First Gibson ES-335

**Spook410** · 02-03-2022, 12:50 AM

Need to stop buying guitars. '93 Gibson 335 Dot. Good deal. So, NGD it is. I've had semi's before but this is first Gibson 335. Nice guitar.

Hmm.. First step is admitting you have a problem. Good thing I didn't take up cello.

First Gibson ES-335-dsc_0691-jpg

**Gitterbug** · 02-03-2022, 03:01 AM

Young man, I'm 75 and still buy an occasional guitar although my fingers are increasingly slow, lumpy and achy. Buying one small amp after another I can justify by the need to test them with my Toobs, the business I set up months before turning 70, after a decade of hatching the idea. Luckily, my both sons are amateur/semi pro rock musicians, so they know what I have and how to get rid of it when I'm gone. However, archtops are not all the rage in my small country, and about a dozen definitely senior people know what a plectrum banjo stands for.

I can't help the feeling that quite a few active posters here are baby boomers, offering tons of time-proven tips to the occasional novice. The advice is often backward-looking, as if everything had been "best before". Many posters are also well-to-do individuals with pricey collections of golden-era guitars. What will be the market for these, when they/we are gone?

Baby Boomers have gathered an unprecedented amount of physical matter around themselves. Piles of National Geographic magazines compressing the crust of the Earth. Books nobody wants. Boxes and boxes yellowing photos. Useless cables we daren't throw away. Gadgets representing long gone technologies and formats. Collections of whatever (I have 50 axes from Stone Age to present; at least they can crush my wife's 70 sauciers if need be...) I've spent two decades sorting out my dad's photos (he was a noted pro so museums are grateful) but my own are in total disarray. Threw away 4,500 bad prints last week for starters, as Death Cleaning has become trendy.

This just to stir the pot a bit, despite the fact the original post morphed quite a bit while I was formulating mine .

Cheers,

Markku

**Spook410** · 02-03-2022, 03:24 AM

Originally Posted by Gitterbug

Baby Boomers have gathered an unprecedented amount of physical matter around themselves.

Great post Markku. This thread was originally about starting the process of downsizing. I changed it to a NGD because the acquisition/divestiture cycle seems too complex for a forum. Both of the last ones (Gibson 335, Collings OM2) were very good from a deal standpoint but both were sales forced by health (note: I'm a stickler for telling a seller when they are below market value. In both cases the sellers chose to proceed). So do we wait until our health forces us to start moving all this gear to market or do we get started now. Even though it's pain to sell it. I wouldn't even mind donating some (how many people really want a modified Ibanez Roadstar 2?).

BTW.. the '91 Collings OM2 flat top.. the Collings' hype is completely and totally justified.

Finally.. I have just a couple forged axes and nothing of note but your collection sounds pretty cool. Knives of course are another matter. Even broke down and got a Tormek.

**JCat** · 02-03-2022, 05:17 AM

Now, that's a stunning 335. Looks fantastic. Congratulations. Play it every day.

**citizenk74** · 02-03-2022, 05:27 AM

Gorgeous example of an iconic design. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

**gitrman** · 02-03-2022, 06:19 PM

I too have that problem. It helped a lot by going to GA (guitarahollics anonymous) meetings, a 12 fret program.

**RobbieAG** · 02-04-2022, 10:15 AM

Great looking guitar! Thanks for sharing. A little over a year ago, I purchased the exact same one (though it's a 97).

**Archie** · 02-04-2022, 10:29 AM

Nice looking example. 90's Gibson's are some of the best sounding!

Well done Spook.

**Spook410** · 02-05-2022, 01:34 AM

Originally Posted by ArchtopHeaven

90's Gibson's are some of the best sounding!

So.. this guitar actually does sound a bit better than I was expecting. I thought they were pretty much all the same since they started making the modern Dot models. Is there actually any difference or just the magic wrought by age and vibration?

**JCat** · 02-05-2022, 07:58 AM

Originally Posted by Spook410

So.. this guitar actually does sound a bit better than I was expecting. I thought they were pretty much all the same since they started making the modern Dot models. Is there actually any difference or just the magic wrought by age and vibration?

That would be about the individual guitar, how it has been maintained and its current setup.
If the stock pots (300k) has not been replaced, there's potential for improvement.

-Could you post a picture of the case, its interior and lining, the lid in particular?

**icr** · 02-05-2022, 11:01 AM

Very nice!

I finally got an ES-335 in 2013 after wanting one for like 20 years. Mine is also from the 1990s. I did have to replace one of the pots, so went ahead and replaced all 4 with new ones. Otherwise kept the pickups and everything else original.

First Gibson ES-335-file_2-jpg

**Archie** · 02-05-2022, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by Spook410

So.. this guitar actually does sound a bit better than I was expecting. I thought they were pretty much all the same since they started making the modern Dot models. Is there actually any difference or just the magic wrought by age and vibration?

I don't know to be honest. I've had a few 90's Gibson's and the majority of them have sounded bang on. Some other members hear report the same thing. We've combined that shared experience into the idea that 90's Gibson's, are just better than other more modern decades.

**FredH** · 02-05-2022, 02:26 PM

Is guitaraholics the same condition as GAS, guitar acquisition syndrom? There's no 12 Step program for GAS. Just another guitar?...

Just when you think that you've purchased your last guitar, lurking out there in the guitar universe is that one, special one calling out to you.

I have learned how to sometimes, but not always, resist that call. Finances and space help with that. But even with those limitations, a day doesn't go by when I check Reverb and other sites looking for that elusive vintage instrument. I tell my wife that I am "retiring from buying.....unless I should ever come across a (fill in the blank) guitar." Then she knows that all bets are off.

**ccroft** · 02-05-2022, 02:50 PM

Originally Posted by Spook410

...Hmm.. First step is admitting you have a problem. Good thing I didn't take up cello.

I wonder how many cellos YoYo owns?

Just googled it: apparently 3, which seems pretty light until you find out his primary is valued at $2.5 million. Maybe we are better off with guitars...

Good to hear you're enjoying the new one Spook!

**73Fender** · 02-05-2022, 03:19 PM

Congrats you picked a good one. I like the early 90s Gibson era. They were upping their game IMHO.

**Spook410** · 02-05-2022, 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by JCat

-Could you post a picture of the case, its interior and lining, the lid in particular?

It's the standard pumpkin case with that house-of-ill-repute pink satin and fur inside. Any particular reason for pic's?

**JCat** · 02-06-2022, 02:18 AM

Originally Posted by Spook410

It's the standard pumpkin case with that house-of-ill-repute pink satin and fur inside. Any particular reason for pic's?

It's a NGD-thread, right? You are supposed to post pictures, so that we can marvel at the craft.
I know the case is brown with pink lining, made by TKL in Canada but these cases are not all the same. I like to see an example of a '93 "California girl" (that's what they call 'em).
The case is important, especially if you plan to use it for storage.