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Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/133399/raging-gas-horn-es-330
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/132941/sorted-gibson-es-330-or-epiphone-casino-usa#latest
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
And the Gibson version has less "baggage" (Beatles, Weller etc), which is always a good thing imo.
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...
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.
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.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
10oz on the originals (one choke per pickup). I think it will be half that or less on modern Varitone, as they are mono.
The top-end Lennon model was nitro iirc, but was also the same price as an ES-330.
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...