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Thoughts on ES-355 1959 Reissue

brandtkronholm

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Dec 3, 2006
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I too, consider B.B. to be one of my biggest influences and motivators. I saw him in 1990 in a small room. Wow.
 

wmachine

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Mar 17, 2016
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I'll continue the BB King tribute. That's why my "355" of choice is a Lucille. Pictures don't do it justice. It is stunning.

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glenngross

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PSA: Theres a 2021 blonde 355 on TGP priced well. No affiliation, but the seller always seems to have good stuff.
 

Sol

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We all know that the Lucille ES355 has no f holes to reduce feedback, and I've read that BB asked for a slightly slimmer neck (width not depth) are there any other differences between Lucille and the typical ES355 ?
 

wmachine

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We all know that the Lucille ES355 has no f holes to reduce feedback, and I've read that BB asked for a slightly slimmer neck (width not depth) are there any other differences between Lucille and the typical ES355 ?
The pups. Lucille (at least the 2016s) has 490 R/T pups. I thought at first that Gibson cheaped out on the pups. Until I played it. Then I understood. They work really good. Yes, of course for bluesy music. But the best kept secret about them is that they are volume and gain monsters. Turn up the volume and peg the gain, and off you go! Virtually no different for feedback than an LP. I believe the Lucille is probably closer to a good LP than any other ES model. Yes, including ES-LPs. Has a fine tuning bridge too.
 
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Sol

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The Lucille has used the 490r and 490t from the beginning of this superb instrument afaik..
 
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frenchphil

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and why not try a 59 dot reissue from the 80s? with shaw pups. quality is really good, they are highly regarded and dont cost as much as reissues
 
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Sol

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and why not try a 59 dot reissue from the 80s? with shaw pups. quality is really good, they are highly regarded and dont cost as much as reissues
There's no doubt that the dot reissue 335s from the early 1980s on are great guitars.
 

Sol

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I'm old enough to remember the enthusiasm around the re introduction of the dot neck 335 in the 1980s.
There was no custom shop on today's scale but Gibson pulled out all the stops to make this re born 335 the best it could be, and they succeeded. I remember the glowing reviews in 'guitarist' magazine and it wouldn't surprise me if one of these guitars compares very favourably with current Custom Shop models.
 

Minibucker

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Jan 12, 2003
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Edit: Misread original thread title as ES-335.
 
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RA003

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Feb 10, 2020
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OP, if you are still on the fence, I say get one. I think they are outstanding instruments.

IMG_2346.jpg
 
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