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I'm thinking of possibly substantial modifications/upgrades to my new Gibson ES 339. I like this guitar a lot, but I'm not impressed with the tuning stability and prefer the heavier frets on my Suhrs. So I guess I'm talking refret, improved nut, locking tuners and possibly Buzz Feiten or similar. Not sure if a new bridge is a good idea as well. It's a lot of work on a 1,500 guitar so I want to be sure it's done to a high standard by a very safe pair of hands. Jimmy Egypt in Glasgow would seem to fit the bill, but I'd be interested if anyone has other recommendations.

Thanks Triggs. I may well take you up on that. Need to get the electronics fixed which will depend on when I can find time to get down to Fife - hopefully very soon. There are a couple of websites discussing restoration of MM amp/cabs so that may help. This is not a "collector's" restoration or a restore to sell by the way. I've been playing bass but want to start playing guitar again and I want it fixed because it's hands-down the best sounding amp I've ever played through, and I've had any amount of vintage Marshalls, Fenders etc.

It would be if I was remotely handy in that way, but I'm totally useless at that kind of practical job. Easier and safer to pay someone competent to do it.

Thanks for this input guys. I've spoken to Dennis, he seems a very likeable and knowledgeable guy and he's quoted me a reasonable price to do the work. Just a case of getting the thing down to Fife and back. That takes care of the electronics side. I get the impression that he's not so keen on the cosmetic side of things. He thinks it would reduce the value of a desirable vintage amp. I see his point, but I think I'd prefer to do something about its tatty state as well, which would involve replacing metal corner brackets, repairing or replacing the tolex and replacing the grill cloth. Anyone know of someone who'd do that kind of work?

Thanks Alan that's useful information.

I have a very old Music Man hybrid valve/solid state combo (a 115 65). It's been sitting unused in an old cellar for many many years and cosmetically it's in a pretty sorry state. I've just plugged it in for the first time in (literally) decades and it's working although making some disturbing crackling noises. I'd like to get this completely overhauled if it can be done at a reasonable price. Anyone know of anyone locally who would do that kind of work?

Looking more and more like a long shot, but I'll give this a bump anyway.

Some more technical stuff (I'd forgotten some of this stuff and had to do a bit of research to remind myself). The cabs are 8 ohm. Running the two cabs in series reduces that to 4 ohms and the amp in bridged mono mode delivers up to 1600 watts per cab. So more than as much juice as you could possibly want. What I referred to above as as a "case" is maybe more accurately described as a rack. It's made by Gator.

Thinking again about the 70 that maybe seems high, just what I vaguely remember. Maybe it was less. Anyway I'm certainly not charging extra for the case, so it's a bit academic.

The preamp and power amp are in a frankly not brilliant case - it was slightly warped when I got it, but I couldn't be bothered sending it back (internet purchase, decent brand, think from memory it was about 70 quid). It does the job, gives you something to wheel the stuff around in and looks absolutely fine onstage. I'd throw it in free of charge if the purchaser wanted it.

Sorry guys haven't logged in for a few days so did not see these comments. I'm not going to be able to get pics on site for a couple of days but if you are seriously interested I can do that. Alternatively the rig is in central Aberdeen and is available to view by arrangement. Andy at Acme takes the view that anything more than 700 watts into the Low B is "wasted" (1). The 1602 will deliver over 1000 watts in bridged mono mode so it has plenty of oomph. I'm not very technical but I did a lot of research and checked a lot of folks' opinions before putting together this rig, and everything was purchased around the same time and chosen for compatibility. The power amp weighs 21 lbs. (1) see below: Acme Low B-2 - MusicPlayer Forums

OK now I look harder at that you may be right. I'm surprised because I paid a lot more (I tried these and a pair of SWR Goliath Juniors at the time, and once duty and VAT were taken into account the prices were virtually identical. Goliath Juniors are going for nearly 800 Euros each these days, if you can find one). I know Alex Claber (the original owner of the ones being sold there) would have got a lot more use out of his than I got out of mine - as I say, mine are all but unused. But I'm just trying to fix a fair/attractive price. I'll drop to 800 for a local sale.

I have a bass rig for sale. The specs are a bit unusual and I imagine I'm going to have to resort to Ebay, but it would be nice to sell locally if possible to avoid the hassle of packaging and shipping something this heavy/awkward. For that reason I'd be (within reason) willing to take a bit less than the probable Ebay value. Some background: around 5 years ago I completely upgraded my bass rig. Very shortly afterwards I had some problems with RSI and I haven't played a bass guitar since. I've recently started playing a bit again but I've decided I'm sticking to 6 strings (my original instrument) and I've no plans to start playing bass. The rig (the pre-amp excepted) is therefore around 5 years old but barely used. It's been gigged 4 times and used in rehearsals maybe another 10 times. Specs are: SWR Grand Prix Pre Amp. I bought this used on Ebay for around 300. It's the only part of the rig that wasn't bought new. QSC PLX 1602 power amp. 2 2 X 10" Acme Low B cabs. These are not available in the UK and were imported directly from the USA. I'm not going to do a hard sell on the quality of the kit - it's not a cheap set up and I figure anybody who's seriously interested will want to check out on-line reviews, bass mag reviews etc. If you do you'll find that this rig is a top quality professional rig. It's flexible (you can use just one cab for smaller gigs) and delivers lots of loud, clean bass. I've done a bit of research on current value and I'm being advised around 400 each for the cabs (you can check out my query on the Low Down Lowdown Bass Player forum - UK - price for Acme cabs - MusicPlayer Forums ) 275 for the power amp and 225 for the pre-amp, total 1300. I'd let the whole lot go to someone willing to come and pick up in Aberdeen for 1000.

Yes fingers crossed. I checked these out early in my search but must have come across some uncharacteristic negative feedback because I was put off. Last week I had a harder look and was impressed with what I found - some glowing reviews in the guitar mags, some terrific sounding clips on YouTube. It's plek'd (a big plus for me), light and looks terrific in the pics. Judging by ebay resale prices they hold their value fairly well and buying it new I have a guarantee and can return it on a no-quibble basis for the cost of the return courier. And for someone who's always played solid bodies it's less of jump than the 335. With the weather and post backlog I'll have a bit of a wait, but I'm optimistic I've done the right thing preferring this to a 335.

Just ordered one of these: Gibson ES339 30/60 Neck Antique Red Nickel Hardware | Andertons

Maybe a blessing in disguise that no-one replied to this with a 335 for sale. I think I've changed my mind and am going to order a new 339 instead.

Peter Cooks want 2.5K for the guitar. Not really qualified to judge whether that's a fair price but more than I want to pay.

I'm not an expert on the various different models/finishes, but I did know I wasn't (quite) comparing like with like comparing the satin and gloss finishes. I have some preferences regarding appearance, but other things, especially feel, are far more important. Most of the more popular finishes look ok to me - I wouldn't fancy one of the walnut ones for example, but generally different shades of red/blonde/natural and most sunbursts are fine. Block markers and binding would be nice, and I'd be willing to pay a bit more for that, but probably not enough more - the extra Gibson charges for some of the more deluxe finishes strike me as absurd. And there's always the thought that I'd probably feel more comfortable taking a 1,300 guitar to a gig than a 2,500 one. The blonde one at Peter Cook's is certainly a stunner but again I suspect they'll be looking for a big premium for what they obviously regard as a collector's guitar. May give them a ring just in case..........

The 1499 isn't a problem of itself, I just think it's high for that particular guitar. GAK has a new faded cherry at 1499. Thomann has one for 1358. A second hand guitar for 140 more than the best new price is not good value. GIBSON ES335 DOT PLAIN SATIN RD - U.K. International Cyberstore I suppose my philosophy is if you pay a fair price for a used guitar you should feel confident you'll be able to recoup most of it if you have to sell. Apart from that I'm pretty flexible on price. (ie I'd happily pay 1,800 for a guitar believe I can re-sell for around that price, but I won't pay 1500 for a guitar I'd get 1000-1200 for on a quick re-sale)

Thanks, appreciate the suggestion. But the advantage of trying to source one locally is that I can try it out. Gibsons can vary quite a lot and I want a good one. 1499 is actually high for a used dot - I could get a new one at that price or less from GAK or Thomann.

Looking an even longer shot now but thought it worth a bump...........

This might be a bit of a long shot, but I'm looking for a Gibson 335, must be light, take a low action without buzzing and I'd prefer jumbo frets. I want a player's guitar, not a collectable, so I'm not interested in paying a premium for old and/or rare. I might be willing to px for a very nice, almost new Suhr S3 Strat if that's attractive to anyone. But just as happy to pay cash for the right instrument.