Gibson ES335

Jerry Dragon · From: Gate City Va.

I bought a Multichord at a flea market and now I am hooked. I have nine or ten guitars and the flagship is a 1976 Tobacco 335 with a trapeze tail piece. I am torn wether I should sell it to buy a PSG. I am trying to save up but for every two steps I take forward I take one backwards. I hardly take it out of its case because of the value. It is in very nice condition although the case needs latches. I am all torn up inside, I want the PSG but I know if I sell the 335 I will regret it. I sold my 68 Cherry 335 in 84 and I bought this one to replace it. I just want to cry. Whats a poor boy to do?

Signed
Broken Hearted in N.Y.

Paul Wade · From: mundelein,ill

jerry,

my band mate has a 1959 gisbon es355 red that is worth
about $17,000.00 he was going to sell it Whoa!

i told him him if he sells that guitar i would put him away in a looning bin Devil

DONT SELL THAT gibson

p.w Smile

Dick Wood · From: Springtown Texas, USA

Jerry, I know how you feel.

I had a 1967 Strat I sold in 69 and I have regretted it ever since. In 1969 got a new 69 Les Paul Custom which I will never sell.

Don't sell it because where there's a will there's a way so just be patient and it will happen.

Jim Kennedy · From: Brentwood California, USA

Don't sell it, and be patient. Ask your friends, neighbors, relatives, other musicians, check craigslist, penny saver type papers, garage sales. You just might stumble across a good deal. I got my Sho Bud in a chance conversation with an old country picker. He had a buddy who was selling his rig, a Pro 1 and Webb Amp, both bought from Jimmy Webb's store in Antioch CA in 1984. He sold me the steel for about a 1/3 of the going price. I even told him it was worth considerably more and was he sure he wanted to sell it for the asking price. His response was "I just want it to go to someone who will enjoy it. I sure did." My only regret was not having the money to buy the Webb amp also. The guitar sounded great through that amp. All is well though, Ijust scored a Fender Quad Reverb off of craigslist unbelievably cheap becaus it's "to heavy."

Have a buddy who scored an early 50's Fender Lap Steel and amp at a garage sale for $35.00 about 12 yeas ago. I cleaned them up, retubed the amp and fixed a "hack job" on the wiring. A collector paid $1400.00 for the set. You just never know.
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ShoBud Pro 1, 75 Tele, 85 Yamaha SA 2000, Fender Cybertwin,

Gabriel Stutz · From: Chicago, USA

If you never play it, why not sell it and get something you will play. I am saying this as a non-collector, however. I just sold an amazing old ampeg amp that was rare and cool and sounded unbelievably good, but it was incredibly heavy, so I never played it out. I was afraid I would regret it, but I really haven't. I got an amp that also sounds great, is light, and I actually play and enjoy, so I think it was the right choice.

Gabriel

Tommy Wayne · From: Nevada, USA

Hi Jerry, I sent you an email. TW

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

If I may make a suggestion, open up a special bank account, specifically for the purpose of saving up for a steel.

Then, EVERY TIME you have 10 or 20 bucks in your pocket, run over to the bank and deposit it. You may make to or more trips to the bank every week, and drive the tellers crazy, but you'll be amazed at how quickly you'll have enough to buy your steel.
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Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
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Robert Harper · From: Alabama, USA

I vote don't sell. it will work out
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"Oh what a tangled web we weave when we first begin to deceive" Someone Famous

Jerry Dragon · From: Gate City Va.

I have about 4 bills put away already and that has taken me quite awhile.
I don't think I will sell it but you never know.

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

man, life is short..keep the gibby and put the psg on your credit card and get it TODAY. Devil

DO NOT SELL THAT GUITAR!

Ben Elder · From: La Crescenta, California, USA

Don't sell. I traded mine ('68) toward an impossibly rare and gorgeous Weissenborn Model D (Spanish) AND have since gotten a Trini Lopez (same beast except for cosmetics), an altered ES-Artist (same beast functionally as modified, except no soundholes) and a Barney Kessel Custom, I still longingly keep an eye out for the beloved 916155 (iced-tea sunburst). (Probably long ago turned Japanese, I really think so.) I almost paid $3300 for a near lookalike on top of the three other "cousins". While the Weissenborn is arguably the zenith of my collection (a couple dozen Weissenborns alone), I wish I'd thought of and followed Plan B. Think of another strategy to raise money for a steel.

"A penny saved is a penny earned."

Ben Franklin said that.

"There's no such thing as buyer's remorse--only seller's remorse."

Ben Elder said that.

(Or, WTF, go ahead and sell it. FS:Instruments says that. 8/9)
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"Gopher, Everett?"

Larry Hamilton · From: Amarillo,Tx

Jerry, A couple years ago or so I wanted to sell my '72 335 to pay for a new steel. No one wanted to pay what I wanted which was too high since I really in my heart didn't want to sell it. Luckily I found another way to purchase the steel. KEEP THE 335!!!!
Some thing, some how, some way will come along. Be patient. PLEASE DO NOT SELL IT. You'll be sorry.
My 2 cents. Smile

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Keep pickin', Larry

Alan Miller · From: , England, UK.

Im with the "life is too short" camp for a different reason . If it were me I would sell it 'cos if its just sitting there " gathering dust " you could get a pedal steel ASAP.
Yes life is short and you need as much of it as possible to learn to play the steel !
I suppose it depends on what age you are now, but in the humor section there was a few jokes about age, one was " at my age I don't buy green bananas "!! Rolling Eyes

Steve Feldman · From: Central MA USA

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

There are several reasons to keep the 335.

1- You are concerned that it will be worth more in the future, and you want to keep it as an investment.

2- It’s a great guitar and you feel you might never have another one that good.

3- You’ve had it for many years and have an emotional attachment to it.

If any of those are pertinent, especially 2 and 3, you should keep the guitar. If not, you should sell it.

People think of having an instrument as an end in itself, but they are wrong. An instrument is only a tool to be used for the purpose of creating music.

What would you rather hear, a poor player playing out of tune on a 50’s Fender or Gibson or a pre WW2 Martin, or a great player playing exciting wonderful stuff on a brand new Korean cheapie?

Jerry, the biggest question is whether or not you will get more use and enjoyment out of the 335 or out of a new steel?

In 1979, I sold a 50’s vintage Gibson L7-C in order to buy my green steel pictured in my avatar. That guitar was not 100% original and so is not as valuable today as it would be if it had all the original hardware, but even so it’s probably worth 5 or 6 times as much as my steel. Still I have no regrets. The guitar sat in its case. The steel gets played every day. I never used the guitar on a gig. I used the steel all the time.

I have no doubts that I made the right decision for me. Only you can decide whether a similar decision would be right for you.
_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
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Jerry Dragon · From: Gate City Va.

I only paid five hundred for it from a friend I bought it for back in 79. When I had my cherry one he wanted a guitar like it and I knew where this one was and I picked it up for him. I knew he would never play it. In 99 I called him in the Denver area and asked him if he still had it and would he sell it to me. He said sure, give me the 250.00 I paid for it. I said Jeff, that guitar is worth alot more than that, and he didn't care. I couldn't just give him the 250.00, and since I wasn't rich I insisted he take 500.00 plus the shipping costs and that is how I came into its possession. So, to make a long story short, where am I going to find another 335 for 500.00. I'm not, so my inclination is to keep it.
On a side note. I took the multichord out to and all day jam. I played mostly guitar but sat down at the multichord a few times and was able to jam out some tunes. They threw me a few leads even! I did ok, didn't make a fool of myself, and I have about twenty hours on this thing. There I am with seven strings on an 8 string and playing with a socket; real professional. I am going to give you guys a bad name.
And on another side note; these things are not instruments, they are contraptions. Smile

Michael Strauss · From: Delray Beach,Florida

Hi Jerry,

I good friend of mine has a 335 and I'll tell you what I told him when he wanted to sell, don't! His situation is different, but still if you sell it you will NEVER be able to replace it. Take it out and play it, see how it feels, how it sounds, that's a 335.

From Casablanca with some mods (red)
"I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with the 335. It's part of your work, the thing that keeps you going. If you sell the guitar, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life."

My 2cents.

Michael
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Carter S-12U, Sho-Bud LGD (80's), Fender Jazz King, Korg Pandora Toneworks PX4D, Modulus Q6, Ampeg B5R, Lapstick Travel Guitar mod to lapsteel

Barry Blackwood · Posted 3 Aug 2008 12:22 pm

Matti Viitala · From: Etelä-Pohojammaa, Finland

Jerry Dragon · From: Gate City Va.

I sold all my children for gear. I was trying to sell the wife but she caught on and put a stop to it.

Matti Viitala · From: Etelä-Pohojammaa, Finland

James Pennebaker · From: Mt. Juliet, TN

Mike Perlowin · From: Los Angeles CA

Jerry, how important is the name "Gibson" on the headstock?

There are some excellent 335 clones out there. Heritages, as Steve mentioned, and some from Asia that are astonishingly good.

Before it changed hands and discontinues it's original line, the Aslin Dane company made 2 different 335- style guitars. One was an exact clone, which they called "the Jazz" and the other, which was called the "Jumbo Jazz" had a larger lower bout, and the center block did not extend all the way to the back of the guitar, making it a cross between a semi hollow and a full hollow body.

Both these guitars had fretboards made out of a resin compound that looks and feels like wood but has no dead spots. Both these guitars can compete with Gibson in terms of the way they feel and play, and the quality of their sound. And both sold between $4 and 500 when they were new.

Most people who have these are hanging on to them, but they do show up from time to time on E-bay.

While you're saving up for your steel, you might want to check and see if one of these is pops up.

The Aslin Dane "Jazz"

The Aslin Dane "Jumbo Jazz" (Note the wider lower bout)

_________________
Please visit my web site and Soundcloud page and listen to the music posted there.
http://www.mikeperlowin.com http://soundcloud.com/mike-perlowin

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

I worked at a music store for a week or so as a kid. They paid me with a Les Paul deluxe. It was a nice guitar, it wouldnt be worth a whole lot today i guess. I sold it for $500 and bought a video camera. At the time the video camera was state of the art...i used it about 3 times. Now it sits in the back of my closet mocking me, and I cannot afford to replace the les paul. I wish I had one of those cartoon boots on a lever to kick myself in the butt with daily for selling that thing.

Joe Drivdahl · From: Montana, USA

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