The price was kind of high for that, still though, a solid find and a true one of one. I'd still call it a win, the color of that aged natural finish is amazing. @martinbaker1609 correctly described the fingerboard's heel-end binding decoration as a "Cupid's Bow Point".
Smoking a Connecticut cigar and watching these videos IS my happy place... This makes me miss my '67 335 12-to-6 string conversion with a DiMarzio Tone Zone F-spaced in the bridge with a dummy neck pickup with a kill switch...
That's a Keeper...back in the 80's I sold used cars. We used to say "If you find another one as good as this, BUY IT!" Took Brad Gillis on a test drive one time in a fully restored 70 Dodge Challenger 440 and he didn't buy it....car has quadrupled in price since then🌚
The 5 words a buyer LOVES to hear... "I know what I have!" Which is code for "Greedy idiot." I can't even imagine how often Trog has to deal with that.
@@bucklberryreturns No no, I meant he actually knows what he's selling! The original post was about sellers saying "I know what I've got!" to buyers, asking them for too much. Trogly, I doubt, would ever do that.
Varitone is just some capacitors, and a big choke on a rotery control! Position one is straight thru ! The rest are progressive cuts in volume with resulting tone changes ! No printed circuits
Fun episode and great detective work Trogly! Love how you discovered all the little mods that were done to it at some point. Still a gorgeous guitar though! Gonna keep it?
A really beautiful 355 Trogly. I've just bought an Epiphone 'Shinichi' 355 (my first one ever) in sixties red cherry for a very good price and was really shocked at the weight. Mine was 9lb 2oz. Your 355 is seriously heavy at 10lb 2oz, but a stunning looking guitar. Personally, the lack of originality wouldn't bother me, but the seller's description would. As for those screaming 'Chibson'....nope. Sounds fantastic too. I'd never had a varitone, but they can give some really interesting sounds !!
The issue of the strings coming out of the saddles at the bridge is one reason why I didn't keep my Casino for longer than a year I did try changing the strings on it a couple of times, and I discovered that keeping them aligned at the bridge was kind of delicate.
I think you are correct with your idea that the celluloid pick guard off gassed and ruined the metal parts that were replaced. Still a beautiful guitar, and that serial number is very cool.
Love your vids Trogly! Hey I'd love you see your take on the 2013 Gibson SG Deluxe, I bought one recently and it's a fantastic guitar, very unique as far as SG's go, with 3 '57 HB's, a Bigsby and SG-Supreme like frills. It plays like a dream, great rare guitar. Thanks & Merry Christmas!!
Would you rip off the vibrola and whack on a Bigsby, find a better bridge, and swap out those Grover Imperials for something more correct, also mess with the jack to receive a stereo lead properly? I would, in a heartbeat. That thing sounds amazing!
Stereo output jack simple fix - gat a TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) plug and short the Tip and Ring contacts together. Push the plug all the way into the jack and WALA - both pickups on the same cable. Or get a 1/4" stereo cable and a breakout box to feed two amps.
These early 90s guys like to take time machines back to the 80s and stamp 'em then too! ua-cam.com/video/_-JUbVNxhEk/v-deo.html&pp=ygUWZ2lic29uIE1JSUkgdHJvZ2x5IDgwcw%3D%3D
As one of the biggest vintage collectors and appraisers in LA, I can tell you 1000% this is a counterfeit. It has all the issues of many Chibsons that have been pitched to me over the years. There is 1 dead give away a keen eye would notice, that Trog missed. The seller should be reported. Thanks for sticking your neck out Trog to document rare guitars. This one is not authentic though.
My best guess regarding the vibrola situation is that the original bigsby got damaged with the pickguard and was too expensive (specially in gold) to replace but he wanted to keep the look so it went with the Gibson and installed it DYI to save a couple extra bucks hence the double holes 😂
I thought of another name for it, ES-365. It seems fitting for it. I suppose now you need to find an Old Hickory that has had the pickup covers removed 😂
It's a great one-off. It being player's grade and full of holes is really not a huge deal to anyone but the snootiest collectors. However, part of being a collector is realizing that very interesting one-offs might just be in less than excellent condition. The tradeoff is worth it. It's very cool. That trem job is disappointing. It's not hard to mark the top, get symmetry, get a properly placed position first and drill and screw later. It's really nice, get it right the first time.
Trogly have you ever thought of selling your tabs on patron or something .. I like watching your show but really anymore I just watch to hear you play .. good job keep up the good work
I'm pretty sure that when I die, the peopole who's got to sell my guitars, they will have so much to do, identifyng all my "seems like 196x, but on the headstock it's written 199x" guitars 🤣🤣
@@Trog Yeah! At the moment I do "baby-photos" when I bring a new guitar home, even for me, if I want to bring it back to original parts and electronics. I hope they will understand. But it's not a bad idea! i'll put a note in the PU cavity. 😝 I think I have quite a lot of time to find out what to do 😆 but I still find hilarious 🤣
My concern is that the tailpiece is no longer grounded since they cut the plate over the ground wire off the Bigsby. It's just screwed onto the butt end of the guitar, grounded, but not attached to anything else.
Got a little magic in those pups. Perhaps a little of the off gassing seeped in and turned to "mojo"... surprised Gibson hasn't tried to market that yet.... 🤔
I love the old mocking explanation of the Varitone: "One position sounds like the guitar, one position sounds like B.B. King, and four positions sound like shit."
Actually, it can be useful, especially on the neck pickup, especially dirty. Been getting cool sounds out of varitones for 40 years myself and even have put one on an sg or two because I miss the sounds when I don't have it!
It's a stellar looking and sounding guitar, but I hope the seller gave some type of an adjustment refund. It sounds like they knew it was a mutt (or at least suspected something was off), and that's why they responded so abrasively. If not I hope you gave them some negative feedback. I've also seen the same thing with the vibrola screws not lining up. The cover was Gibson and the rest was made for an import spec guitar.
Yes but wasn’t worth it to set up time wise. This was the last episode with the old endoscope. It has since been upgraded to a better unit that makes direct captures much easier
The guitar uses a "Y" cable so the front and back pickups can be played through two separate amplifiers. It was designed to be a stereo guitar by Hank Garland in conjunction with Gibson
I have only watched 3:00 so you might mention this, but do you think that 335 may be a custom build by one of the Gibson employees for him/herself that just wanted to get their moneys worth from their free guitar for the year? Also is that true that they get 1 free guitar a year? I’ve heard that before.
Did you see the J-200 Gardner Houlgate is auctioning? Its the last Kalamazoo flat top. Its marked custom shop original with a special "last flat top 1984" headstock inlay on a Brazilian rosewood head stock veneer
I had the "last les paul custom" once - will have to see what the auction does on that ua-cam.com/video/rhkOg6MohQY/v-deo.html&pp=ygUbdHJvZ2x5IGxhc3QgbGVzIHBhdWwgY3VzdG9t
Yeah, that would be New Year's Eve. No chance unless someone at the factory did it for the oddity. "F it, Lenny, I'm comin in tomorrow and makin me a one-off".
I do normally LOVE Gibson ES guitars , this one is no exception , look at that gorgeous maple wood grainage , it survived the off gassing so thats a good thingy ...sounds great ... Thanks Trogly !
You mean when we tell them: "This old thing? I have always had it. You probably haven't seen it because it's been in the garage. Not worth anything, but I like it." 😂
Whoever you bought this thing from, you need to send him this video. It's egregious that seller's will still sell something under false pretenses when they don't know for sure that it is original. They should be honest and say, "I don't know for sure, but I think it's..."
On the fence - I'll hold on to it for a little bit I think. I'm sure I'll eventually run into another 90001xxx guitar and might be able to learn more about it then. I like having Custom Shop Originals in the collection
@ I’m thinking replace the trem with the original Bigsby and see how it looks as far as covering holes etc… Gorgeous guitar and great review either way.
I have a pickguard dual hole seems the finish covers the one hole completely, it had to be a factory mistake. Great guitar though, the repaired hole sure doesn't effect the playability. I used to do 'wood work' and sometimes you drilled holes in the wrong place. Perfection is often an unknown ideal.
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The price was kind of high for that, still though, a solid find and a true one of one.
I'd still call it a win, the color of that aged natural finish is amazing.
@martinbaker1609 correctly described the fingerboard's heel-end binding decoration as a "Cupid's Bow Point".
Could it be that Gibson started with fresh bits to route with? Hmm
I may be wrong, but this site is one of the best of UA-cam and the universe. No drama. No BS. No politics. All guitar!!!! Thanks!
If you like Gibson guitars - you're in the right place! haha
@@Trog And Fender japan !
He's been doing this for a long time! He's come a long way... And his playing has grown so much.
Someone snuck into the factory to make that neck on New Years Eve? “It’s midnight, triple zeros!”
Smoking a Connecticut cigar and watching these videos IS my happy place... This makes me miss my '67 335 12-to-6 string conversion with a DiMarzio Tone Zone F-spaced in the bridge with a dummy neck pickup with a kill switch...
I’m not usually into semi hollows but this one is cool.
Despite the mods it is still a gorgeous guitar. Sounds very good too.
Are you going to sell that one? How much? Love this one!
14:29 the real kicker is the strings are now not grounded because the Bigsby remnant doesn’t contact the strings / bridge. 😂
Yeah, are the strings connected to ground on output?
yea i saw that as well
Shocking😂
I’ve played a guitar once that will shock you when you’re pressing down or touching the strings. It’s a whole new pain to get used to
I believe that little point on the frettboard is called a Cupid’s bow point.
100% correct. 👍
That's a Keeper...back in the 80's I sold used cars. We used to say "If you find another one as good as this, BUY IT!"
Took Brad Gillis on a test drive one time in a fully restored 70 Dodge Challenger 440 and he didn't buy it....car has quadrupled in price since then🌚
Miracle Motors:
If it's a good one,
It's a Miracle!
The 5 words a buyer LOVES to hear... "I know what I have!" Which is code for "Greedy idiot." I can't even imagine how often Trog has to deal with that.
Tbf, Troggly is basically a flipper. He's not selling on for cost if he can help it. You could be talking about him from both ends of the argument.
@bucklberryreturns fair point.
@@bucklberryreturns Yeah, but Trogly actually knows what he has!
@@TheChadPad When it comes to purchases, this video was evidence he doesn't always know what he's buying 😉
@@bucklberryreturns No no, I meant he actually knows what he's selling! The original post was about sellers saying "I know what I've got!" to buyers, asking them for too much. Trogly, I doubt, would ever do that.
Love episodes like this! Good sleuthing Mr Sherlock 🎉
10.5lbs for a hollow body is insane 😂
Sounds crazy at first, but 335 bodies are huge, almost entirely maple, and have pretty substantial center blocks, and all that adds up.
*semi hollow
SEMI hollow and it has a maple center block, so that may have something to do with it....but yea it is rather hefty.
That “fancy curly Q” on the end of the fingerboard is often referred to as a “Cupid’s bow.”
That is a stunner! Beautiful.
My main takeaway from this video is that a varitone gives you one good tone and 5 different versions of an AM radio type tone.
You and everybody else !!
Varitone is just some capacitors, and a big choke on a rotery control!
Position one is straight thru !
The rest are progressive cuts in volume with resulting tone changes !
No printed circuits
I'm smiling 😁😁😁😁😁👍. Nice ax! It sorta looks and sounds like my beloved Epiphone Lucille.
Fun episode and great detective work Trogly! Love how you discovered all the little mods that were done to it at some point. Still a gorgeous guitar though! Gonna keep it?
Inspector Trogly solves another one! 🎸
What a wild ride! Thanks for the fun show!
Excellent episode.
You failed to mention the truss rod cover saying stereo.. I assume it has stereo jacks?
My bad, you covered it during the teardown. Very thorough
That Frankenstein sure is a looker sounds good maple is heavy and the varitone is as well 10lbs that's Les Paul territory nuts !!
A really beautiful 355 Trogly. I've just bought an Epiphone 'Shinichi' 355 (my first one ever) in sixties red cherry for a very good price and was really shocked at the weight. Mine was 9lb 2oz. Your 355 is seriously heavy at 10lb 2oz, but a stunning looking guitar. Personally, the lack of originality wouldn't bother me, but the seller's description would. As for those screaming 'Chibson'....nope. Sounds fantastic too. I'd never had a varitone, but they can give some really interesting sounds !!
Even though modified, tastefully done, resulting in a beautiful looking guitar. One of a kind for sure!
The issue of the strings coming out of the saddles at the bridge is one reason why I didn't keep my Casino for longer than a year I did try changing the strings on it a couple of times, and I discovered that keeping them aligned at the bridge was kind of delicate.
Trog just call George he's an absolutely amazing human, he helped me with my 54 strat with no s/n.
Somebody has been taking lessons, and you are sounding great! 😊
I think you are correct with your idea that the celluloid pick guard off gassed and ruined the metal parts that were replaced. Still a beautiful guitar, and that serial number is very cool.
That is one gorgeous guitar.
Love your vids Trogly! Hey I'd love you see your take on the 2013 Gibson SG Deluxe, I bought one recently and it's a fantastic guitar, very unique as far as SG's go, with 3 '57 HB's, a Bigsby and SG-Supreme like frills. It plays like a dream, great rare guitar. Thanks & Merry Christmas!!
Wow,fantasic playing
Trogly is so smart.
He figured out the real deal on this guitar.
Would you rip off the vibrola and whack on a Bigsby, find a better bridge, and swap out those Grover Imperials for something more correct, also mess with the jack to receive a stereo lead properly? I would, in a heartbeat. That thing sounds amazing!
Stereo output jack simple fix - gat a TRS (Tip/Ring/Sleeve) plug and short the Tip and Ring contacts together. Push the plug all the way into the jack and WALA - both pickups on the same cable. Or get a 1/4" stereo cable and a breakout box to feed two amps.
Voila*
You seemed to really enjoy playing this guitar more so than some others. Sounds good.
You are a True Detective! Nice Work! WooF!!🐶🐶
The guy at the numbering machine said nothing is impossible. :)
These early 90s guys like to take time machines back to the 80s and stamp 'em then too! ua-cam.com/video/_-JUbVNxhEk/v-deo.html&pp=ygUWZ2lic29uIE1JSUkgdHJvZ2x5IDgwcw%3D%3D
As one of the biggest vintage collectors and appraisers in LA, I can tell you 1000% this is a counterfeit. It has all the issues of many Chibsons that have been pitched to me over the years. There is 1 dead give away a keen eye would notice, that Trog missed. The seller should be reported. Thanks for sticking your neck out Trog to document rare guitars. This one is not authentic though.
Trogly , I used to own a 2012 Wes Montgomery L5.
The pickguard on this 355 is a L5 copy , 5 ply binding and a faux tortise shell pickguard.
May not be original, but she sure looks great. Sounds fantastic too.
My best guess regarding the vibrola situation is that the original bigsby got damaged with the pickguard and was too expensive (specially in gold) to replace but he wanted to keep the look so it went with the Gibson and installed it DYI to save a couple extra bucks hence the double holes 😂
Surprisingly enough that sounded really good
I thought of another name for it, ES-365. It seems fitting for it. I suppose now you need to find an Old Hickory that has had the pickup covers removed 😂
That's a beautiful guitar
It's a great one-off. It being player's grade and full of holes is really not a huge deal to anyone but the snootiest collectors. However, part of being a collector is realizing that very interesting one-offs might just be in less than excellent condition.
The tradeoff is worth it. It's very cool.
That trem job is disappointing.
It's not hard to mark the top, get symmetry, get a properly placed position first and drill and screw later. It's really nice, get it right the first time.
This scramble egg burst actually sounds pretty good.
I love that name. Gibson should make it official. And now I'm hungry again.
Trogly have you ever thought of selling your tabs on patron or something .. I like watching your show but really anymore I just watch to hear you play .. good job keep up the good work
💀
wow. wow. wow. this is absolutely lovely .. .
Wooow those inlays are so 90's! Cool guitar
In fact, late 80's...
The flower vase base looks like the tuning peg heads. Don't know if you mentioned it in the video yet 😂
I'm pretty sure that when I die, the peopole who's got to sell my guitars, they will have so much to do, identifyng all my "seems like 196x, but on the headstock it's written 199x" guitars 🤣🤣
consider writing a note to leave in the case or making a video on the guitar that they can look up!
@@Trog Yeah!
At the moment I do "baby-photos" when I bring a new guitar home, even for me, if I want to bring it back to original parts and electronics. I hope they will understand.
But it's not a bad idea!
i'll put a note in the PU cavity. 😝
I think I have quite a lot of time to find out what to do 😆 but I still find hilarious 🤣
I have a spreadsheet on my iPad with year, serial number model and brand name and the finish name, plus any mods done by me.
How did you write this comment 2 days ago? I'm genuinely curious. Does Trog release early for patreon members or something?
I don't worry about it but even if the executives fuck up, will pay for the party
If George Gruhn is the original owner, have you considered calling him?
I really like embossed pickup covers. I wish they still sold the ones that said Gibson
I’ve always referred to that neck binding appointment as a ‘super 400 neck’. But that doesn’t have the super 400 inlays 🤷🏻♂️
It would really be interesting if you could take a chibson and do your usual blacklight and so on to compare it to an original!
This guitar has secrets.
Yes it does 🤔
My concern is that the tailpiece is no longer grounded since they cut the plate over the ground wire off the Bigsby. It's just screwed onto the butt end of the guitar, grounded, but not attached to anything else.
Really playing well trogly
Got a little magic in those pups. Perhaps a little of the off gassing seeped in and turned to "mojo"... surprised Gibson hasn't tried to market that yet.... 🤔
A lot of these details are reminiscent of my 70s L-5S.
I’ll admit I am addicted to this channel,but it definitely fuels my GAS and lightens my wallet 😂
Beautiful, Gibson at their best
Good sounding guitar but that Varitone is a pretty useless feature.
I love the old mocking explanation of the Varitone: "One position sounds like the guitar, one position sounds like B.B. King, and four positions sound like shit."
Actually, it can be useful, especially on the neck pickup, especially dirty. Been getting cool sounds out of varitones for 40 years myself and even have put one on an sg or two because I miss the sounds when I don't have it!
@@bzbzob Good to know! Thank you.
the SJ200 has that neck feature shape (open book off cut
)
It's a stellar looking and sounding guitar, but I hope the seller gave some type of an adjustment refund. It sounds like they knew it was a mutt (or at least suspected something was off), and that's why they responded so abrasively. If not I hope you gave them some negative feedback. I've also seen the same thing with the vibrola screws not lining up. The cover was Gibson and the rest was made for an import spec guitar.
I'd send that back
@@D34D4H34D I wouldn't get a guitar through the post anyway
are you taking a video of the screen of the endoscope footage? isn't there a way to screen record to transfer the info?
Yes but wasn’t worth it to set up time wise.
This was the last episode with the old endoscope. It has since been upgraded to a better unit that makes direct captures much easier
That thing is gorgeous 😍
Love it the way it is and wouldn't change a thing (except who owns it). I've never met a Bigsby I liked.
The guitar uses a "Y" cable so the front and back pickups can be played through two separate amplifiers. It was designed to be a stereo guitar by Hank Garland in conjunction with Gibson
Are you sure it wasn’t Judy Garland…..what with all the whining about it from some? 🎸🤔
Fascinating🙃
I have only watched 3:00 so you might mention this, but do you think that 335 may be a custom build by one of the Gibson employees for him/herself that just wanted to get their moneys worth from their free guitar for the year? Also is that true that they get 1 free guitar a year? I’ve heard that before.
Those veritone settings thin out the tone too much. Just keep it at setting 1 and rock on. That guitar is very beautiful. Sounding and, looking.
Did you see the J-200 Gardner Houlgate is auctioning? Its the last Kalamazoo flat top. Its marked custom shop original with a special "last flat top 1984" headstock inlay on a Brazilian rosewood head stock veneer
I had the "last les paul custom" once - will have to see what the auction does on that
ua-cam.com/video/rhkOg6MohQY/v-deo.html&pp=ygUbdHJvZ2x5IGxhc3QgbGVzIHBhdWwgY3VzdG9t
The Mystery is killing me 😭😂
Looks like it could have come like that. Looks nice.
It surely did not come like that.
What about leap year guitars made on Day 366?
Would the factory be open on New Year’s Eve though?
Yeah, that would be New Year's Eve. No chance unless someone at the factory did it for the oddity. "F it, Lenny, I'm comin in tomorrow and makin me a one-off".
That thing is sweet
This was like an episode of Colombo and mcguyver !
13:10 "Look how they massacred my boy."
I do normally LOVE Gibson ES guitars , this one is no exception , look at that gorgeous maple wood grainage , it survived the off gassing so thats a good thingy ...sounds great ... Thanks Trogly !
My biggest fear is that my wife will sell my guitars for what I told her they’re worth
You mean when we tell them: "This old thing? I have always had it. You probably haven't seen it because it's been in the garage. Not worth anything, but I like it." 😂
It cuts both ways 😑
Well, you could customize em to the point no one would want em😉carved initials etc
“ honey, I have some good news. I just found out those old guitars have gone up in value somehow. If I die, make sure to get the most out of them”
Before passing he said they’d be worth how much?
Sorry lady, these are just old guitars & amps & used guitars & gear are down right now.
What happened to the new endoscope?
this was the last recorded episode with the old one
If that was stamp or coin, a misprint is the most collectable.
Employee made originally? Wrong neck.
Whoever you bought this thing from, you need to send him this video. It's egregious that seller's will still sell something under false pretenses when they don't know for sure that it is original. They should be honest and say, "I don't know for sure, but I think it's..."
Embossed pickup covers!!!
Find a true es-340. I loved mine back in the late 60s
I stayed tuned to see if you were keeping it or not, are you?
On the fence - I'll hold on to it for a little bit I think. I'm sure I'll eventually run into another 90001xxx guitar and might be able to learn more about it then. I like having Custom Shop Originals in the collection
@ I’m thinking replace the trem with the original Bigsby and see how it looks as far as covering holes etc… Gorgeous guitar and great review either way.
It is an L5 style neck
He said that.
"Utmost scrutinty"?? What? I think you meant "utmost scrutiny"
What's the scale length? Is it 24.75 like a 355 or 25.5 like a L-5? It doesn't have an L-5 neck joint. So it's not simply a L-5 neck.
Have you seen any holes drilled in the body that were fixed from the factory.
I have a pickguard dual hole seems the finish covers the one hole completely, it had to be a factory mistake. Great guitar though, the repaired hole sure doesn't effect the playability. I used to do 'wood work' and sometimes you drilled holes in the wrong place. Perfection is often an unknown ideal.
Hey, if you like it cool.
I get it might not be original, and I understand restoring it, but if someone likes it, cool.
Basically a Gibson Epiphone Sheraton.
What are the chances this is some sort of Gibson employee guitar?
..it's all about the riffs it drags out of you..
Could be one that was made in 1991, then customised in later years ?
Clearly
JB Weld is not welding, fyi
my birth year! I wish I could have it :(