Gibson Memphis '63 ES-335 2016 - Sixties Cherry

'63 reissue 2016 Gibson ES 335, Memphis Factory VOS finish.

Buckle up, because I love talking 335s and dorking out on tone/specs etc. This is gonna be a long one lol.

This is absolutely the best 335 I have ever owned and I've owned several.

There was a certain tone I was chasing, and there's 2 players with well known 335s who had that tone: JD Simo and Warren Haynes. Both their guitars are 62-63, both have rotary cut veneers which give it that distinctive "Cathedral grain" look and most importantly, both are lightweight and have a very "woody" tone.

I played some vintage 335s and noticed the lightweight ones had a more woody, hollow sound, a little less sustain but more harmonic overtones and can give you a nice harmonic feedback that's controllable and not shrill.

This one weighs 7.7 lbs. which is pretty light.

When I bought this guitar, I played it and just hearing it acoustically I knew it was the one.

This guitar has it all...that woody tone, great harmonic overtones and good midrange that cuts through the mix and is never muddy.

Some 335's can get muddy or woofy on ya, especially in the neck pickup.

The neck pickup sounds the best...jazzy, woody, bluesy....the bridge pickup is more mid focused with that great "honk" that can actually pull off chicken pickin if you want to go there.

There were a few things that they were doing at the Memphis factory at this time that I really liked. One of them was rolling the fretboard edges for a more comfortable feel, the other was they stopped putting the binding over the fret edges.

They were also using MHS (Memphis Historic Spec) pickups at this time.

Upgrades: Faber locking bridge with nickel plated saddles. Faber tailpiece that allows the tailpiece to contact the body at any height. This gave it a much more resonant tone and sustain. I changed out the nylon nut for a bone nut and also had it Plek'd about 3 years ago, and hadn't really played it much since.

Pro tip: DO NOT top wrap a 335...it sounds like a banjo.

I did gig with it quite a bit when I first got it, so its got its share of little dings, scratches as well as some checking on the back cutaway horns. There is some lacquer wear at the top left and right sides of the headstock.

There is one scratching/wear spot in the lacquer just below the treble side of the bridge as that is where I rest my pinky when I play.

One of the volume knobs has a chip in the plastic.

Original case and COA, all the original parts (bridge etc). This is a one owner guitar, I got it brand new.

If you want a 335 that actually sounds like one and not like a Les Paul, this is it!