Gibson ES-335 Figured Semi-hollowbody Review

Iced Tea with Honey

This was a once in a lifetime purchase for me. Well worth the wait. This guitar meets and exceeds all my expectations. The neck is very comfortable & effortless. So pleased Well deserved thanks to Josh Hacker who bent over backwards helping me find the right guitar. !

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Gibson ES-335 Figured Sixties Cherry

Purchased this Guitar from Sweetwater last year.It looks Stunning,Plays Great,Sounds Great!I am 100% satisfied with this purchase.I would definitely order another guitar from Sweetwater.My sales Engineer David Mikautadze has been Fantastic throughout the years.

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Gibson ES 335 Figured In Iced tea.

First off Id like to thank Riley for the pleasent buying experience It has been a pleasure doing buisness with you. I started looking at this model guitar last year. I have A strat American pro ash body maple neck.And a Rarities top shelf tele, A Gibson les paul Iced tea Standard. All are awsome playing guitars. But this guitar is a step up beyond anything Ive played before. I"m… read more 59. Been playing since I was 12. I like the clean ,bluesy even southern rock and country sounds but my roots are in Gospal. Playing at home and church when work allows is my venue. I said all that not to boast but to show what I can compare this guitar to. I have an Ibanez As93 I bought to curb my es335 desire. With as much money in upgrades as guitar cost it is now an awsome guitar. But all of those guitars are a step or two below the quality,sound and tone of this guitar. It resonates. I play leed by ear mostly, and the tones and soul I'm getting out of this guitar through my tone master are the stuff singers and musicians dream about. You cannot go wrong with one of these guitars. Gibson has also done a outstanding Job with the finish. The frettboard is one smooth sweet piece of work and the Gibson deluxe tuners have a little bit extra that says quality when your fingers are on the knobs. The finish is beautiful. I only have one gripe. And its the same with Ibanez and Gretch. The pickgaurds are flimsy on the Bridge side. I notice it more because my hand rests on it while playing. Perhaps theirs a good heavier aftermarket version I can find. If it annoys me enough Ill just remove it. All in all A big well done to Gibson. And a thanks again to Riley and sweetwater for helping me to realize a dream come true. But mostly Thank you Jesus. Ill do my best to praise you with it. God bless you all.

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I Love (THIS) Iced Tea!

On February 17th, I received my Iced Tea figured maple front and back ES335! It is a beautiful instrument. I am able to get great tones from this instrument. I waited for a long time to receive this guitar due to a slow down at the factory because of COVID and very cold shipping conditions. It was worth the wait! I will have this instrument on the road when I am heading to my… read more next praise and worship concert with JC & Company! I can use the same setup that I normally use with my acoustic/electric guitar. Also, I can get the same sounds from this instrument as I can from my acoustic/electric guitar. I would like to thank Mr. Mark Bruhn, my sales engineer, Miss Tamie Collins, my assistant sales engineer, for all of their assistance regarding this purchase. Also, I would like to thank Mr. Andrew Hoskins for all of his input and assistance. It was a long road, but it was worth it. If you are looking for an instrument that will meet just about any of your musical needs, the ES335 is the way to go! It can cover all genres of music with ease! I can truly say that, "I love (THIS) iced tea!"

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Unbelievable instrument..

Like many, I was looking for a 335 guitar and did not want to plop down the cash for the Gibson. After looking into several other options like the used market and other brands, I decided to order the Gibson last Summer.. The guitar finally came in between Christmas and New years.. It's just fantastic.. Absolutely beautiful, gorgeous and many other adjectives! Since I was plopping… read more the cash down I decided to get the figured.. I am so glad I did.. The pickups are fantastic.. Neck, bridge and blended all sound incredible.. The guitar plays like butter.. It was set up fantastic and only needed a small tweak for me that's a personal preference.. I bought the '60s version of the Les Paul a while back and was pleasantly surprised.. That was part of my decision making process of deciding to order this.. This guitar did not disappoint. I was worried about ordering an expensive guitar like this without playing it but my sales engineer at Sweetwater Paul Eckert assured me if I didn't like it I didn't have to take it.. This thing is definitely is not going back! Why the 4.5 stars instead of 5? Well Gibson definitely is back but they're not perfect yet. There were some minor issues that I had to take care of that should have been taken caught in the factory. Especially on a guitar this expensive. There was residue left on the frets. Polishing compound left over around the ears and inside the ears that needed to be buffed out. I think they just missed it while buffing the guitar. I'm really surprised Sweetwater missed it.. The last silly thing was when I first initially started playing the guitar after I took it out of the case, I made a high bend on the e string and the string came flying off of the tuning peg because they didn't leave enough string wrap when they cut the string. I had to polish off the frets so I was going to do a string change anyways but still.. Outside of that like I said this thing is just incredible.. It is flawless! I'm glad I pulled the trigger.. If you're on the fence do it you won't be disappointed.. Sweetwater is absolutely fantastic to work with and they will make it right if you are not happy. Very rare in today's market.. Customer service is still alive and well at Sweetwater..

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A beautiful Gibson ES-335!

I received my Gibson ES-335 Figured - Iced Tea and it was everything I hoped for. It is a beautiful guitar, blemish free with an awesome sound. While it is hard to see in the photos the figuring and finish are awesome. My Representative, Matthew Langston, did a fantastic job, yet again, making this happen. I did have a shock when I received the guitar. A gash in the outer and… read more inner boxes and a hole in the case. Luckily, shipment and forklifts are a game of inches, and my guitar was spared damage. It would have been a very sad day. Tony Templeton, in the Sweetwater Guitar Workshop, sprang into action and has me lined up for a replacement case. Thank you to the team at Sweetwater.

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WOW!!!

I'm 67 and have held a lot of guitars. I knew what I was ordering those many months ago, and I am pleased to say that this instrument exceeds my expectations. I have been staring at it for 2 days and it is blemish free. It plays like one would expect. The extra that put me over the top is that it appears as though whoever laid out the wood for the guitar used 4 consecutive pieces… read more of wonderfully striated veneer for inner as well as exterior top and back woods. I would like to add a special thanks to my rep, Dave Snow, for his knowledge and patience.

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Best 335 ever owned

I've owned three 335's over the years - one from the 70's and two from the 80's but this one is the best. Perfect neck - not thin and not too fat but enough meat to feel solid. The sustain is beautiful all the way up the neck with no buzzing or fret out. These new 335's have it over the old ones hands down when it comes to the neck, sustain and action. The pickups sound great… read more too. The figured ones are gorgeous - but it's not really "flame" it's just a figured wood with slight hints of flame. If you can afford it, go for the figured.

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Perfect out of the box

I was jonsing for a 335 for quite a while before I decided on the Figured model. The pickups are perfect for the styles of music I play (rock, modern rock). Great cleans with chimey high end, awesome distortion that's crisp yet beefy. It's a true classic and love it!

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Stunning instrument

I've owned this guitar for 3 years. Had a red 335 in the early '70s and foolishly sold it. This one is even better. Stunning figured wood, great neck, exceptional intonation and playability. Best for a variety of clean, lush sounds especially with some delay, reverb and chorus. Not a shredder and lacks the articulation of a high end solid body, but that's why you have at least one… read more of those... Beautiful workmanship. Just be aware that the headstocks on these are reportedly prone to breakage so handle with care. My go to guitar when I just want to sit down and play for my own enjoyment.

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