All user reviews of 4/5 for the Gibson ES-339 30/60 Slender Neck

I've played guitar nearly all my life. Dabbled in piano, tried drums, been in some garage bands, play harmonica, etc. I guess you could say I'm a jack of all trades and master of none. Especially considering I'm so on and off with playing that I never really got past a certain point with my skills, but I can still hold my own. Oh well.

I bought this guitar at Guitar Center in Robinson Twp. PA. It was about $1800. I had been saving for a while for a new guitar and wasn't sure what I wanted, but when I saw this ES-339 I could not resist.

Tone! Tone! Tone! And that's not Toni, Tony, Tone.. I mean sound quality and lot's of it. This semi-hollowbody has a sweet rich tone with a lot of sustain and is easy to play. The thin but large body rests nicely on the lap and is easy to control when you're sitting on a stool or some other awkward position which is a pretty common thing when you're having impromptu jam sessions.

Honestly, I bought this guitar because it has a real classic look, feel and tone to it, but I'm not thrilled with the paint job. Even though that's petty, if I would ever do anything to this guitar, it would be to give it a face lift. I've always liked those darker quilted cherry looks with the golf humbuckers. But I'll live with it for a while, because the Tone! Tone! Tone! is worth it.

Construction and quality are first rate. I'm assuming that Gibson's are still made right here in the old U.S. of A, so everything is heavy, solid, and finished well. Plus, it's a Gibson, and that says a lot about quality right there.

In summary, I would say that I didn't really get a deal on this guitar - but I wasn't looking for one. I wouldn't even say that the price versus value is competitive, but it's a Gibson - what do you expect? It will probably become a classic and be worth lots of money, haha. At any rate, the best feature of this guitar is it's excellent tonal characteristics and if anything was worth the $1800 paid, that was it. Bravo! Gibson for creating yet another masterpiece.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com

Body Type: ES-339
Body Wood: Maple/poplar/maple laminate
Top wood:Maple/poplar/maple laminate
Scale Length: 24-3/4"
Neck Joint: Set-in
Neck Wood: Mahogany
Neck Profile: Slender Players Profile - '60s slim-neck plus .030" front-to-back
Fretboard: Rosewood
Frets: 22
Nut Width: 1-11/16"
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Bridge: Fixed
Pickup Bridge: '57 Classic Humbucker
Pickup Neck: '57 Classic Humbucker
Controls: Volume / Volume / Tone / Tone
Tuners: Kluson
Hardware color: Nickel
Pickup selector: 3-way
Finish: Lacquer



UTILIZATION

Gibson has been marketing this guitar as the ultimate hollowbody for the solid body player. But between me and most of the players I know this is just a budget 335. Or in my case since I'm a smaller guy, it's a 335 that doesn't make me look tiny. I'll start with the bad stuff. I ordered mine and when I got it I felt that the fretwork was not amazing. There are some poking frets in the upper part of the neck. I figured maybe the neck had shrunk and needed to acclimate but after a week it had not changed. This isn't something that's a total deal breaker but I would expect better from a high end Gibson guitar. Playability is good. Like a lot of gibsons it needed a nut filing to stay in tune. Nothing major. The body work and finish are good. Hardware all works as well as one would hope.

I really like how light weight yet solid body shaped it is. It's a super comfortable guitar and it looks cool too.

SOUNDS

As far as I know these have the same pickups as the 335's but the tone is fairly different to my ears. I have owned a couple of older 335's and to my ears the 339 doesn't quite have the depth and deep sound on the cleans that the 335 does. But the 339 has more clarity I think. It does not sound anything like a Les Paul as some people have tried to say. It's very much a semi hollow all the way. I really like to play mine through a Suhr Badger or a 65 London head. It seems to like british amps and I don't really care for it through anything 6L6. It's already a dark enough guitar as it is. Unless you play jazz and like that sort of thing.

OVERALL OPINION

Besides the pretty unforgivable fretwork I am satisfied. It's hard to find a Gibson these days that doesn't have some sort of issue. Almost all of them have poor nuts. Fortunately mine sounds great and the feel is mostly there. I might replace the tuners and have some fretwork done to it. In my opinion this is a great alternative to the overpriced 335. In fact these are a bit of a steal for what they are. Especially on the used market. Whether you do jazz, blues, or want to use it for rock I think it's great for all three.

United States Custom Shop. Yum!
22 frets, micro 57. Attention is powerful enough.
Gibson's pure juice: the old couple machinmatic stop bar etc..
Gib's' pure juice for the rglages also: A volume and tonality in mic, a selector 3 positions.

A small regret: there are mcaniques tulip style, this shit is not that infme tuning (unworthy of a guitar of this price for Gibson and ashamed for all these years). Prfr stuff that I keep well, wet or others. We're going to have to start playing like but we'll see a small change in MCA for later ...

I team of Straplocks, can not be too careful.

What type of race?
Fretboard, h banana!

This is the handle 60's style slim type. Fits me, I like not too many big round handles.
Vrifier be when you buy the beast, it is the team's slim type 60 or 50's well rounded.

UTILIZATION

Apart from the varnish on the back, neck enjoyable. Not the end I even tt at Gibson, but when even enjoyable. Personal I do not like the '59 rounded neck, while the one for me everything.
Access in acute is better than a Les Paul, worse than a SG. A few prs the same sensations on my 335. It's good enough for me.
It is (good) over a lightweight LP is less than 335 large: the best of both worlds?

Do you get a good sound easy? ...
Yes, fastoche, even.

SOUNDS

Appropriate are your style of music?
I play Blues and Rock, then coat tails in the mile
With what (s) amplifier (s) or effect (s) do you play?
Amp lamp rigor. I fear not to put a little distortion to the buttocks.
What kind of sound you get and with what rglages ("crystalline", "bold ",....)?
The light is good, less jazzy than LP, but it's good. Otherwise, a 335 comparable in every respect sound with a tad less serious perhaps.
She goes home with some soft string my taste, probably from 10-46. I told the aicoll 11-49, SETTING THE Verify the handle and the bridge, has given him a little punchy from surcrot. In addition, with the strings a little more tense, it really just down the action for the solos while not bordering too rhythmic for is happiness.
What are the sounds you prfrez, you dtest?
I do not like Johnny Haliday, but since it is not 339, the honor is safe.

OVERALL OPINION

How long have you use it?
I use the beautiful rptition in recent months.
I had a test there is more than a year (maybe even two, see below), and I t convinced.

What is the particular feature you like best and least?
The template of an LP in less heavy, with a 335 and smaller, the sound of 335. This is a guitar compromise, but with a great sound and a pretty good ergonomics. It is lightweight, has rings, it's easy to play.
What I like least: the mcaniques not really reliable, to think often connect (Gibson, you do ...). ch

Have you tried many other models before acqurir?
We can say is, yes.

How do you report qualitprix?
Expensive that it's Gibson, but not so much as a: bought around 1750 for a guitar of this quality even when it is not theft. Aujour'dui, I saw less than 1600 Roros, even better!
It was a beautiful tui is described above Custom Shop, the color is beautiful. Q / P OK, finally, but no more.
Seulregret true: the mcaniques ...

Exprience with, you will do again this choice? ...
Well no, as one has enough for me!

I was hooked on this scratch looking for a guitar for a post myself. AIM had not so he had not bought. I had not bought either, since DJ j'tais well supplied with electric guitars.
Fatal error! Over time, I thought more and more silent it quite this small scratches, But then no way to find one in Paris. Gibson seems to make them drop the account, which does not m'tonne: a must shade for other models of the brand as a guitar! Gib's Custom Shop 'this award, not grow on trees. It looks like a wildly trs good opportunity not to be missed.
A force to go and look, I ended up in a dgoter. I am a scratch happy!
The small will become rptition my guitar, and it will stay quietly in the room. As a, the house remains her friends will not be too jealous.

The Gibson ES339 is made in Gibson's "Custom Shop" plant in Memphis, TN and is advertised as having the classic hollowbody tone and feel of a 335, but also the sustain and richness of a classic Gibson solidbody like a Les Paul. It's meant to cater to the crowd of players that love a 335, but may not gel with the size or perhaps someone who likes the hollowbody tone that only a 335 can deliver, but is so used to a Les Paul or other solidbody that going to a full semi hollow guitar would be a challenge. The full list of specs are as follows:

Body Wood: Maple/poplar/maple laminate
Top wood:Maple/poplar/maple laminate
Scale Length: 24-3/4"
Neck Joint: Set-in
Neck Wood: Mahogany
Neck Profile: Slender Players Profile - '60s slim-neck plus .030" front-to-back (Also available in a fatter '59 profile.)
Fretboard: Rosewood
Frets: 22
Nut Width: 1-11/16"
Fretboard Radius: 12"
Bridge: Fixed
Pickup Bridge: '57 Classic Humbucker
Pickup Neck: '57 Classic Humbucker
Controls: Volume / Volume / Tone / Tone
Tuners: Kluson
Hardware color: Nickel
Pickup selector: 3-way
Finish: Lacquer



UTILIZATION

As far as ergonomics go, I can't say the 339 is the most balanced guitar on the planet. I'm not sure if it's a personal thing, but I've never found hollowbodies to balance as well as solidbody guitars when I am playing them. However, it's much lighter and easier to hold for me than a 335 or a full bodied Gibson like an ES175. I was able to play a 339 for longer periods of time without discomfort compared to a 335. The upper fret access is reasonable considering the guitar's design. The neck joint is traditional for Gibson, and the cutaways are fairly short and stout. However, neither of these impede upper fret access in the slightest. I was able to play fast passages up higher on the neck without much issue. It's obviously not as easy to play as a superstrat type guitar, but for what it is design wise, it plays very well.

Getting a good tone out of the guitar is very simple. It's loaded with a set of Gibson's '57 Classic humbuckers and sounds like a classic Gibson guitar that is a hybrid of a hollowbody and a solidbody. It's wired just like a typical Gibson guitar, so there isn't a ton of extra features to get to know. The one major difference is the Memphis Tone Circuit, which basically keeps the tone crisper and richer when you roll the tone control back (IE: it doesn't get muddy). Definitely a cool sounding guitar.

SOUNDS

I've tried the ES339 with various Fender, Marshall and Mesa Boogie amps. It has a great variety of sounds available which is a nice thing. It does everything from jazz and blues to hard rock (think early Zeppelin or Rush) fairly convincingly. The '57 Classics deliver a nice punch that contributes to a tone that is part 335, part Les Paul. Clean tones were very rich and full, with that nice airiness that only a hollowbody can deliver. Shimmering chords or fast bebop passages came through clearly and articulately, and sounded great. The dirty tones had a nice old school bite to them. They weren't quite as meaty as a Les Paul or as rounded as a 335... but rather I thought they had their own cool vibe about them. Rhythm tones ala seventies arena rock were very full sounding, and the smaller but still hollowed-out body gave the tones a nice texture that my Les Pauls couldn't quite attain. Lead lines were still quite articulate, but I did find them a little bit overbearing in the bass with certain distortion tones.

OVERALL OPINION

The Gibson ESS39 is a killer ax from Gibson's Custom Shop that offers a nice compromise between the classic Les Paul and the classic ES335. They retail at about $2,000 brand new, which is a killer deal considering you are getting a brand new, Custom Shop guitar. The stock parts all function very well and I would see very little reason to swap any components out. All in all I feel that it's just a good versatile ax with a little bit of a different flavour to a traditional Gibson, and that might just be what you're looking for!