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tjon901 « Cool new Semi-Hollow guitar with Custom Shop Features »
Published on 12/19/11 at 10:38The new Gibson Midtown Custom is a guitar they should have made 50 years ago. Its hard to imagine that this is a brand new guitar. Gibson got just about everything right with this guitar and I hope they continue to produce it for a good long while. If this guitar followed Gibsons normal naming model it would be called the CS-35TD or something because it is a mix of the ES-335TD with its block inlays and Custom headstock with the split diamond inlay and it has the same smaller body of the CS-336. So its a small bodied 335 with the classy neck and headstock of a Les Paul Custom. The guitar has a mahogany body with maple top and a set mahogany neck. The neck is the thinner 60s profile. The fretboard has an ebony composite called Richlite. Martin uses it in their acoustic guitars, its made out of recycled wood. The guitar normally comes with Burstbuckers but this example was upgraded with a set of 57 Classics. The controls are what you normally see on Gibsons with a volume and tone for each pickup and a 3 way selector.
UTILIZATION
Although this guitar may not look very different than the old 335 it feels a lot better when you play it. The smaller body means it feels more comfortable to your body. you do not have to reach around the guitar as much when you play. The edge of the guitar are still kinda sharp and will chafe after a while but it is more comfortable than a 335. The 60s neck is nice and thin and doesnt feel like a baseball bat when you are playing it. The richlite fretboard is super smooth and looks like a perfect piece of ebony. Im sure many people wouldnt know and couldnt tell that it wasnt ebony.
SOUNDS
These guitars have a ton of natural tone due to their big semi hollow bodies. With a semi-hollow you get a slightly more woody sound in the tone. The sound is also a bit mellower because it is not a solid body. It has a bit more airy sound. The 57 Classics are great PAF replicas. Coming from Gibson they better be close because they made the original PAF's. The super smooth tone from the 57s Classics blend well with the semi hollow body. With some overdrive you can get a real sour old school bite to it from the vowelness of the 57 Classics. With more overdrive the sound is pure old school rock and roll. The jazzy tones come out of this guitar as well if you roll back some volume and some tone. This guitar is great for just about every old school type of guitar playing.
OVERALL OPINION
The best thing about this guitar is the price. These guitars are only selling for like 1400 USD new. That is an insane price for a guitar like this. A 335 with a matte finish and dot inlays costs more than 2200 dollars. This guitar has a gloss finish and block inlays for 800 bucks less. To get a 335 with block inlays its 3500 dollars and it doesnt come with the split diamond inlay. If you are looking for a 335 you might as well check this out and try and save some money. You can save money and get a guitar that I believe plays better. The Gibson Midtown Custom is win win.
UTILIZATION
Although this guitar may not look very different than the old 335 it feels a lot better when you play it. The smaller body means it feels more comfortable to your body. you do not have to reach around the guitar as much when you play. The edge of the guitar are still kinda sharp and will chafe after a while but it is more comfortable than a 335. The 60s neck is nice and thin and doesnt feel like a baseball bat when you are playing it. The richlite fretboard is super smooth and looks like a perfect piece of ebony. Im sure many people wouldnt know and couldnt tell that it wasnt ebony.
SOUNDS
These guitars have a ton of natural tone due to their big semi hollow bodies. With a semi-hollow you get a slightly more woody sound in the tone. The sound is also a bit mellower because it is not a solid body. It has a bit more airy sound. The 57 Classics are great PAF replicas. Coming from Gibson they better be close because they made the original PAF's. The super smooth tone from the 57s Classics blend well with the semi hollow body. With some overdrive you can get a real sour old school bite to it from the vowelness of the 57 Classics. With more overdrive the sound is pure old school rock and roll. The jazzy tones come out of this guitar as well if you roll back some volume and some tone. This guitar is great for just about every old school type of guitar playing.
OVERALL OPINION
The best thing about this guitar is the price. These guitars are only selling for like 1400 USD new. That is an insane price for a guitar like this. A 335 with a matte finish and dot inlays costs more than 2200 dollars. This guitar has a gloss finish and block inlays for 800 bucks less. To get a 335 with block inlays its 3500 dollars and it doesnt come with the split diamond inlay. If you are looking for a 335 you might as well check this out and try and save some money. You can save money and get a guitar that I believe plays better. The Gibson Midtown Custom is win win.