GIBSON ES339
November 24, 2009 | Reviewer: Powderfinger’s Ian Haug
Distributor: www.gibsonami.com
I’ve never written a review on a guitar, and am not one to dwell on technical information. That being said, as soon as I picked this beast of a thing up, It looked beautiful, felt right and sounded great. Then I plugged it in! Gibson really got it right on this one. Within ten minutes of playing it, I knew I had to have it, and was trying to work out what I could sell to make her mine.
I have always primarily been a Gibson player. For years my ’74 Les Paul custom was my main guitar (hence my often sore back), and more recently my 02 ES335. I love them both, but this thing fills the void between the two… It is literally a combination of the two as the promo says. Mine is the antique vintage sunburst.
The finish is great, and the weight is great. The neck width is a slender feel without feeling dinky. The tones achievable are as you would hope….. very varied. Really bitey when I want it, and really thick when I need it. It doesn’t seem to squeal feedback when I don’t want it to, but I can make it feed when I ask. It’s really quite obedient.
The controls seem responsive, and linear, and the pickup switch is good. I have since learned that its called “Memphis tone circuitry” This allows you to drop the volume on the guitar without losing top end. Very clever. The only thing I will have to get used to is the position of the strap holder. This is hardly something to complain about. I reckon this is the start of a lovely relationship. Live, this will be awesome for its weight and the diversity of sounds I can pull, and in the studio its going to fill the void as a go to guitar for years to come. The rest of the time, I can just look at it….
Coz it really is very pretty.