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Wanted: Memphis ES335 '63 Cherry

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john_skaarjohn_skaar Frets: 24
edited May 2021 in Guitars £
Hi all

I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right place, but I'm searching for a Memphis '63 ES335 in Cherry. Factory Bigsby is not an issue if you are interested in selling!

Some nice patterns in the wood is great, but not flamed ("plain" only like the attached image)

Let me know if you have one and you are interested in parting with it! 


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Comments

  • @Fishboy7 Fantastic, thank you, I will check it out! :) Just goes to show I'm not up to speed on making the search filters on the forums work very well!  :#
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  • Small bump! Any other examples about?  :3
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  • HattigolHattigol Frets: 8176
    Out of interest, if you don't fancy the stunning one that @bloomer has, which fits your description and is on at a very sensible price, what exactly are you looking for?
    "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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  • @Hattigol The one in the link is what I'm after, but it's currently on hold, so unless/until that changes I'm still on the lookout  =)
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  • john_skaarjohn_skaar Frets: 24
    Unfortunately the lovely example that Bloomer had for sale is no longer available  :/ If anyone has another lead, I would be very thankful  :)

    It seems both Reverb and eBay are somewhat dormant with regards to ES-335s coming up for sale, so a bit of detective work and searching for guitars that aren't advertised may be the route to take ;)
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    I have a Nashville '63 RI in sunburst that I was considering selling.
    PM me if you are interested and I can make photos available.
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  • john_skaarjohn_skaar Frets: 24
    edited May 2021
    @octatonic Thanks for the suggestion! It's the Cherry colour that tops the list for me, as lovely as a Sunburst guitar is, I've had a couple come and go but the colour never seemed to become a permanent fixture.

    The reason I'm after a 335 is as a replacement for a Cherry '68 ES-335 that I let go of about 5 years ago. The neck profile on that guitar was slightly too thin for me. The '63 RIs I've tried in a friend's collection have been a good fit, but unfortunately they're not selling!

    Looking at how prices on the late '60s ESs have developed in the last few years compared to what I sold it for, I should have held on to the '68 a little longer! 
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  • john_skaarjohn_skaar Frets: 24
    Bump  =)
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  • john_skaarjohn_skaar Frets: 24
    Bump :) Reading back to my original post and having done some more research, the "Limited" models are not a requirement, just a '63 reissue from Memphis :) I've removed the "Limited" bit from the original post to prevent any confusion!
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  • john_skaarjohn_skaar Frets: 24
    edited May 2021
    Hi all, just letting you know the search for a 335 is over and I've found an amazing example in something I didn't expect... A Heritage H535 Antique (Blonde).

    I dropped into Andertons on Sunday to have a look at a figured ES-335 they had in stock as I wanted to see how it played. As I walked through the shop, a selection of Heritage guitars on the wall caught my eye on the way to the test room and I brought a Heritage H530 (P90s like an ES330) into the booth, very much out of curiosity, along with the Gibson. The Gibson ES felt quite stiff and lifeless, and the necks on both the Gibson and the H530 felt ever so slightly too chunky despite measuring thinner than some guitars I own. Maybe the profiles were just a bit too full...

    On the way back out of the test booth to speak to Paul (the Andertons rep who helped me in an extremely professional and genuinely interested manner), I spotted an Antique (Blonde) Heritage H535 with a lightly figured top sitting on a display that I completely missed the first time around, as part of a trio of Blonde Heritage models (the other two being big body archtops). While Paul was taking the aforementioned measurements of the necks on the Gibson and H530, I had a little unplugged noodle on the Blonde H535 and it was immediately apparent that it was a different animal to the others. The neck was ever so slightly slimmer - probably negligible if measured, but enough to make a difference - and bending notes felt much cleaner with more high end "zing" and a "drier" more focused bottom end, not muted or softened like the Gibson. Taking the H535 to the booth to plug it in, and in much the same way as when I played it unplugged, I knew within a minute that it was good, even through an unfamiliar amp.

    Within 2 minutes of going into the booth, I was back on the shop floor and doing the deal with Paul. As an added bonus, there is not a single thing I can fault with the build quality of the Heritage, or any of the other Heritage guitars I saw/handled on display.

    I started out at the end of April looking for a Cherry Red Gibson ES-335 without figuring, and ended up with a Blonde Heritage H535 with figuring! Life works in mysterious ways!

    Thank you to everyone who sent tips/got in touch in my search, it is much appreciated! This was a curveball I was not expecting, but there's something special that happens when you pick up a guitar you've never played before and it feels like one you've owned for years. No icebreakers needed here!

    I'll get some pics taken once the weather eases up!
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  • brooombrooom Frets: 1170
    That's really funny, you were so specific about wanting a 63 Memphis ES-335 I never bothered offering my 61 Memphis (Warren Haynes model).

    Glad you found the Heritage, they're cool guitars.
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