Sublime merge hollow point plus#

The finish quality is noticeably better – flat rather than fish-eyed – and the binding is back to being an attractive shade of off-white. Essentially a very well-made modern interpretation of a classic guitar, the ES-335 illustrates that the new management team at Gibson is now very much on top of the issues that had been bugging customers for way too long. The gloss nitrocellulose finish comes in two colours – Cherry Red and Trans Black – and the guitar ships in a velour-lined hard case.Īlthough it has several old-school features, this latest version of the production-line ES-335 is intended to be more ‘in the spirit of’ than painstaking reissue.

Sublime merge hollow point plus#

The ES-339 packs a pair of Gibson’s 57 Classic humbuckers, with a regular model in the neck and a Classic Plus in the bridge. Hardware includes Grover die-cast tuners with kidney buttons, a wireless ABR-1 bridge and an aluminium stopbar tailpiece. Given the dimensions, dots rather than blocks seem like the right choice, and they combine well with the reflector knobs. Perfectly formed: the ES-339’s body may be downsized but its control layout doesn’t feel cramped And if you can’t imagine enjoying all the goodness a Gibson semi has to offer without a whammy bar, you’ll be pleased to discover that the ES-339’s body may only be about an inch wider than a Les Paul’s but there’s still ample room for a Bigsby retrofit. Consequently, the control spacing is more like that of a regular ES model, or perhaps a Les Paul, than that of a cluttered SG or Firebird. The pickguard shape and control layout are also identical, but Gibson wisely chose to shift the jack socket away from the top to the body rim. All the regular ES-335 construction characteristics are present, from the three-ply maple/poplar front and back to the spruce braces and mahogany centre block. Highly subjective such notions may be, but the ES-339 was designed to appeal to those looking for a more compact take on the ES-335 – and the fact that it has been in continual production since its introduction in 2007 demonstrates that that Gibson’s instincts were on the money.Ģ021’s ES-339 immediately brings the phrase ‘small but perfectly formed’ to mind. Some might even describe it as a little unwieldy. But there are those players – and this should be whispered in hushed tones when our editor is within earshot – who suggest that the ES-335 isn’t, in fact, the perfect electric guitar design. There are few guitarists who don’t enjoy the tone of a vintage-style Gibson semi. And what better way to kick things off than with the most compact and accessible member of our fab foursome. Here, in order to find out how things are working out, we’re checking out a cross section of Nashville-made ES models from the Original and Modern Collections and the Custom Shop’s Murphy Lab. Along with some of the Memphis factory’s hugely experienced staff, all of the equipment and tooling made the journey too, including some laminate presses that date back to Gibson’s Kalamazoo era.īringing everything under one roof has enabled Gibson to give the ES range an overhaul and bring it up to speed with the updates and improvements made recently to the solidbody line. Gibson’s Memphis facility shuttered in early 2019, which meant that thinline semi and hollowbody guitar production was relocated northeast to the company’s main USA manufacturing plant in Nashville.