Red or Black... NGD!!

stickyfiddle

After some chonky flight delays, I owed you lot a GAS thread. Having successfully split opinion in my last thread, I went back on our last morning in Tokyo and played the black one again. This time wearing the closest I had to stage clothes so I could get a proper vibe check… 

A decision didn’t take long - this thing’s awesome

2022 Gibson CS ES-355 in VOS with factory Bigsby and all the mojo in the world. It’s in great condition and setup to perfection. Also barely half the price of a new one from Peach, thanks to a good deal and a low Yen. 

Ultimately it came down to picking the better instrument, combined with wanting more of a blank canvas and not something that would push me to play something specific based on my own preconceptions about what that guitar is “for” (ie Marr, Butler, NG)

RaymondLin

First to give a Wow!

p.s. I am glad you picked the black one!

Offset

Looks awesome, and I too would have chosen black one based purely on looks.

All that remains to say is "thank fuck it wasn't a Murphy Labs job" :-)

HNGD!

stickyfiddle

Offset said:

Looks awesome, and I too would have chosen black one based purely on looks.

All it remains to say is "thank fuck it wasn't a Murphy Labs job" :-)

HNGD!

Yeah. I played this side by side with the ML version and honestly this was simply a better guitar in all respects. 

guitars4you

Never mind - Was banking on red

Seriously though you did the right thing in picking the one that felt better to play - Plus that pic looks better than the original shop pic as you can now see some of the VOS character - The original pic made it look to glossy - Enjoy owning and playing a might fine guitar

stickyfiddle

guitars4you said:

Never mind - Was banking on red

Seriously though you did the right thing in picking the one that felt better to play - Plus that pic looks better than the original shop pic as you can now see some of the VOS character - The original pic made it look to glossy - Enjoy owning and playing a might fine guitar

That's pretty much the conclusion I came to. If I'd known I would have found the red one I'd have taken much better photos of this one at the first attempt! 

I still want to get a bit more “age” on it but that'll come in time - ideally through gigging & sweat!

One thing that is really nice though is the bridge - the top edge is gently chamfered which makes it much nicer under your hand. Not sure if it’s the original bridge but the gold plating is over the top so I assume it is standard like this. I didn’t notice the same on any others though. 

stickyfiddle

A couple of things it does need - better strap buttons, and a Towner hinge plate thingy to make the strap button more accessible. Neither are a big deal  

I may also switch to vintage style machineheads as well, partly for looks and partly for lightness, but no hurry there. I doubt I'll change the pickups or wiring unless I have any real problems with feedback through my own gear at gig volume. 

Corvus

Lovely! Well scored.

CHRISB50

The correct answer was of course green!

That's a very nice looking thing.

Enjoy mate. Hope it serves you well.

Wazmeister

Absolutely gorgeous !

guitars4you

stickyfiddle said:

guitars4you said:

Never mind - Was banking on red

Seriously though you did the right thing in picking the one that felt better to play - Plus that pic looks better than the original shop pic as you can now see some of the VOS character - The original pic made it look to glossy - Enjoy owning and playing a might fine guitar

That's pretty much the conclusion I came to. If I'd known I would have found the red one I'd have taken much better photos of this one at the first attempt! 

I still want to get a bit more “age” on it but that'll come in time - ideally through gigging & sweat!

One thing that is really nice though is the bridge - the top edge is gently chamfered which makes it much nicer under your hand. Not sure if it’s the original bridge but the gold plating is over the top so I assume it is standard like this. I didn’t notice the same on any others though. 

Interesting and not something I had rarely noticed before - Just checked a couple of VOS/ML guitars I have in stock and yes they are slightly 'rounded' on the edge as per your pic - Whereas the same/similar ABR on a 'regular production' model has more of a 'sharp' edge 

stickyfiddle

guitars4you said:

stickyfiddle said:

guitars4you said:

Never mind - Was banking on red

Seriously though you did the right thing in picking the one that felt better to play - Plus that pic looks better than the original shop pic as you can now see some of the VOS character - The original pic made it look to glossy - Enjoy owning and playing a might fine guitar

That's pretty much the conclusion I came to. If I'd known I would have found the red one I'd have taken much better photos of this one at the first attempt! 

I still want to get a bit more “age” on it but that'll come in time - ideally through gigging & sweat!

One thing that is really nice though is the bridge - the top edge is gently chamfered which makes it much nicer under your hand. Not sure if it’s the original bridge but the gold plating is over the top so I assume it is standard like this. I didn’t notice the same on any others though. 

Interesting and not something I had rarely noticed before - Just checked a couple of VOS/ML guitars I have in stock and yes they are slightly 'rounded' on the edge as per your pic - Whereas the same/similar ABR on a 'regular production' model has more of a 'sharp' edge 

It's quite neat. I didn't notice it on the other ESes I tried, but I didn't notice they weren't rounded either. What is a little odd is that this is effectively trying to replicate 50 years of wear but of course being plated-over doesn't really make sense. Either way it feels nice so it's all good

Must be a relatively recent thing as the VOS 330 I have from the 2018 run has a regular ABR-1.  

guitargeek62

Welcome to the black ES-3x5 club!  

My VOS TL has the same softened-edge ABR-1 btw, it’s a nice touch for sure. Just a shame that yours has a bigsby

stickyfiddle

One minor niggle… the case weighs a fecking tonne and I had to carry it through both airports. 

@Wazmeister how are you finding the mono bag? I’m ordering one asap unless anyone gives me a good reason not to! 

fretmeister

Has the case got a seat on board or are you trusting the baggage monkeys?

stickyfiddle

fretmeister said:

Has the case got a seat on board or are you trusting the baggage monkeys?

I was flying business so figured I'd be ok. I can now confirm that the stupid heavy case fits in the overhead bins of an A350! I think I'd have got them to ship it to me if I'd been in economy. 

Wazmeister

stickyfiddle said:

One minor niggle… the case weighs a fecking tonne and I had to carry it through both airports. 

@Wazmeister how are you finding the mono bag? I’m ordering one asap unless anyone gives me a good reason not to! 

Its superb mate - very robust and beautifully made

Basher

Exquisite.

I think a 355 is about as tasty as it gets. Also, black ESs are fairly rare compared to their cherry or sunburst counterparts so extra points for that.

A proper gent's guitar. 

fretmeister

stickyfiddle said:

fretmeister said:

Has the case got a seat on board or are you trusting the baggage monkeys?

I was flying business so figured I'd be ok. I can now confirm that the stupid heavy case fits in the overhead bins of an A350! I think I'd have got them to ship it to me if I'd been in economy. 

Nice.

It really is a beauty - it must play amazingly well for you to put up with the visual war crime of having a bigsby on it!  

stickyfiddle

fretmeister said:

stickyfiddle said:

fretmeister said:

Has the case got a seat on board or are you trusting the baggage monkeys?

I was flying business so figured I'd be ok. I can now confirm that the stupid heavy case fits in the overhead bins of an A350! I think I'd have got them to ship it to me if I'd been in economy. 

Nice.

It really is a beauty - it must play amazingly well for you to put up with the visual war crime of having a bigsby on it!  

I tell you what, I just restrung it and remembered why I was so keen to put a B3 on the ES-330 and not a B7... 

Sporky

Nice. Red guitars are, as everyone knows, frightfully gauche.