show through. The top is a nice piece of wood, too, that the photo doesn't do complete justice to here. It's not the highly figured stuff you'd see on a $6k guitar, but the grain is interesting and attractive.

Gordeous Guiter in that darker red color and I especially love the tone of the 57's

Here it is played clean on You Tube

Or some BB King Style Blues

[blimpo]

Sorry, but for $1800 "laminated" anything is too expensive.

[search now]

I bought an ES-339 . I like it but have some issues with it. I think the frets werent leveled as good as they could have been. There is fret noise. Its not neck relief and Ive taken it to a luthier . He said the radius of the bridge did not match the neck and he was not favorably impressed with the fret leveling.He fixed that and it did feel a little better but still the fret noise. From the 10th to 13th fret its a little on the dead side.

I do not want to have the frets filed because they are already too small for me. I am very seriously considering having new frets put in it.

you can hear it here on the songs "Chickin Pickin on ES-339" ( a little fret noise doent matter with that) and "Jam for OJ on ES 339"

http://www.soundclick.com/artist/5/d...lman_music.htm

Its also on the 2nd part of the song (after the quiet interlude part) "ZZ MUSSELMAN" the 1st part of that song is played with a 272 dollar carlo robellie guitar ,see if you can hear the difference between a 272 dollar and a 1800 dollar guitar

thank you for your intrest and patience

[spoonie g]

 

Originally Posted by blimpo

Sorry, but for $1800 "laminated" anything is too expensive.

 

arent the 335's laminated too?

[Joe Vocht]

Not only are the 335's laminated too, but most great guitars nowadays are!! And this leads me to answer 'search now'...I have 17 guitars, been playing over 55 years, and have been experimenting all those years with various combinations...My guitars range from a 129.00 sx to a 3,000.00 ES175...when I play the same tune with them all I allways seem to sound like 'me' because I go out of my way to adjust my pups and various amps for the sound I like...now its true that various pups will elicit certain sounds e.g. strat bridge vs 175 neck etc...but the nuances are slight. I also have the ES339 and feel, for the money, Gibson has introduced a long awaited lighter version of the 335...the sound diferential is slight and, lets face it, in a band situation no one will ascertain those differences!

[andrew_face]

i want one
at that price it is a possibility too!

[DaBender]

It would be interesting to see a side-by-side picture with a Hamer Newport Pro.

[Hoddy]

Originally Posted by kkyle

I have a 66 as well, when compared to today's 335s I'm always disappointed. "Orange peel, file marks, bad cut nuts...those things don't change the fact the Gibson's still sound good. Before this thread goes south, I'd like to state I bought a new LP Standard a while back and other than a some "orange peel" finish flaws, it's perfect (I love the chambered body ).
BTW- My 66 with Bisby weights 8.4 lbs.

The last three Gibsons I have bought have been horrible...being a lefty I buy alot of stuff online since there's virtually no decent selection of lefty guitars in my local neighborhood...on Les Paul was just dead...no character or decent tone to be had in it...another Les Paul the bridge was so far off center that the strings sat right on the edge of the saddle...how that ever left their shop I don't know..and then a 335 that had serious intonation issues, plus it was dead and lifeless as well...I owned dozens of Gibsons back in the 60s and 70s that were great guitars...but with the last three newer ones I've bought I've lost all faith in that company. I bought a MIJ Tokai ES 120 (335 clone) and it surpasses the 1997 Gibby 335 I had in every department...it's on par with the 60s 335 12 string I once owned...it's everything a 335 should be...resonates great unplugged and that transfers well through an amp...the nitro finish is flawless not a sign of orange peel anywhere...the guitar came setup perfectly right out of the box...intonation is incredible all the way up the neck and the Tokai hardware and pups are second to none.

[animal69]

 

Originally Posted by NASCARL

The last three Gibsons I have bought have been horrible...being a lefty I buy alot of stuff online since there's virtually no decent selection of lefty guitars in my local neighborhood...on Les Paul was just dead...no character or decent tone to be had in it...another Les Paul the bridge was so far off center that the strings sat right on the edge of the saddle...how that ever left their shop I don't know..and then a 335 that had serious intonation issues, plus it was dead and lifeless as well...I owned dozens of Gibsons back in the 60s and 70s that were great guitars...but with the last three newer ones I've bought I've lost all faith in that company. I bought a MIJ Tokai ES 120 (335 clone) and it surpasses the 1997 Gibby 335 I had in every department...it's on par with the 60s 335 12 string I once owned...it's everything a 335 should be...resonates great unplugged and that transfers well through an amp...the nitro finish is flawless not a sign of orange peel anywhere...the guitar came setup perfectly right out of the box...intonation is incredible all the way up the neck and the Tokai hardware and pups are second to none.

 

I got me an ESP Edwards equivalent slightly used for $800 and I think it blows away the $3500 Gibson ES335's I've tried in shops.

[Hoddy]

 

Originally Posted by animal69

I got me an ESP Edwards equivalent slightly used for $800 and I think it blows away the $3500 Gibson ES335's I've tried in shops.

 

I have an Edwards Les Paul...it's a great guitar...as good or better than any of the half dozen Gibson LPs I've owned over the years....like I said...I don't see me every buying a Gibson again...and this is coming from a guy who's been playing for 40 years...most of those professionally doing all original music, I've worked with the likes of Brendan O'brien and Peter Stroud (who was co-guitarist in a band with me for several years).

[blimpo]

Originally Posted by spoonie g

arent the 335's laminated too?

Yeah, and I suppose it doesn't matter as much as it would on an acoustic, but for any kind of hollow or semi-hollow I'd prefer solid tops.

I have a Reverend Club King (semi-hollow) with a solid spruce top and mahogany body. It wasn't near $1800 so it can be done.

[spoonie g]

Originally Posted by blimpo

Yeah, and I suppose it doesn't matter as much as it would on an acoustic, but for any kind of hollow or semi-hollow I'd prefer solid tops.

I have a Reverend Club King (semi-hollow) with a solid spruce top and mahogany body. It wasn't near $1800 so it can be done.

yeah my 336 is all one piece of wood, but that thing is mondo $$$.

[showmethemoney]

I love Gibson guitars and I know many local musicians who own Gibson guitars.. They are expansive but they worth the money!

[ATXbonehead]

I just picked up a Custom Shop ES-359 which is based on the 339. I was totally caught off guard by this guitar. This is an incredible playing guitar.

I am very pleased with the 30/60 neck on the 359. I have big hands and love a neck I can swim around in. And generally cannot play a 60's neck. But I can with this one pretty easily. I have always been a fan of the 57 pu's and on this guitar they work well and do not create a dark or muffled tone. The Memphis Tone Circuitry really does work. This is no BS. When you turn the volume down on this guitar the tone does not die it stays the same just lower. I find it very easy to get an array of tones from searing crunch to a sweet mellow jazz tone.The body/neck balance is a bit off. The neck is a bit heavy and acts like the Firebird when you let go of it, the headstock heads down towards the floor. I let one of my country chicken pick'n friends use the guitar last night and I could not believe what he was making the guitar do. This guitar can do some mean spanking when need be.

Just my 2 cents but their ya go.

[songsforbears]

Fantastic guitar. Mine is Antique Red, although I owned a Vintage Sunburst one with some pretty crappy QC issues for awhile. On Musician's Friend's courtesy after a really long ordeal with a blem VS one, I got the brand new AR one for the blem price of $1,367.

[andrew_face]

sexy

[otaypanky]

Maybe it's just me, maybe it's my obsessive compulsive nature and attention to detail ---- but when I see close up photos like that of a 'Custom Shop' guitar, or any guitar that sells for thousands of $$$, I would expect to see finished edges in the 'F' holes, careful workmanship when finishing the neck binding, etc. That's just a sad visual commentary of Gibson.

[daggles]

playing through a live amp, how does feedback compare with the larger body 335 or even casino/dot's? oh and hello forum

[Stratosteam]

Haven't had a chance to try the 339, but a few years back, I had G.A.S. for a 335 type guitar. I tried a dozen used from the 60's and 70's and one brand new dot re-issue, but was disappointed in either the condition of the used ones, dinged necks, checked finishes, broken headstocks, and the poor fit and finish of the new ones. My local guitar tech, turned me on to a brand new (at the time) Guild Starfire IV from the Westerly, RI plant. The neck, the sound, everything was head and shoulders above the Gibsons, and for less money! I still have the Guild, and it still looks and plays like a dream nearly 10 years later.

[Fusion1]

I remember someone posting a similar guitar as this 339 awhile ago on here or another forum. Similar smaller body and deeper cutaways. I asked what guitar it was an it was a Gibson from the 80's or 90's. I forget the model of it. Was there a 339 back then? What is the model I am talking about?

[DrG]

$1800 is a reasonable price as long as the fretwork is acurate. As long as the nut is cut right.As long as the saddles are cut properly.
But in my 25yrs as a luthier I have never seen one done right. Hopefully this guitar is plekked. It can cut the nut/saddles & dress the frets acurately. Throw in a Ebony fretboard & a lot of players will crawl out of the wood work for one.

[mrSatan2u]

i love this guitar. the 30/60 neck is very comfy. great tones all around. the smaller body is better for a fat man sitting down too. it's a good thing they done.

[scaryfried]

Thanks for the review - very nice looking guitar!

[kidgloves]

I'd certainly love to get my hands on this for an extended period of time, but I wonder if it can coax me away from picking up a similarly priced Heritage? That might be a bit of an unfair comparison to make these days, though.

[search now]

Originally Posted by DrG

$1800 is a reasonable price as long as the fretwork is acurate. As long as the nut is cut right.As long as the saddles are cut properly.
But in my 25yrs as a luthier I have never seen one done right. Hopefully this guitar is plekked. It can cut the nut/saddles & dress the frets acurately. Throw in a Ebony fretboard & a lot of players will crawl out of the wood work for one.

I own a 339 . I can answer one of your questions for sure.

No, the bridge saddles didnt match the neck radius. I had to have someone who knows what he is doing do it for me.

He said the fretwork was off and I think so. The neck has a slight dead spot from like fret 10 to 17 ,in between those frets some places sound good and some dont ,specially on the high E and B.

A clean note can be had with no fretnoise anywhere in this deadzone but you have to pick very soft,as soon as you hit it hard you hear the deadness.

I find myself purposely taking it easy where I know the dead spots are.

I know all this sounds bad but all thing considered it does sound really good.
I mean it IS perfect to fret 10 and just good to fair above that. The sound of the guitar is very fat and juicy and makes my mouth water. I mean I really cant believe how good it sounds sometimes.