my first encouter with a ES-335.

[pressthe6]

played a ES-335 for the first time. might be my favoite guitar of all time.

[Spudman]

Why?

[Screaming Dave]

I had an Ibanez AS83, which was a 335-a-like. I really liked it. Gibson do a new one with a smaller body, but the same scale length, which I'd like to have a go on. It's called a 339, I think.

[street music]

I have only played one, I love the sound I have heard from several of them.

[hubberjub]

I like them because they play like a Les Paul but they have a little more bite to them. They are also great because you can get them to feedback pretty easily. I don't like them because I feel that the body is too large (I own one so don't take that personally).

[pressthe6]

I've always considered myself a LP standard/custom/studio guy but when a friend of a friend handed me his 70s-something cherry red 335 I was instantly shocked at how light it was, how it played, and the sound that came out of it. I always thought it wouldn't have the "bite" that I liked, but my god that thing could play light, heavy and everywhere in between.

this guy had literally 115 guitars. his crown jewel was a 60s-something johnny winters firebird. he had 2 mid70s black beauties (the 2 humbucker version so I guess they're just customs), a 1937 steel dobro, a 1964? epi puke-green thing that screams, a 62? fender precision bass with a slate neck.

he handed me guitars for 2 hours. it was like disneyland and guitar center rolled into one.

oh, and a 5150 block letter EVH head, a slash model marshall, etc...

and a jam space in his basement. WTF!!!!!!!!!!

[markb]

I remember my first encounter with a 335 and it was 34 years ago. I'd only gone into the shop (Macari's, Charing X Road) to buy a £13 fuzzbox and that's what they handed me to try it out with. Early 60's dot neck, I think. It'd be in a glass case today.

[Rocket]

Uh-huh... everybody should have at least one... (whether you play a guitar or not!)

[sunvalleylaw]

Well, I love my 335 knockoff (or 355 knockoff if I listen to Oldguy), and I love it dearly. I like that it plays and rocks like a LP, but has more bite and snarl, and feedbacks so well.

[jpfeifer]

Yeah, 335's are really cool guitars. I think that they are a more versatile version of the Les Paul sound. I'd love to have a real one some day.

What I love about them is that they sound really warm and bluesy when you play them through a clean amp, and they scream when you play them with a dirty sound. They also seem to respond more to your picking attack.

I had a chance to play one of those 339's recently (not for very long), and it sounded great. That's probably the one that I would get if I had a bunch of money and no worries about the economy :-)

-- Jim

[Rocket]

I had a chance to play one of those 339's recently (not for very long), and it sounded great. That's probably the one that I would get if I had a bunch of money and no worries about the economy
I'd like to get one too but the 339 is a special build specifically for Guitar Centers, Inc. and their evil minions, (Musician's Friend, Music123, etc.)
They don't get my money!

(Also appears that 339 build quality is a crapshoot.)