The CLEANEST Vintage Gibson ES-335 I've Ever Had (1964)

Check out this crazy clean 1964 Gibson ES-335 that I was privileged to buy from the daughter of its original owner a few weeks ago at the Nashville guitar show! It's exactly what I was looking for since 1964 is one of the best years for the model. It's the same year as the Clapton ES-335, but more important to me is the neck profile. The '64 neck profile is more similar to the '59 profile measuring 0.80" deep at the first fret and 0.96" deep at the 12th fret. It's a few hundredths of an inch slimmer at the first fret than the '59, but exactly the same as many '59s at the 12th fret. To me, it's a perfect feeling neck.
1964 Gibson ES-335 listing here: truevintageguitar.com/product...
John: / truevintageguitar
Riggs: / the_riggstaylor
YT here: @RiggsTaylor
As I was fawning over how nice and clean this 1964 Gibson ES-335 had survived, I noticed that the CUSTOM MADE plaque didn't have the typical two small brads on either side. I could tell that it is a vintage correct part and that the Bigsby was the correct model and time period, but the ground wire was going to the pre-drilled stop tail studs instead of to the Bigsby. This leads me to think that this was likely a dealer installed Bigsby tailpiece when new. I added the necessary ground wire exactly the way the Gibson factory would do it. Now the strings are grounded and it's a fantastic playing and sounding example!
There's a lot of love for the PAF sticker pickups Gibson made in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but did you know that the early patent number sticker pickups are exactly the same? Let's test that claim by comparing the sound of this 1964 Gibson ES-335 to a 1961 Gibson ES-355 mono with original PAF pickups. Hear Riggs play both of them at the end.
Link to the 1961Gibson ES-355 here: truevintageguitar.com/product...
Are you looking to sell a vintage Gibson guitar? You can contact me here: truevintageguitar.com/pages/s...

[@lmichellemurakami9574]

Mercy, John! Thank you so much for doing justice to Dad's guitar! I was having a few regrets about selling it at first, but I think that Dad would be pleased to know that it went to your capable hands to bring it back to its intended glory with that vexing buzz that he never figured out how to repair. Hearing it played brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for working with us in those last few moments of the guitar show when most of the vendors were starting to pack up. You're a true pro.

[@deaterk]

I bet you’re right in that the lack of a ground is a big reason the guitar has so little wear/use! Love your presentations! Thanks for sharing!

[@rmarkchizek742]

I actually favor the clean tones of the 64. I have a 65 es345 that is all original and has onePAF and one Pat#. They had some extra gold covered PAF’s and had to use them up. It’s a great guitar- but not clean- it’s been used ! No breaks and all original, but doesn’t look like these!

[@sunbrst62]

Just speaking of what was presented here (to my ears) the ‘61 had some articulation I didn’t hear in the ‘64. And not at all convinced that would hold up (again to my ears) if you swapped the pickups in these guitars. BTW articulation to me isn’t a measurement of desirability. For some maybe for others not.

[@rjrguitar]

The 335 has a comparatively broader sound next to the 355, which sounds a little more compressed, due to two main factors. First, the 355 has Grover machine heads, which are considerably heavier than the Kluson machines on the 335. Less peghead weight tends to give a guitar a sound that is more open and dimensional, but with a little bit less overall sustain, wherein relatively more peghead weight makes the notes more compressed sounding, as well as more even. Second is the Brazilian rosewood fingerboard on the 335, versus the ebony fingerboard on the 355, wherein the ebony has a more pointed and direct sound than the rosewood (which is a little warmer). I find that guitars with ebony fingerboards (on mahogany necks) enable the notes to be heard "better" and more clearly in a band mix compared to rosewood/mahogany necks, especially when there is a second guitar player or a particularly dense-sounding keyboard player. IMO opinion, the tonal difference between the 335 and 355 has more to do with the different machine heads and different fingerboard woods than with the differences in those particular guitar pickups.

[@jampay44]

Both are very cool guitars! I have noticed, however, that a lot of RUclips demos have the player shaking the guitar while they play. Is there a reason? I don't seem to hear a difference. Is it just visual?