That's the standard scale length for almost all Gibsons.
NOGD
Re: NOGD
This thing was also made when rock and roll guitar was in it's absolute infancy. The amps were small and weak and clean and a lot of these kinds of guitars were still thought of as jazz and country instruments. That pickup position is probably pretty good for clean jazz finger pickin.
Rebel Yell
Re: NOGD
Yeh a single pup in the middle position can be weird to adjust to. I like it though. The pots are probably just corroded if it has been standing for a length of time. If they stand for too long without being used they get to a point where the switch cleaner doesn't really sort it. Personally I would just play the thing on full. I don't really use vol or tone, I just wack them up full and use the amp to dial in what I want and maybe a volume pedal.Tadpui wrote: ↑Thu Jan 13, 2022 10:00 pmI've played it quite a bit more and you're right. That middle pickup placement lends it a similar sound to the middle pickup on a Strat, but still different than that too. It's kind of in the way of my picking hand...I have to make a concerted effort to play in front or behind it, because my pick clips it if I try to play naturally.muttley wrote: ↑Mon Jan 03, 2022 8:02 am At last a proper guitar in the G&b board. Its a beaut...
The sound of those come across as a little strange largely because of the position of the pickup. P90's are not supposed to be in the middle, they like to be right at the bridge or for jazz right at the neck. Once you get used to it they can sound really good and I mean really good. Change out the pots would be my advice. Those things don't last for ever.
Top guitar.
It's a surprisingly bright guitar. It sounds most similar to my '65 Jazzmaster, almost too bright until I get used to it or just play it hard. It's got a ton of attack and dynamic range.
But yeah, I'm going to have to do something about these pots. I intend to play this guitar, just like my others. It's not a wall decoration, so I need to bite the bullet and either attempt to change the pots or hire somebody to do it for me. It's got a set of .010 strings on it that are old enough to vote, so I need to set it up for my preferred .011 strings as well. It's a compact feeling guitar, although I haven't measured the scale length yet. I'm getting the impression that it's even shorter than the common Gibson 25.5" length.
Depending on what tones you are after consider some flat wounds.
Fender are 25.5, Gibson are always (nearly) 24.75
Re: NOGD
Yeah I had a brain fart that 25.5 was Gibson scale length. It still feels short with the neck meeting the body so early compared to other guitars of mine.
I found a shop near me, going to give them a ring soon and see if theyd be interested in a pot swap.
I found a shop near me, going to give them a ring soon and see if theyd be interested in a pot swap.
Re: NOGD
When I looked them up on Reverb, it looked like they were going for $3K - $5K over the last few years. That's about in line with what my friend and I were expecting.
When my friend had it set up and restrung all those years ago, the shop in Tulsa offered him $800 for it. He knew better and passed on that offer
Actually, it looks like the 1960 (which I think this is) are more in the low $2K kind of range. The 1959 is substantially more valuable, and the blonde/natural finishes are even more valuable. I'll double check the serial number to see when it was made...
As far as I can tell, the serial is: R2842 15, although that might be incomplete. There's another dot of ink off to the right of the serial...I don't know if that's just the edge of the rubber stamp or if there are missing numbers inbetween.
The Gibson website doesn't try to make sense of the pre-1975 disaster of serials, so I tried guitarinsite.nl and it comes up with 1960, sequence number 15. I don't know if that means "early" 1960 or late. The volume/tone knobs look identical to my Les Paul, which is a 1960 reissue. But they look a little different than Reverb's image of the 1960 330T.
When my friend had it set up and restrung all those years ago, the shop in Tulsa offered him $800 for it. He knew better and passed on that offer
Actually, it looks like the 1960 (which I think this is) are more in the low $2K kind of range. The 1959 is substantially more valuable, and the blonde/natural finishes are even more valuable. I'll double check the serial number to see when it was made...
As far as I can tell, the serial is: R2842 15, although that might be incomplete. There's another dot of ink off to the right of the serial...I don't know if that's just the edge of the rubber stamp or if there are missing numbers inbetween.
The Gibson website doesn't try to make sense of the pre-1975 disaster of serials, so I tried guitarinsite.nl and it comes up with 1960, sequence number 15. I don't know if that means "early" 1960 or late. The volume/tone knobs look identical to my Les Paul, which is a 1960 reissue. But they look a little different than Reverb's image of the 1960 330T.
Re: NOGD
So the old fella went to the guitar doctor today. I'm having the pots looked at (cleaned, and replaced if necessary). The nut and bridge need a little attention and might possibly need to be replaced. The string spacing and radius of the bridge is a little funky, and the nut is a tad bit too low. I told the guy that if it doesn't impede the setup too much, just leave the bridge alone and shim the nut. But if he can't get it set up right, call me and we'll discuss replacing them altogether.
Oh and we ordered a period-correct set of modern Klusons to put on it instead of the aftermarket Grovers that are currently on it.
It's a great looking shop, and I was immediately comforted about leaving it with them. Great bunch of guys, and a really nice shop. They're a D'Angelico dealer, which are pretty "meh" to me. But they sell stuff on consignment, and they've got some drool-worthy guitars. A nice black LP Custom, an SG with a Bigsby, a 12-string Rickenbacker with a funky muting mechanism for the extra strings, a beautiful vintage Firebird.
The one on the wall that got my attention the most was a 1972 Telecaster in a yellowed blonde/white finish that is haunting me. If I hadn't just splurged on a different music-related purchase last week, I'd be seriously considering trading in my modern USA Tele towards it. I'm still considering it. What a gorgeous guitar it was...
Anyways, I should have a refreshed and much more playable ES-330T here in a couple of weeks!
Oh and we ordered a period-correct set of modern Klusons to put on it instead of the aftermarket Grovers that are currently on it.
It's a great looking shop, and I was immediately comforted about leaving it with them. Great bunch of guys, and a really nice shop. They're a D'Angelico dealer, which are pretty "meh" to me. But they sell stuff on consignment, and they've got some drool-worthy guitars. A nice black LP Custom, an SG with a Bigsby, a 12-string Rickenbacker with a funky muting mechanism for the extra strings, a beautiful vintage Firebird.
The one on the wall that got my attention the most was a 1972 Telecaster in a yellowed blonde/white finish that is haunting me. If I hadn't just splurged on a different music-related purchase last week, I'd be seriously considering trading in my modern USA Tele towards it. I'm still considering it. What a gorgeous guitar it was...
Anyways, I should have a refreshed and much more playable ES-330T here in a couple of weeks!
Re: NOGD
I wouldn't worry about originality too much. A guitar that plays is worth more than an all original basket case. All you'd have to do is keep the old parts with it. The original pots and bridge in a ziploc isn't a bad thing if it plays and sounds better with a new bridge and pots.Tadpui wrote: ↑Sun Mar 06, 2022 7:46 pm So the old fella went to the guitar doctor today. I'm having the pots looked at (cleaned, and replaced if necessary). The nut and bridge need a little attention and might possibly need to be replaced. The string spacing and radius of the bridge is a little funky, and the nut is a tad bit too low. I told the guy that if it doesn't impede the setup too much, just leave the bridge alone and shim the nut. But if he can't get it set up right, call me and we'll discuss replacing them altogether.
Oh and we ordered a period-correct set of modern Klusons to put on it instead of the aftermarket Grovers that are currently on it.
It's a great looking shop, and I was immediately comforted about leaving it with them. Great bunch of guys, and a really nice shop. They're a D'Angelico dealer, which are pretty "meh" to me. But they sell stuff on consignment, and they've got some drool-worthy guitars. A nice black LP Custom, an SG with a Bigsby, a 12-string Rickenbacker with a funky muting mechanism for the extra strings, a beautiful vintage Firebird.
The one on the wall that got my attention the most was a 1972 Telecaster in a yellowed blonde/white finish that is haunting me. If I hadn't just splurged on a different music-related purchase last week, I'd be seriously considering trading in my modern USA Tele towards it. I'm still considering it. What a gorgeous guitar it was...
Anyways, I should have a refreshed and much more playable ES-330T here in a couple of weeks!
Rebel Yell
Re: NOGD
Absolutely. Since I actually play my guitars and don't just use them for wall decorations, just to me they're worth more if they actually function. I'm not too much of a stickler about all original parts. But I also didn't want to ding the cash register too much in one visit. I chatted with the guy for a while about it, and I think that we're in agreement that if anything stands in the way of having it playable and functional, we'll talk about it and probably fix/replace the problem.Greg_L wrote: ↑Sun Mar 06, 2022 9:32 pm I wouldn't worry about originality too much. A guitar that plays is worth more than an all original basket case. All you'd have to do is keep the old parts with it. The original pots and bridge in a ziploc isn't a bad thing if it plays and sounds better with a new bridge and pots.
Oh and I forgot to mention that they actually build guitars there too (that was what drove me to choose this place over a couple of others in the area that also repair guitars). They had a couple of in-house guitars hanging on the walls. They're much more into dark woods than I am, so they weren't all that attractive to me. But I figure that if they can design and build a guitar out of a plank of wood and a bag of screws, they should be able to fix up the old Gibson and not break anything in the proces
Re: NOGD
Ha yeah. I'm like that with my amps. Before I started learning how to tinker on my own stuff, the only guy I took my amps to was a guy that designs amps and built his own company off of it. And I still would if I ever encounter something that I just can't deal with.Tadpui wrote: ↑Sun Mar 06, 2022 11:22 pm
Absolutely. Since I actually play my guitars and don't just use them for wall decorations, just to me they're worth more if they actually function. I'm not too much of a stickler about all original parts. But I also didn't want to ding the cash register too much in one visit. I chatted with the guy for a while about it, and I think that we're in agreement that if anything stands in the way of having it playable and functional, we'll talk about it and probably fix/replace the problem.
Oh and I forgot to mention that they actually build guitars there too (that was what drove me to choose this place over a couple of others in the area that also repair guitars). They had a couple of in-house guitars hanging on the walls. They're much more into dark woods than I am, so they weren't all that attractive to me. But I figure that if they can design and build a guitar out of a plank of wood and a bag of screws, they should be able to fix up the old Gibson and not break anything in the proces
Rebel Yell
Re: NOGD
Dangit, that's not what I needed to hear. I've seriously been looking around to see what all I'd be willing to trade in towards it. It's not a cheap instrument by any means.
Re: NOGD
If you're just gonna trade stuff towards it that you've fallen out of love with then it's all good.
