Gibson ES-335 Figured Semi-hollowbody Electric Guitar - Sixties Cherry Reviews

We recently inherited a Yamaha C3 grand piano. The tonal characteristics of this piano are well known in university music conservatories. I have "played" piano most of my life and in my twenties I tuned and rebuilt pianos while in college. I can attest without qualification that ALL pianos have distinctive tonal characteristics, but there are those that distinguish themselves as tonal models for others to achieve--true paragons! That's our Yamaha C3!

Now, I have played acoustic guitars for 15 years and began playing electric guitars just over two years ago. I own several Taylor acoustic guitars, two American Ultras-- Stratocaster and Jazzmaster--and a Fender Player Plus and a PRS Pauls guitar. Yes, there are tonal differences among my electric guitars, and I enjoy all of them (the PRS and the PRS Pauls are my "travel" guitars). BUT, the difference between all those guitars and my ES-335 Figured is astounding! Not even close. The first time I played my ES 335 I likened it to my experience playing the Yamaha C3 grand piano for the first time. The difference blew me away. I was awestruck!

I will admit that my experience with "electric" guitars is not that that extensive, but I don't care. I am fortunate to have found the guitar that has ended my search for the "perfect" electric guitar. It doesn't mean I won't buy another ES 335 (smile) but this one has quenched my curiosity. It's a delight to play, comfortable and each note is a resonant as a quality grand piano.

And, of course, I want to thank Will Crisp for his help and advice. It is comforting to know there is someone who is doing everything they can to make the buying experience easy. Will is that guy!

Been wanting an ES for a while but never really thought my ability warranted one. Been trying to learn blues recently and kept going back to this guitar. Tried one at a local store, but they didn't have the figured. So glad I went with the figured. It's beautiful. Feels so comfortable to play and sounds great. Highly recommend this guitar. My rep Damian was fantastic with his helping me and answering all my questions.

Let me start by saying, I have been playing in Rock bands professionally since the 70s. I have one of the best playing PRS 24 fret flame tops that I have been using for many years. Unfortunately, now every guitar I play is measured against the PRS which makes it difficult to find new guitars that measure up. This is definitely one of the best playing 335s I've ever played. Beautiful finish and sounds better than I had hoped for. Nothing fancy, no push pull in phase out of phase coil switching, just a big fat 335 sound like the original guitars from the 60s are supposed to sound like. I love this guitar and will never part with it. My Sweetwater Rep Melissa Behling is Awesome. Very knowledgeable and always follows up for Quality and customer satisfaction. I really appreciate her professional attitude and dedication. Buying Guitars online is not always a pleasant experience and to be honest, I have bought quite a few expensive guitars from Sweetwater and returned one or two of them for one reason or another with absolutely no hassle. I can honestly say that on a scale of 1 to 10 my experience buying from Melissa is a definite 10 and will always call her when I need any musical or recording gear........Highly recommended!

I've been playing guitar all my life by no means a professional and always had to go for the more affordable guitars and I've learned to appreciate a nice well built tunable and playable guitar and the ES 335 that I purchased from Sweetwater is all that and more. So if you can swing it you won't regret it and Sweetwater was great, early delivery and support.

I purchased this guitar as an investment for my grandson. What I didn't realize was this girl will break your heart and take all your money. Worth every penny!

I've been playing for almost 40 years and always played mid-grade instruments (MIM Femders, Epis, etc.), and was satisfied with them because they really are a great value for quality and price. What I didn't know is that the point of diminishing returns is much higher that I realized.

This guitar has exceeded my expectations, and my bandmates were floored. They're always kind of teasing me about tone chasing because I'm always adjusting settings between songs, and tonight they said that they get it now because of this guitar.

Because of the Gibson's recent reputation of poor quality control (which supposedly have been fixed), I looked this instrument over very thoroughly multiple times trying to find an imperfection, and I cannot find any that you can't spot unless you inspect it studiously for 3 days. I really put it through its paces tonight at practice, and it completely elevated the sound of our entire band.

Everything I'd ever hoped for in a wonderfully versatile guitar! I have wanted one since I was a kid 75 years young now.Started playing Fenders then PRS's so this is my retirement guitar! I figure if you are looking at the ES335's you probably already know what they are,I can share with you Gibson did a great job on mine! Shout out to Nolan Dye thanks so much for all your help with this purchase as well as all the others you have walked me thru there will be more!

This guitar is hands down the best I've ever played! It can sing, scream or produce any other tones you can tap out of it. The quality in the craftmanship and sound is above and beyond all expectations I may have had pre-purchase. If your on the fence due to price, come down and see. You only live once... and man, this is living!

Purchased this Guitar from Sweetwater last year.It looks Stunning,Plays Great,Sounds Great!I am 100% satisfied with this purchase.I would definitely order another guitar from Sweetwater.My sales Engineer David Mikautadze has been Fantastic throughout the years.

I've owned three 335's over the years - one from the 70's and two from the 80's but this one is the best. Perfect neck - not thin and not too fat but enough meat to feel solid. The sustain is beautiful all the way up the neck with no buzzing or fret out. These new 335's have it over the old ones hands down when it comes to the neck, sustain and action. The pickups sound great too. The figured ones are gorgeous - but it's not really "flame" it's just a figured wood with slight hints of flame. If you can afford it, go for the figured.

I was jonsing for a 335 for quite a while before I decided on the Figured model. The pickups are perfect for the styles of music I play (rock, modern rock). Great cleans with chimey high end, awesome distortion that's crisp yet beefy. It's a true classic and love it!

I've owned this guitar for 3 years. Had a red 335 in the early '70s and foolishly sold it. This one is even better. Stunning figured wood, great neck, exceptional intonation and playability. Best for a variety of clean, lush sounds especially with some delay, reverb and chorus. Not a shredder and lacks the articulation of a high end solid body, but that's why you have at least one of those... Beautiful workmanship. Just be aware that the headstocks on these are reportedly prone to breakage so handle with care. My go to guitar when I just want to sit down and play for my own enjoyment.

After changing my mind dozens of times, because of the price, I eventually bought this guitar a couple of weeks ago. By far it is the finest guitar I have ever owned or played, absolutely flawless. I do love it. I'm playing through a '68 Fender Princeton reverb and it just sounds great. Have not tried any pedals yet but I'm not sure it needs any. Very happy with the guitar and with Sweetwater's customer service.

Like many, I was looking for a 335 guitar and did not want to plop down the cash for the Gibson. After looking into several other options like the used market and other brands, I decided to order the Gibson last Summer..

The guitar finally came in between Christmas and New years.. It's just fantastic.. Absolutely beautiful, gorgeous and many other adjectives! Since I was plopping the cash down I decided to get the figured.. I am so glad I did.. The pickups are fantastic.. Neck, bridge and blended all sound incredible.. The guitar plays like butter.. It was set up fantastic and only needed a small tweak for me that's a personal preference.. I bought the '60s version of the Les Paul a while back and was pleasantly surprised.. That was part of my decision making process of deciding to order this.. This guitar did not disappoint. I was worried about ordering an expensive guitar like this without playing it but my sales engineer at Sweetwater Paul Eckert assured me if I didn't like it I didn't have to take it..

This thing is definitely is not going back!

Why the 4.5 stars instead of 5? Well Gibson definitely is back but they're not perfect yet. There were some minor issues that I had to take care of that should have been taken caught in the factory. Especially on a guitar this expensive. There was residue left on the frets. Polishing compound left over around the ears and inside the ears that needed to be buffed out. I think they just missed it while buffing the guitar. I'm really surprised Sweetwater missed it.. The last silly thing was when I first initially started playing the guitar after I took it out of the case, I made a high bend on the e string and the string came flying off of the tuning peg because they didn't leave enough string wrap when they cut the string. I had to polish off the frets so I was going to do a string change anyways but still..

Outside of that like I said this thing is just incredible.. It is flawless! I'm glad I pulled the trigger.. If you're on the fence do it you won't be disappointed.. Sweetwater is absolutely fantastic to work with and they will make it right if you are not happy. Very rare in today's market.. Customer service is still alive and well at Sweetwater..