NOGD - Maya ES335 copy

ICBM

I picked this old thing up on a bit of an impulse today.



It was found in a skip apparently! Not by me unfortunately - so I did pay the finder for it. I believe it's late 1970s or very early 80s at the latest - I haven't looked for pot codes or anything yet.

It's not one of the 'good' ones - bolt-on neck, and the body is almost entirely hollow with just a block under the bridge - but it's in quite nice condition and it all works... mostly. There is just one serious problem - the neck joint has collapsed slightly (they're prone to this - you can see where it's buckled the pickup ring) and so the neck is about 1/4" too far into the body - and even with the bridge saddles as far back as possible, the intonation is miles out. But of course, since it's a bolt-on this can be fixed without too much work.

Now... I don't actually like 335s really, I've always found them rather ungainly, with far too much body behind the bridge so they're too heavy and don't balance well. I prefer 330s - but this is so light that it doesn't seem anywhere near as big as a 335 normally does. I also prefer the trapeze tailpiece to the stopbar, and wine red is my favourite colour for them, so - assuming it turns out OK when I've fixed the neck - there's a reasonable chance I might keep it...

Kittyfrisk

Nice find. I don't have a Maya 335 type, but as I have a couple of Hondo Revival's I don't mind.
Be interesting to hear your opinions once you have 'breathed on it' a little.

alalalkasar

Well it certainly looks nice. Does it have a super skinny neck though? 

ICBM

alalalkasar said:

Well it certainly looks nice. Does it have a super skinny neck though? 

Yes.

Which is how I like them . I'm a big fan of Rickenbacker and old Matsumoku Aria necks, so this one is near perfect - 40mm wide at the nut. I'd maybe prefer 41... but it's close enough.

alalalkasar

That's cool if you like them. I had something pretty similar in the past that looked lovely and sounded very 60s but the skinny neck gave me hand cramp☹️

guitars4you

Harry will have it if you don't like it @ICBM

Those late 70's copies nearly all had a trapeze tailpiece - Not so much better or worse, but just a sign of the times - They did not think to copy anything from the 'golden era' as the vintage market barely existed - So they effectively copied a current model, hence the trapeze - And this was par for the course with Antoria etc etc- Enjoy the working trying to put it straight

rossi

I had a posh one all in gold and posh  binding on a burst body bought new in 82  .It had a set neck .Played  fine but the "ebony  " board looked like it was wearing out  quickly  so I took it back and swapped it for a new JV strat instead  in Antique white .Much better.Sadly the JV went when I had a few mortgage payments to find during Maggie T's dubious financial policy ,oh well .I also had a Lead II which bit the Thatcher dust around that time .Let them eat cake .

ICBM

alalalkasar said:

That's cool if you like them. I had something pretty similar in the past that looked lovely and sounded very 60s but the skinny neck gave me hand cramp☹️

The late-60s Gibson ones do, for me - they're not only even narrower, they're usually very shallow too. This one is at least reasonably full depth.

I really can't get on with the currently fashionable 'fat' necks though.

guitars4you said:

Harry will have it if you don't like it

lol. Probably . I expected Kittyfrisk might too .

Kittyfrisk

My spidey senses are tingling...

HarrySeven

guitars4you said:

Harry will have it if you don't like it @ICBM

More than a possibility...  

Kittyfrisk

 Harry is expressing an interest??

Me vs Harry 

Funkfingers

Which one is you?

Kittyfrisk

The sartorially untanked one.
 I once tried the ' By the power of Greyskull' trick too & breaking the Elder wand, to no avail.
Resistance is futile...

brooom

I remember playing a Maison which, if memory doesn't fail me, had similar construction and it sounded really good. So sometimes, these things do surprise you.

guitars4you

Kittyfrisk said:

 Harry is expressing an interest??

Me vs Harry 

surely this is the type of tank @HarrySeven would have

Kittyfrisk

This might possibly be closer to Harry's usual acceptance restoration condition

HarrySeven

@Kittyfrisk - True, that...

guitars4you

Harry with his tank and crew on a mission as 'oddball' 

HarrySeven

 

ICBM

Bugger. Just taken some measurements and it seems that even with the neck moved back to the correct position, the bridge is still too far forwards. So I'll have to move that as well... more work than I really wanted! But at least I prefer a further-back bridge .

Funkfingers

EITHER part it out and sell for profit
OR take it onstage for your encore à la Ritchie Blackmore.