Heel stinger on vintage 1967 335

[neuroy]

Last year I purchased a 1967 ES 335 in red.
She has a little "stinger" at the heel. The seller described this as an eventual neck reset. But there is no real evidence for this to be seen inside the guitar.

A few days ago I noticed an ad for another ´67 335 for sale. She has the same kind of stinger !
Was this a factory feature in those days, or has the stinger another reason ? Was this "en-vogue" some time ?

 

[charliechitlins]

That's a heel cap, as often found on acoustics.
Never seen one on a 335.
But there also seems to be a black line on the body.
Fishy.

 

[Wilko]

NOT a "heel cap" as on acoustics. That is a black stinger painted as gibson would do on some guitars. More common on headstock backs.

(but you knew that. That's why your thread is called "heel stinger...")

 

[neuroy]

Yes , I did.
It is painted .
Not easy to see clearly on the picture, but in hand it is obviously painted.... a stinger...!

 

[garywright]

its not uncommon to have a minute separation in that area on a vintage es ..maybe the owner decided to do some creative (?) touch up in that area

 

[charliechitlins]

The only stinger I've ever seen starts with a painted headstock and becomes a long thin line (which resembles a bee's stinger, or maybe a stingray's tail) that runs down the middle of the neck.
But if someone wants to call something the shape of a shoe box a stinger, I'll try not to stand in their way.
Maybe a blobber or a lumper would be better, though.

 

[renderit]

That said, I have seen the heel paint in the past.

 

[Norton]

I've seen heel stingers, but they all came to a point like the headstock stingers. Said to be done to cover up less desirable woodgrains or flaws. Never seen just the face of the heel painted like that before.

 

[SpencerD]

Stingers were a run for one of the larger retail stores if I remember correctly. I may not! --- Like an exclusive contract thing.

The black bee stinger coming off the headstock on the back. For some reason,I seem to remember they were mostly goldtop models. Could be wrong as always.

 

[JimR56]

Stingers were a run for one of the larger retail stores if I remember correctly. I may not! --- Like an exclusive contract thing.

Don't think so.

For some reason,I seem to remember they were mostly goldtop models. Could be wrong as always.

Are you referring to goldtop Les Pauls? At any rate, no, they were not mostly on goldtop or even on gold-finished models in general. A google image search for "Gibson guitar stingers" will make that pretty obvious.

 

[JimR56]

I've seen heel stingers, but they all came to a point like the headstock stingers. Said to be done to cover up less desirable woodgrains or flaws. Never seen just the face of the heel painted like that before.

Correct. As Charlie Chitlins "pointed" out, the guitar in the OP does not have a "stinger".

Here's a heel stinger. They're not that rare (again, a google image search will turn up many examples).

 

[J.D.]

Usually applied to cover up a cosmetic flaw in the wood after carve of an otherwise structurally sound neck. By the time a neck is carved there is significant material and labor invested.

With that said, I've never seen one exactly like the OP photo.

 

[JimR56]

Last year I purchased a 1967 ES 335 in red.
She has a little "stinger" at the heel. The seller described this as an eventual neck reset. But there is no real evidence for this to be seen inside the guitar.

A few days ago I noticed an ad for another ´67 335 for sale. She has the same kind of stinger !
Was this a factory feature in those days, or has the stinger another reason ? Was this "en-vogue" some time ? View attachment 21230

After posting earlier, I remembered that I'd seen something before with a partial similarity. It's a 1967 Epi Riviera with an unusual neck joint appearance. The bottom of the heel isn't painted, but it's got a neck joint modification (possibly done at the factory?) that may have had a similar cosmetic purpose.

I always have trouble with the photo software here, so here's a link to the post about the guitar, on another forum: '67 Epi Riviera neck joint

 

[latestarter]

I had a ‘67 ES-335 with heel stinger. Great sounding guitar.

 

[neuroy]

@latestarter : one like JimR56 was showing or the non-stinger or whatever in my OP ?

Thank you !

 

[neuroy]

@ JimR56 : you are right, there is a similarity ...
AND : also 1967 , red guitar, Gibson factory.

But why?

 

[JimR56]

@ JimR56 : you are right, there is a similarity ...
AND : also 1967 , red guitar, Gibson factory.

But why?

The details (the variations in these black laquer treatments) are a little bit quirky and mysterious, but my own view is that it all comes down to what J.D. referred to above. Cosmetic fixes for issues (damage or inherent flaws) that were present after time and materials had been invested in an instrument.

The Riviera in that other thread was said to have been marked by Gibson as a factory 2nd, which suggests that its neck joint modification was done at the factory and was the reason for the marking. This raises the question... is your 335 (or the other one you saw for sale recently) marked as a 2nd? If not, this might suggest that the heel painting was not done by Gibson before the guitar was shipped. Anyway, just some food for thought here.

 

[neuroy]

The details (the variations in these black laquer treatments) are a little bit quirky and mysterious, but my own view is that it all comes down to what J.D. referred to above. Cosmetic fixes for issues (damage or inherent flaws) that were present after time and materials had been invested in an instrument.

The Riviera in that other thread was said to have been marked by Gibson as a factory 2nd, which suggests that its neck joint modification was done at the factory and was the reason for the marking. This raises the question... is your 335 (or the other one you saw for sale recently) marked as a 2nd? If not, this might suggest that the heel painting was not done by Gibson before the guitar was shipped. Anyway, just some food for thought here.

Mine is not a second.
The one in the OP picture, I can`t tell . The seller did not respond to my question concerning the back story of the guitar. His picture of the back of headstock is not of good quality, the ser.-no. hardly visible. I cannot make out any appearance of a "second" mark. My guess is its not a second.
I will try to check on mine with blacklight. Or if there's a hint wether the black paint is over or beneath the clear coat.

 

[latestarter]

@latestarter : one like JimR56 was showing or the non-stinger or whatever in my OP ?

Thank you !

Sorry, like Jim’s

 

[DavidGreer]

Correct. As Charlie Chitlins "pointed" out, the guitar in the OP does not have a "stinger".

Here's a heel stinger. They're not that rare (again, a google image search will turn up many examples).

View attachment 21326

I like it.