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AvalonAndyAvalonAndy Frets: 326
edited January 2019 in Guitar
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26750
    Following this with interest. I’m currently aching for a red one having played a couple of vintage ones recently. 

    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    A 330 would be good GAS, as would an SG. A Bigsby would spoil either. Nowt wrong with 335s; IMO the extra tone switch on the 345 is redundant if you've got good tone-shaping features on your recording equipment.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • NelsonPNelsonP Frets: 3347
    edited June 2018
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  • BasherBasher Frets: 1198
    I'd love a 330. I have a 2015 345 and I like that too. Different animals, as you say. 

    However, I'm one of those dreadfully shallow people who likes certain colours/finishes on guitars and I can't stand the 2018 "Sunset Burst", specifically the red band in it. I'm guessing it looks better in the flesh than in photographs but I'd much prefer a traditional burst, natural or cherry finish.

    I also don't really like flamed maple on ES guitars. I was close to buying a natural ES330 a couple of years ago but didn't like the figured wood.

    It's a real pity as the 2018 has a plain top and comes in a nice price if you like the finish. It is also available in red but they seem to be about £600 more. 




     
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26750
    Basher said:
    I'd love a 330. I have a 2015 345 and I like that too. Different animals, as you say. 

    However, I'm one of those dreadfully shallow people who likes certain colours/finishes on guitars and I can't stand the 2018 "Sunset Burst", specifically the red band in it. I'm guessing it looks better in the flesh than in photographs but I'd much prefer a traditional burst, natural or cherry finish.

    I also don't really like flamed maple on ES guitars. I was close to buying a natural ES330 a couple of years ago but didn't like the figured wood.

    It's a real pity as the 2018 has a plain top and comes in a nice price if you like the finish. It is also available in red but they seem to be about £600 more. 

     
    Agreed. 


    The sunset burst burst looks better in real life than pictures but still nowhere as good as the old 3-tone bursts they’re trying to copy. 

    Un-figured red or natural all the way. The current red ones are the VOS finish which should be much nicer than the shiny stuff on the sunset bursts. 
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • BucketBucket Frets: 7751
    Couldn't you get a proper vintage one for the same price as a new VOS? I'd play some of those if you can.
    - "I'm going to write a very stiff letter. A VERY stiff letter. On cardboard."
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26750
    Bucket said:
    Couldn't you get a proper vintage one for the same price as a new VOS? I'd play some of those if you can.
    Sometimes. But a lot of them have horrible skinny necks, and lower frets. 

    I tried 2 in Nashville - both were *righteously* good guitars. What stopped me buying was partly the shipping/flying thing, and partly that they both would have needed a re-fret to make me really happy, which I have no way of reliably obtaining while in the UAE. 

    I'm yet to try a VOS one but hope to have a go either in the UK in the summer or in Japan in October.
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    If you want those real hard grinding P90 tones then better off with an LP Jr or SG jr

    If you want those laconic 330 P90 bluesy vibes then an Epi Casino will do you...

    Hell, for the price of a Gibson 330 you can have both!
    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
    __________________________________
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  • AlexOAlexO Frets: 1083
    That Olive Drab Green is super cool. 

    Love my 2012 330. Said it before on similar threads. Really nice guitars to play due to the shorter scale. Depending on how you play, feedback can be a issue.
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26750
    57Deluxe said:
    If you want those real hard grinding P90 tones then better off with an LP Jr or SG jr

    If you want those laconic 330 P90 bluesy vibes then an Epi Casino will do you...

    Hell, for the price of a Gibson 330 you can have both!
    Honestly, I've never played a Casino that is as good as the 330s I've had my hands on. The nitro finish is a big contributor to with that. I'm quite sure a vintage Casino would be just as good, but they're usually even more money. 

    And the Gibson version has less "baggage" (Beatles, Weller etc), which is always a good thing imo.
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • HattigolHattigol Frets: 8176
    A 330 would be good GAS, as would an SG. A Bigsby would spoil either. Nowt wrong with 335s; IMO the extra tone switch on the 345 is redundant if you've got good tone-shaping features on your recording equipment.
    Disagree on that. I have one of the drab green 345 reissues (which is wonderful). I think one of the factors in that is the extra weight from both the Bigsby and the Varitone circuit. Gives it so much more balls than others that don't have it. 

    Was very tempted myself by a 330 - GuitarGuitar had a great deal on a Bigsby-fitted one - but the elephant in the room is the feedback. Playing through my Vox AC15, the 345 needs taming sometimes - the 330 would be crackers...
    "Anybody can play. The note is only 20%. The attitude of the motherf*cker who plays it is  80%" - Miles Davis
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  • benmurray85benmurray85 Frets: 1395
    I bought one in feb when they were at full price. I noticed the other week they’d dropped them slightly. 

    My thoughts on mine? I love it. It’s now my main gigging guitar and I swear I’ve never had so many compliments on my guitar sound. The pickups are superb. 
    It will feedback so you have to be able to ride that and understand that if you’re a pub band and you’re stood right on top of your amp there’s gonna be howls. On larger stages I have zero problem, even at volume.

    Fit & finish is good, very good. There’s a couple of slightly dodgy areas around the F holes, I only noticed these this week tbf. But other than that there’s no other faults that I’ve noticed. 

    The neck was very dry when I got it. I applied some lemon oil which brought it up nicely and it’s come out of last weeks gig dry again. Mines taken some real battle scars already but I’m very heavy handed and really go at stuff so that’s not a comment on the durability. 

    But I guess if I lost this tomorow and had the cash I’d buy another at full price the same day. They are lovely and if you can afford it I’d go for it. 
    How very rock and roll
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    Hattigol said:
    A 330 would be good GAS, as would an SG. A Bigsby would spoil either. Nowt wrong with 335s; IMO the extra tone switch on the 345 is redundant if you've got good tone-shaping features on your recording equipment.
    Disagree on that. I have one of the drab green 345 reissues (which is wonderful). I think one of the factors in that is the extra weight from both the Bigsby and the Varitone circuit. Gives it so much more balls than others that don't have it. 

    Was very tempted myself by a 330 - GuitarGuitar had a great deal on a Bigsby-fitted one - but the elephant in the room is the feedback. Playing through my Vox AC15, the 345 needs taming sometimes - the 330 would be crackers...
    You shouldn't get feedback from the semi unless you're using silly amounts of gain (didn't El Clappo use a 335 in front of stacks in Cream?), but yes you're likely to get it with even moderate amounts of gain with the 330, which is entirely hollow (guess why the 335 centre-block was invented?).

    I have a real 335 as well as two other semis which are direct descendents of that design. Can't think of any tonal deficit in any of them, let alone any which could be fixed by the addition of a Bigsby. The extra weight of the varitone circuit is negligible.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • SteveRobinsonSteveRobinson Frets: 6914
    tFB Trader
    Phil_aka_Pip said:
    The extra weight of the varitone circuit is negligible.
    I'll bet the choke weighs more than a Bigsby B7
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  • ESchapESchap Frets: 1428
    Phil_aka_Pip said:
    The extra weight of the varitone circuit is negligible.
    I'll bet the choke weighs more than a Bigsby B7

    10oz on the originals (one choke per pickup). I think it will be half that or less on modern Varitone, as they are mono.
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    57Deluxe said:
    If you want those real hard grinding P90 tones then better off with an LP Jr or SG jr

    If you want those laconic 330 P90 bluesy vibes then an Epi Casino will do you...

    Hell, for the price of a Gibson 330 you can have both!
    Honestly, I've never played a Casino that is as good as the 330s I've had my hands on. The nitro finish is a big contributor to with that. I'm quite sure a vintage Casino would be just as good, but they're usually even more money. 

    And the Gibson version has less "baggage" (Beatles, Weller etc), which is always a good thing imo.
    Elitist Casino is every bit as good. Nitro finish. US hardware. Japanese crafting. Very very nice and in some ways better than the usual Gibson fare.
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  • HattigolHattigol Frets: 8176
    Hattigol said:
    A 330 would be good GAS, as would an SG. A Bigsby would spoil either. Nowt wrong with 335s; IMO the extra tone switch on the 345 is redundant if you've got good tone-shaping features on your recording equipment.
    Disagree on that. I have one of the drab green 345 reissues (which is wonderful). I think one of the factors in that is the extra weight from both the Bigsby and the Varitone circuit. Gives it so much more balls than others that don't have it. 

    Was very tempted myself by a 330 - GuitarGuitar had a great deal on a Bigsby-fitted one - but the elephant in the room is the feedback. Playing through my Vox AC15, the 345 needs taming sometimes - the 330 would be crackers...
    You shouldn't get feedback from the semi unless you're using silly amounts of gain (didn't El Clappo use a 335 in front of stacks in Cream?), but yes you're likely to get it with even moderate amounts of gain with the 330, which is entirely hollow (guess why the 335 centre-block was invented?).

    I have a real 335 as well as two other semis which are direct descendents of that design. Can't think of any tonal deficit in any of them, let alone any which could be fixed by the addition of a Bigsby. The extra weight of the varitone circuit is negligible.
    Thanks for clarifying that my opinion was wrong. Apologies for making a suggestion. 
    "Anybody can play. The note is only 20%. The attitude of the motherf*cker who plays it is  80%" - Miles Davis
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  • stickyfiddlestickyfiddle Frets: 26750
    @Bridgehouse the Elitists aren't nitro. Good poly, but still poly. And they don't come in red :P 

    The top-end Lennon model was nitro iirc, but was also the same price as an ES-330.
    The Assumptions - UAE party band for all your rock & soul desires
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    @Bridgehouse the Elitists aren't nitro. Good poly, but still poly. And they don't come in red :P 

    The top-end Lennon model was nitro iirc, but was also the same price as an ES-330.
    Bought one for my dad. If it isn’t nitro then the poly on it melts with acetone. Ask me how I know.
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  • DontgiveupyourdayjobDontgiveupyourdayjob Frets: 3756
    edited June 2018
    Slightly left field alternative, but how about something like this...

    https://rguitars.co.uk/collections/electric-guitars/products/t64v-gb-inc-100-professional-setup-added-value

    I've heard great things about the build quality of those Eastmans, and the pickups are good quality. Looks stunning to me, and cheaper than a Gibbo. Residual value on the other hand...
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