Wanted - Gibson 335

[bac]

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.

[bac]

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

[Whistle Tester]

Wanted - Gibson 335

There's a second hand one @ Coda music. 1499.00. Seems Ok?

Good luck.

[bac]

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.

[Whistle Tester]

Agreed, best to try first,

but they seem quite scarce up here. I know of a few, but no one selling.

What kind of budget, if 1499.00 is high?

[bac]

Agreed, best to try first,

but they seem quite scarce up here. I know of a few, but no one selling.

What kind of budget, if 1499.00 is high?

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)

[Bigsby]

The one in your link is satin, the one at Coda is (I assume) gloss, which is a more expensive finish. There's certainly no way I'd pay 1500 for a satin finish guitar, but some people prefer it.

[Ross.]

The one in your link is satin, the one at Coda is (I assume) gloss, which is a more expensive finish. There's certainly no way I'd pay 1500 for a satin finish guitar, but some people prefer it.

Different strokes for different folks I guess. I'm a pretty big fan of satin finished guitars, so it's always nice that they go for a fair bit cheaper than their glossy counterparts. Would the finish be the only difference between those two models (other than age and condition)?

[Bigsby]

To be honest I don't know what pickups they had in 1997, nowadays they have 57 Classics apparently which will be pretty decent.

But while searching I found this beauty:

Peter Cook's Guitar World - Gibson ES335 Dot, Blonde Natural, 1997 - Secondhand/Ex-demo

I have bought from Peter Cook's many times, instore and online and have always had an excellent experience.

EDIT:

According to this they were 57 Classics in 1997 also:

1997 Gibson ES-335 Dot, Figured Top

[bac]

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..........

[bac]

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.

[Bigsby]

There's much more difference to a satin and gloss finish than just the colour.

[britheguy]

I sold my 335. I didn't like it at the time, even though it was one of the guitars I had always wanted to own. If I could have kept it I might have, but I fancied another guitar so it had to go. would I have another one??? If it cropped up at the right price and of course it has to be cherry.

[bac]

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.

[Bigsby]

Nice one.

[bac]

Just ordered one of these:

Gibson ES339 30/60 Neck Antique Red Nickel Hardware | Andertons

[Bigsby]

Very cool, by all acoounts close to a Les Paul/335 hybrid.

[bac]

Very cool, by all acoounts close to a Les Paul/335 hybrid.

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.

[Bigsby]

Folks over at the Les Paul forum seem to love them.