ES-335 style guitar love thread, no telecasters allowed

[Greywolf]

I have several (335,339,356 Heritage 535,jaros gatlinburg)
My favorite is my unicorn . A custom PRS Santana Semi with a carved top and rosewood neck, turquoise inlays and a trem .

[Little Jay]

Ok my last ES thinline is a Framus Sorento (or perhaps Caravelle, hard to distinguish) from ‘77. Got it for very cheap but I changed the neck for a Chinese bolt-on mahogany Les Paul neck and the original tremolo (vibrato) piece that was bolted to the body was replaced with a Framus (I think Schaller made) vibrato tailpiece (much more elegant than a Bigsby imho and works flawlesly).

Neck joint at the 16th fret like an ES-330 and a centre block that runs from bridge to tail.

Very nice guitar that sounds and plays much more expensive than it was! (Hey, I’m Dutch, I love a bargain!)

[iim7V7IM7]

Not really an “ESesque” guitar, but a somewhat unique, versatile semi-hollowbody that I have had for about 11-years now. This is a model made by Maine luthier Chuck Thornton called a “Professional”. It is smaller and lighter than an ES-335? It has a semi-hollow chambered Honduran Mahogany body with a fiddleback Bigleaf Maple capped top. Mine has a 25” scale length, 1-11/16” nut width and Lollar Low-Wind Imperial Humbuckers with a 5-position switch (some split coil positions). Chuck has a unique neck junction that provides great upper fretboard access as well.

[Hammertone]

Höfner Verythin Classics, made in Germany:

[Hammertone]

1968 Höfner Verithin - hollow like a Gibson ES-330.

[Average Joe]

An entry from the semi-cheap seats: MIJ Tokai ES-155. Bought new in 2013 or so. Good sound, nice neck allowing for a very low action, light weight, stays and plays in tune, etc. In other words, it just works.
I've had a bunch of semis from a lot of different makers over the years, including a mid 80s Gibson, sundry Ibanezes, etc. So far, this one is the one that suits me the best.

[jim777]

An entry from the semi-cheap seats: MIJ Tokai ES-155. Bought new in 2013 or so. Good sound, nice neck allowing for a very low action, light weight, stays and plays in tune, etc. In other words, it just works.
I've had a bunch of semis from a lot of different makers over the years, including a mid 80s Gibson, sundry Ibanezes, etc. So far, this one is the one that suits me the best.

That's a beautiful guitar! A 2013 ES-155 is definitely a higher end Tokai, as the model number was tied to the price, and I believe the ES-162 was the 'top of the line' in '13. The only difference between the 155 and the 162 was the fretboard inlays, where the 162 got the small blocks. l love the figure in the top on yours. I have a very similar Tokai ES from '14 and it is absolutely killer.

[frabarmus]

I've had two 335 style guitars, first one in the early '80s was a Hondo; second one in the '90s was a Heritage H535. Both gone. My latest: a new Epi Casino (2023 MIC, comes with a gig bag, which is nice) is full hollow. Pretty jazzy sounds even all stock, coupled with my Polytone Mega Brute (I won't bother with any mods eccept I've soon changed the strings from rounds to flats) .The neck plays so easy with its slim D shape. Does its job very well for me.

[Hammertone]

Höfner President Thinline, completely hollow, one of a 2014 Limited Edition of @8 guitars in white, red and sunburst:

[Little Jay]

1968 Höfner Verithin - hollow like a Gibson ES-330.

I love these! But I have never played one.

[Gitfiddler]

Interesting thread. ES-style semi-hollow guitars have always been my favorite. I'm tall n lanky, so this body style fits me perfectly, standing or sitting. As a result of this attraction, I've owned many semi-hollow guitars over the years...and still have too many...(Not true!).

I've longed for a Gibson ES355 ever since I spotted them in the old Gibson catalogues back in the 60's. I was fortunate to score one from a fellow forum brother a couple of years ago. And I love this long-necked beauty. I'm an odd guy who names his guitars. This one came to me already named..."Lucille"!!

[A. Kingstone]

Does this count?

[helios]

Recently acquired Ibanez Artstar AS-113. This is the Indonesian version of the MIJ Ibanez AS-2000. These guitars are similar to the Scofield signature models (JSM100/JSM10) with the exception that the AS-113 & AS-2000 have a pressed spruce top, and the Scofield models have a pressed maple top. The dimensions are identical, as are other materials. I'm impressed with the Indonesian workmanship!

[Hammertone]

Joe Yanuziello makes fabbo guitars. He built three thinline hollow semis early in his career, and I've had the good fortune to own two of them. I kept the one with the larger neck.

[Prof Silverhair]

Here's my '00-'01 ES333, don't recall the year. I acquired it a few years back. It came to me with the pickguard, Gibson case, polished, with a set of hand wound Fralin PAFs - which were a surprise. The neck profile and wear to the finish are absolutely perfect. Some may come and go but this is a forever guitar. The fit, feel, finish, and tone are simply sublime.

[Greywolf]

My CS 356

[Greywolf]

My Heritage H535 LTD

[Greywolf]

My Jaros Gatlinburg

[Greywolf]

my blueberry burst 335

[Cosmodog]

Burny MIC Model, looked great but the sound was not for my taste.
My Hohner MIK really sounds better.

[jumpnblues]

Can we take a break for a few minutes? I gotta clean the drool off my computer.

[icr]

After wanting an ES335 forever, I finally found one I liked in 2013. Nice thin neck with jumbo frets. 1998.

The original electrics were a little buggered, with at least one non-functional pot. So I re-did it with 500k pots and new capacitors.

[powerwagonjohn]

My 3 semi-hollows. I don't know why it does that! The left one is a 2012 GSR Starfire VI with a spruce top which is #15 of 18 made, the middle one is my 1973 Guild Starfire IV and the third one is my 2009 Gibson ES-345. I keep wanting to thin out the herd but everytime I play one I can't sell it. Each had it own unique tone and feel. At least it keeps me from buying any other semi-hollow guitars.
Thanks John

[Hillmillenia]

Great guitar...neck is like a baseball bat. Incredible sound

[garybaldy]

Vesters.