Members Freeman Keller Posted October 2, 2016 Members Share Posted October 2, 2016 I've had two guitars in the shop for a while waiting for me to catch up on some other things. Finally got to them today. They are both 335 style guitars, one a true ES-335TD that the owner says is from the '60's (I don't understand Gibson's s/n system so I can't say) The other is a "Trini Lopez" sig model - 335 body but a weird almost Fender/Bigsby headstock. The 335 is almost spot on and in incredible condition - some very minor adjustments and a set of strings (but of course I need to play it tonight to make sure....) The Lopez does need some work - setup and bridge are a bit off but it also needs a fret job. Fortunately it doesn't have the nibs so that will be easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted October 3, 2016 Members Share Posted October 3, 2016 See children, when you are good, and work on a LOT of Epi's and Squiers, the guitar Gods smile on you, and let you play with these for a couple of days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted October 3, 2016 Members Share Posted October 3, 2016 now you can play an original and can compare them to the ones you built here is a recent article about dateing a gibson from reverb.com https://reverb.com/news/how-to-date-a-gibson-using-serial-numbers-fons-and-logos i just run through it, but i guess its the most complete compact info you can find. yes gibson has wholes in their dating scheme and some serials have been used more than one year e.g. my lp custom is either an 74 or 75, once i wrote gibson customer support an email, they were very nice and help full and said, its as it is a lp custom and it does not have the 20th anniversary 15fret inlay, its most likely a '75, cause all '74 lp custom are 20th anniversary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted October 3, 2016 Members Share Posted October 3, 2016 Nothing to say cause all I can do is . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted October 3, 2016 Members Share Posted October 3, 2016 You can run Gibson S/Ns through a web site http://www.guitardaterproject.org/gibson.aspx that may or may not be accurate. I believe the 335 with the coil switch was available mid 70s or early 80s. My '66 'pencil neck' ES-335TD has a stamped six digit s/n Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted October 5, 2016 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2016 You can run Gibson S/Ns through a web site http://www.guitardaterproject.org/gibson.aspx that may or may not be accurate. I believe the 335 with the coil switch was available mid 70s or early 80s. My '66 'pencil neck' ES-335TD has a stamped six digit s/n I'm kind of hesitant to download anything to my pc that I really don't need and I'm mostly just curious about the age. T_e_l_e's link seems to indicate that the 335TD might be a 1966 and the TL might be '69 (both are 6 digit s/n with no other letters, one is 430xxx, the other 841xxx). From an old invoice in the case it looks like the 335TD might have gotten a new bridge and pickups in 1999 - at that time they might have done the coil tap. Anyway, they are both in remarkable condition - the back has some wear but otherwise no relic'ing at all The case, on the other hand, has seen its share of action Owner hasn't picked them up yet - darn.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted October 5, 2016 Members Share Posted October 5, 2016 and how do they play compared to your built guitars? those two look really sweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted October 7, 2016 Author Members Share Posted October 7, 2016 and how do they play compared to your built guitars? those two look really sweet I haven't played the Lopez yet - it needs a setup but it need frets first and I haven't got the OK to do that yet. I have played the TD next to my latest one - frankly they are both far better guitars than I am player. The FK has a very slightly wider fretboard and the neck has slightly more of a D shape - my hands are sensitive to things like that but it doesn't change my playing (equally crappy). Jac now has heavier flat wounds on the FK - I really notice that - 12's just seem too heavy for an electric guitar (but just right for an acoustic). It also put a hair more relief into the neck (which I took out) and I may have to widen (but not deepen) the nut slots. I did lower the action a hair since I did the initial setup. The bridge pickups are close enough that I can't tell much difference - they are both PAF's and sound like PAF's. The neck, however, are different - the FK has the SD Benedetto pickups which I think are warmer sounding than the PAF in the TD (Jac says they are "lush"). I'm honestly pretty happy that my guitar stands up as well as it does to the old (and valuable) 335 - I guess I've got to say I'm proud of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted October 7, 2016 Members Share Posted October 7, 2016 and you should be proud, i really love your guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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