I was given a 1967, one owner, es 330 just this morning by my 81 year old neighbor. Don’t mean to rub it in, but can you believe my unbelievable luck!?!?
I LOVE that 330! I need one. Love the feedback, love the looks, I’d even put up with the lack of upper fretboard access.... gorgeous. Thanks for your efforts in making this vid 👍
Already bought one? Given your name you might wanna take a look at the Stanford Thinline 30.....it`s a quality guitar at a lower price point an has the neck joint at the 19th fret....so you got more fret access. Like the 330s from 1968 onwards.
The 330 pokes out a bit more. Maybe alone in a room, your ears would prefer the 335 but it seems like if searing rock n roll is where your headed, the 330 just grabs you by the throat and Sizzles. You get why the Beatles went with that Casino, especially with all the tonal pallets they were playing with. John was one of the few singers that could sing and play with the Casino, yet his vocals still could rasp along with P-90’s so rare, making him probably one of the greatest Rock N Roll singers of all time. They all were given a sonic territory to sit in. From gretsch’s, rickenbackers, to the casino...all guitars that aren’t the first go-to’s , (Tele’s seemed to do it all) yet created the template of the 60’s along with The Birds to, Neil, to Tom and beyond. These stranger guitar sounds catch our ears while 335’s create more of a pad in music. Lots to do with contrast and EQ but the 330 demands you listen to it. Both have a place. I’m speaking from instinct, not so much taste. The masters seem to have more solo’s on the 335’s yet the 330’s seem to be more in the architecture of the sound. Both breath fire given the right player and amps.
It took me some time to deciding between the 335 and the 330 . I’m more then happy that I decided 330 , this guitar great to play with or without Amp and super light . Little gain and the feedback unreal … who doesn’t love this feedback from the amps ? 😊
Hi, Perky. Is the 335's neck set-in & glued like most Gibson solid bodies or does the wood of the neck run all the way to the end pin? I have have a soft spot in my heart for the ES-330 and the feedback which is like adding another tone control. Consider how much string motion is above the pole pieces and think about how much the top may be moving from induced resonance. I can't imagine how much Ted Nugent's Gibson Byrdland guitars must have vibrated when he used 8 Fender Twin Reverbs on stage! My old acoustic fretless 5-string bass had a completely bird's eye maple body (top, sides, & back) and when it caught feedback it felt like it was about to explode into toothpicks!
Hey Bill :-) Well the neck is mahogany and the centre block is maple, so it'll be joined in the usual place/way, I'd imagine! They're both astonishing guitars...can do literally anything with the two of them! :-)
@@JoePerkinsMusic Oh, thank you! I used to be a supporter of neck-through designs on basses but have come to think that glued set-in necks transfer sound vibrations just as well as neck-through & bolt-ons.
Th 330 outclasses the 335 style in this comparison. The 335 sounds like somebody put a blanket over it compared to the lively and airy sound of the 330. I just love the 330 in this video.
Love it! Thanks for the video comparison. I had a Heritage H535 years ago and loved it. I had to get rid of it about 10 years ago and about a year and a half ago got a Heritage H-530 (like the ES-330 but the longer neck). I love this guitar, and as you said, a very different experience. It is amazing for rock, blues, and jazz. Was immediately taken with the weight (so light) and also how loud and airy it is, even acoustically. And so easy to play! It definitely is prone to feedback, but I use it mostly for jazz and in that context it sounds wonderful, but with overdrive and the Lollar P90s it sounds so so good, too.
Amazing stuff :-) Yeah, the 330/530 is a similar experience, but does need a different set of circumstances to work well - but for jazz, it'd be incredible! 🙂
Looking at the Stanford cr30 as a better price than the collings i30 . Both mouth watering beasts.. I won’t call them Axes.. but they will cut through a mix
I prefer the extended tonal palette of the 335. To my mind, that's why a lot of old school session players used a lot of 335's to make a ton of great music in the 60s, 70's, and into the 80's. The 330 sounds good, but there are too many "buts". Seems like a lot of compromises.
Yep, that's very true...the 330 is phenomenal, but the situation has to be right for it to work. The 335 works and sounds wonderful pretty much anywhere :P
As with vintage Gibsons, the neck shape/profile did vary from year to year - but yes, playing a 330 is a similar experience to playing a 335. But on older 330s (can't remember the exact year...pre-1965 as a guess, but I might be a year or two out!) and replicas of those guitars like mine, the neck is set further into the body - so upper fretboard access is limited, and the whole guitar feels more compact. But after whichever year it was in the mid 60s, the neck was moved further out to match the 335.
@@JoePerkinsMusic I’m referring to the radius and shape- depth (cross- section) of the neck not the length - my ‘59 custom shop 330 has a chunky profile and I hope the 335’s are not as big
@@JazzCatzs That's what I was meaning by shapes/profiles varying from year to year historically (as a _very_ vague guide, 58 necks were chunky; 59s were 'perfect'; and 60s were skinny) so there's no one single profile for all 330s or 335s, and it depends what year a modern guitar is based on as to what sort of neck it'll have. If your 59 330 is too chunky for you, you might want to look at a 60-onwards 335 reissue...personally, I'd say head to a big guitar shop if you can and try out as many as you can; not really any substitute to getting your hands on them, sadly!
Based on this and many other vids and with input from pro players I chose . . . The Eastman T64/TV-T, which I think has better (Lollar) P90 pickups than the Gibson 330, is better made and half the price. YMMV.
It was 1952.... The first Gibson solid body..... I played one a couple months ago..... They were gold tops, p90 loaded, and had a trapeze bridge /tailpiece..... That bridge is the guitars weakness, it sucks! You can't palm mute at all because the strings are floating.... In 53 they fixed the neck but left the crappy bridge. I believe in 54 they introduced the wrap around bridge which made the 1954 les paul a killer guitar (just ask Jeff beck) ... I believe the lp custom was also introduced in 54, regardless, soon after the tune o matic bridge was introduced, followed by the first ever humbucker (1957)......thus the paf equipped les paul is born..... The following year Gibson began applying a cherry sunburst finish. They continued making the sunburst les Paul's until 1961. Those three years yielded the best sounding and looking guitars the world has ever known..... 60 years later we are still trying to build replicas that can compare to the originals..... They were/are that good!
Ah, I said 1954 didn't I.....slip of the tongue there!! Yeah, I've heard those old trapeze Les Pauls weren't the best in terms of playability....give me an ABR-1 any day! :P
@@JoePerkinsMusic even a Nashville! Hell the wraparound is better then the trapeze....... The guitar was 20 grand n sounded and played amazing but if I bought it the first thing Id do is de value it n put a tune-o-matic on it lol......luckily I'm not burdened with such financial decisions
@@chanceterrill5346 Aha yeah exactly...the cost of vintage guitars (and the fact that there was very few lefties made!) means I'll be staying out of that market :P
@@JoePerkinsMusic well honest to God I played a 60th anniversary custom shop les paul n it has the same feel n vibe...... Truly amazing guitars...... That being said I have a studio faded that completely I rewired to be identical to a 1960 lp and that 1200 dollar guitar (with about 600 in upgrades) is a smoke show...... Even before I rewired it it was just alive! I was going in to buy a traditional (2800 at the time) n picked it up as a joke n ended up looking like a total d bag because it smoked every les paul in the store so I had to eat my words n buy it........... Vintage guitars are amazing but you can absolutely find a killer Gibson if you play a bunch..... Ive found them to be pretty great across the board now but still, there's always a couple that really stand out, whether it's just the grain pattern or climate when it grew or maybe the tree got struck by lighting, I don't know but those super Alive guitars are the ones to buy..... They only sound better with age...... The downside is the ones that are really "alive" seem to be the least impressive visually..... The ones with ugly plain tops or mis matched flame, a bad burst sprayed etc....... N the beautiful ones are always good but not quite as lol ( at least that's been my experience with the USA line)
Some of us buy these guitars to play jazz and fusion styles. Shame the neck pickup wasn't tested with a clean sound and single notes by a decent guitar player!
Make your own demo video then. His demos to be incredibly refreshing! I don’t care about single note widdly-diddly. I want to hear chords strummed. As if he were the rhythm guitarist in a “rock” band. If breezy, jazzy neck pickup stuff is what you seek, there must be plenty of people demoing like this. If not, you should do it! There are probably others like you who want to hear that style.
I think I listened to this video with my eyes rather than my ears - the 330 sounded a lot more airy, and I want one. Now.
It's really special :-) If you find one used (don't believe Gibson make the 330 routinely, just one-off runs) definitely go try it out!
I was given a 1967, one owner, es 330 just this morning by my 81 year old neighbor. Don’t mean to rub it in, but can you believe my unbelievable luck!?!?
I LOVE that 330! I need one. Love the feedback, love the looks, I’d even put up with the lack of upper fretboard access.... gorgeous. Thanks for your efforts in making this vid 👍
It's a thing of beauty :-) I love recording with it...it just sounds 'right' in a track!
Already bought one?
Given your name you might wanna take a look at the Stanford Thinline 30.....it`s a quality guitar at a lower price point an has the neck joint at the 19th fret....so you got more fret access. Like the 330s from 1968 onwards.
The 330 pokes out a bit more. Maybe alone in a room, your ears would prefer the 335 but it seems like if searing rock n roll is where your headed, the 330 just grabs you by the throat and Sizzles. You get why the Beatles went with that Casino, especially with all the tonal pallets they were playing with. John was one of the few singers that could sing and play with the Casino, yet his vocals still could rasp along with P-90’s so rare, making him probably one of the greatest Rock N Roll singers of all time. They all were given a sonic territory to sit in. From gretsch’s, rickenbackers, to the casino...all guitars that aren’t the first go-to’s , (Tele’s seemed to do it all) yet created the template of the 60’s along with The Birds to, Neil, to Tom and beyond. These stranger guitar sounds catch our ears while 335’s create more of a pad in music. Lots to do with contrast and EQ but the 330 demands you listen to it. Both have a place. I’m speaking from instinct, not so much taste. The masters seem to have more solo’s on the 335’s yet the 330’s seem to be more in the architecture of the sound. Both breath fire given the right player and amps.
Yep, absolutely :-) All about the situation and context...but both are incredible instruments in the right hands! (Probably not mine! hah)
Yeh that's what I think.
I would love a 330 but am very tempted by the Eastman t64 at the price
It took me some time to deciding between the 335 and the 330 . I’m more then happy that I decided 330 , this guitar great to play with or without Amp and super light . Little gain and the feedback unreal … who doesn’t love this feedback from the amps ? 😊
Such an amazing guitar! :-) You chose wisely...though I do love the 335 too! ;-)
I have the 355 too ! ;) rock on ..love the 335 , love them all .
I've had a sheraton ii for 15 years but I've always wanted to give a 330 style guitar a try - so much feedback you can see it from the front
I have two 335s and one 330....being a strat guy the 330 is sooo special
Ah, I can definitely see how the 330 sounds a bit more 'Stratty'! And yes, I agree....once you get it into its happy place, the 330 is hard to beat!
Good to see another lefty! I've been lusting after a VOS ES-335 for a while now... I'm trying to be disciplined.
Hi, Perky. Is the 335's neck set-in & glued like most Gibson solid bodies or does the wood of the neck run all the way to the end pin? I have have a soft spot in my heart for the ES-330 and the feedback which is like adding another tone control. Consider how much string motion is above the pole pieces and think about how much the top may be moving from induced resonance. I can't imagine how much Ted Nugent's Gibson Byrdland guitars must have vibrated when he used 8 Fender Twin Reverbs on stage! My old acoustic fretless 5-string bass had a completely bird's eye maple body (top, sides, & back) and when it caught feedback it felt like it was about to explode into toothpicks!
Hey Bill :-) Well the neck is mahogany and the centre block is maple, so it'll be joined in the usual place/way, I'd imagine! They're both astonishing guitars...can do literally anything with the two of them! :-)
@@JoePerkinsMusic Oh, thank you! I used to be a supporter of neck-through designs on basses but have come to think that glued set-in necks transfer sound vibrations just as well as neck-through & bolt-ons.
Th 330 outclasses the 335 style in this comparison. The 335 sounds like somebody put a blanket over it compared to the lively and airy sound of the 330. I just love the 330 in this video.
Love it! Thanks for the video comparison. I had a Heritage H535 years ago and loved it. I had to get rid of it about 10 years ago and about a year and a half ago got a Heritage H-530 (like the ES-330 but the longer neck). I love this guitar, and as you said, a very different experience. It is amazing for rock, blues, and jazz. Was immediately taken with the weight (so light) and also how loud and airy it is, even acoustically. And so easy to play! It definitely is prone to feedback, but I use it mostly for jazz and in that context it sounds wonderful, but with overdrive and the Lollar P90s it sounds so so good, too.
Amazing stuff :-) Yeah, the 330/530 is a similar experience, but does need a different set of circumstances to work well - but for jazz, it'd be incredible! 🙂
Looking at the Stanford cr30 as a better price than the collings i30 .
Both mouth watering beasts..
I won’t call them Axes.. but they will cut through a mix
Love the 330! Great Video! Thanks!!!
I love both, yet the 330 has some aspects that feel wierd. I think I'm getting both...
I prefer the extended tonal palette of the 335. To my mind, that's why a lot of old school session players used a lot of 335's to make a ton of great music in the 60s, 70's, and into the 80's. The 330 sounds good, but there are too many "buts". Seems like a lot of compromises.
Yep, that's very true...the 330 is phenomenal, but the situation has to be right for it to work. The 335 works and sounds wonderful pretty much anywhere :P
Nice!!! You rock!!! Thank you.
I have a 330 all I play is jazz so it’s great- are the neck depth and shape exactly the same with the 335?
As with vintage Gibsons, the neck shape/profile did vary from year to year - but yes, playing a 330 is a similar experience to playing a 335. But on older 330s (can't remember the exact year...pre-1965 as a guess, but I might be a year or two out!) and replicas of those guitars like mine, the neck is set further into the body - so upper fretboard access is limited, and the whole guitar feels more compact. But after whichever year it was in the mid 60s, the neck was moved further out to match the 335.
@@JoePerkinsMusic I’m referring to the radius and shape- depth (cross- section) of the neck not the length - my ‘59 custom shop 330 has a chunky profile and I hope the 335’s are not as big
@@JazzCatzs That's what I was meaning by shapes/profiles varying from year to year historically (as a _very_ vague guide, 58 necks were chunky; 59s were 'perfect'; and 60s were skinny) so there's no one single profile for all 330s or 335s, and it depends what year a modern guitar is based on as to what sort of neck it'll have. If your 59 330 is too chunky for you, you might want to look at a 60-onwards 335 reissue...personally, I'd say head to a big guitar shop if you can and try out as many as you can; not really any substitute to getting your hands on them, sadly!
I can not hear enough difference in tone to choose the 330 with its feedback problems....I guess...however I always like woody, hollow guitars.
Thank u so much for this video 🙏🏽.
Based on this and many other vids and with input from pro players I chose . . . The Eastman T64/TV-T, which I think has better (Lollar) P90 pickups than the Gibson 330, is better made and half the price. YMMV.
It was 1952.... The first Gibson solid body..... I played one a couple months ago..... They were gold tops, p90 loaded, and had a trapeze bridge /tailpiece..... That bridge is the guitars weakness, it sucks! You can't palm mute at all because the strings are floating.... In 53 they fixed the neck but left the crappy bridge. I believe in 54 they introduced the wrap around bridge which made the 1954 les paul a killer guitar (just ask Jeff beck) ... I believe the lp custom was also introduced in 54, regardless, soon after the tune o matic bridge was introduced, followed by the first ever humbucker (1957)......thus the paf equipped les paul is born..... The following year Gibson began applying a cherry sunburst finish. They continued making the sunburst les Paul's until 1961. Those three years yielded the best sounding and looking guitars the world has ever known..... 60 years later we are still trying to build replicas that can compare to the originals..... They were/are that good!
Ah, I said 1954 didn't I.....slip of the tongue there!! Yeah, I've heard those old trapeze Les Pauls weren't the best in terms of playability....give me an ABR-1 any day! :P
@@JoePerkinsMusic even a Nashville! Hell the wraparound is better then the trapeze....... The guitar was 20 grand n sounded and played amazing but if I bought it the first thing Id do is de value it n put a tune-o-matic on it lol......luckily I'm not burdened with such financial decisions
@@chanceterrill5346 Aha yeah exactly...the cost of vintage guitars (and the fact that there was very few lefties made!) means I'll be staying out of that market :P
@@JoePerkinsMusic well honest to God I played a 60th anniversary custom shop les paul n it has the same feel n vibe...... Truly amazing guitars...... That being said I have a studio faded that completely I rewired to be identical to a 1960 lp and that 1200 dollar guitar (with about 600 in upgrades) is a smoke show...... Even before I rewired it it was just alive! I was going in to buy a traditional (2800 at the time) n picked it up as a joke n ended up looking like a total d bag because it smoked every les paul in the store so I had to eat my words n buy it........... Vintage guitars are amazing but you can absolutely find a killer Gibson if you play a bunch..... Ive found them to be pretty great across the board now but still, there's always a couple that really stand out, whether it's just the grain pattern or climate when it grew or maybe the tree got struck by lighting, I don't know but those super Alive guitars are the ones to buy..... They only sound better with age...... The downside is the ones that are really "alive" seem to be the least impressive visually..... The ones with ugly plain tops or mis matched flame, a bad burst sprayed etc....... N the beautiful ones are always good but not quite as lol ( at least that's been my experience with the USA line)
335..by a mile...
Some of us buy these guitars to play jazz and fusion styles. Shame the neck pickup wasn't tested with a clean sound and single notes by a decent guitar player!
Some of us don’t.
Make your own demo video then. His demos to be incredibly refreshing! I don’t care about single note widdly-diddly. I want to hear chords strummed. As if he were the rhythm guitarist in a “rock” band. If breezy, jazzy neck pickup stuff is what you seek, there must be plenty of people demoing like this. If not, you should do it! There are probably others like you who want to hear that style.
The 330 sounded better louder clearer every time.