Hi Zach,
I’m the owner of a beautiful ES-335 I purchased in the early
’90s, and I’m trying to identify it. I don’t know anything
about its history and would like to know where and when it
was built, and its value. I’ve replaced the pickups and potentiometers,
but still have the originals.
—Thomas in Denmark
Hi Thomas,
I had to put on my thinking
cap to identify and date your
ES-335. When I first saw the
photos, I thought I was looking
at a pieced-together fake.
Examining valuable and collectible
vintage guitars, I use
the term “adding up”—meaning
all the components and
the condition of the guitar
need to agree with each other.
This includes serial numbers,
pot dates, and finish wear.
But on your guitar, the serial
number is scratched out and
there’s no interior label. This
guitar looked particularly suspicious
because it’s in Gibson’s
most desirable ES-335 configuration—
a natural blonde
finish, dot inlays, and a stop
tailpiece. Desirable configuration,
highly collectible, and no
serial number equals a major
red flag.
Without the serial number,
we need to use the headstock
logo, pickups, pots, and control
knobs to try to date the
guitar. After researching many
books and websites, I believe
I’ve figured it out!
Here is what we
do know
about the guitar from the
photos. The Gibson logo
on the headstock is referred
to as the “thin logo,” which
includes the dot on the “i”
and the upper link between
the “o” and the “n.” The
original pickups (or at least
the pickups that were in the
guitar when you bought it)
are Gibson HB-R and HB-L
humbuckers. The original
potentiometers have the part
numbers of 440-70028 and
440-70035, and a date code
of R 1378951. The knobs are
amber top hats, which were
originally used in the late
1950s and early 1960s.
This is what I’ve discovered
through my research:
The headstock logo dates
post-1981, when the upper
link was added between
the “o” and the “n.” The
Gibson HB-R and HB-L
pickups were designed by
Bill Lawrence and, according
to a few sources, only
available in the late 1980s
(Lawrence worked at Gibson
in the 1970s and 1980s). The
pots have production codes
assigned by Gibson that were
used between 1971 and 1981
according to Gibson’s various
parts lists. Interestingly, the
date codes indicate they are
from the 51st week of 1989,
meaning they were used much
later than they were produced.
And while amber top hat
knobs were originally used in
the late ’50s and early ’60s,
they made a comeback in
the 1980s.
It is well documented that
Gibson used block inlays
on their ES-335 fretboards
between mid-1962 and 1981,
and the trapeze tailpiece was
used between late 1964 and
1981. All of this indicates that
the guitar was built during
the 1980s, and is not from
the late 1950s or early 1960s,
as I had initially thought. I
checked Gibson’s 1983 catalog
and found a mate to this guitar.
While we may not be able
to determine the
exact year of
this Gibson, at least we can
date it to the 1980s production
era.
In 1981, Gibson replaced
the ES-335TD with the
ES-335 Dot, which was based
on the 1960 Gibson ES-335.
This new “Dot” was produced
throughout the 1980s without
any major changes. If your
guitar was all stock and in
mint condition, it would be
worth somewhere between
$2400 and $2750. ES-335
Dots from the 1980s finished
in natural are the most desirable
from this era, as well.
Based on your pickup and
pot mods—and the minor
finish wear—your guitar
is currently worth between
$1750 and $2000. If this was
an original ES-335 from the
late 1950s or 1960, it would
be worth $40,000 or more—
the main reason I was originally
suspicious this guitar
may be a fake!
How do we explain the
scratched-out serial number?
When Thomas inquired about
this, he was told that years
ago, certain overseas guitar
dealers obtained Gibsons for
less money by going around
the official Gibson importer
and removing the serial number
to prevent being caught.
Sounds plausible, but I’m
still hesitant to authenticate
this guitar without any
documentation.
The bottom line: Get as
much documentation as possible
when you buy a guitar.
And
never take someone’s story
as official documentation—it
will not help your cause down
the road if you want to sell. If
the serial number is missing
or scratched out, just ask why.
Would you buy a car if the
VIN was removed or there was
no title? All said, if you find
a guitar without dating information,
but still fall in love
with how it plays and sounds,
consider it your own personal
treasure without an official
birth date!
Zachary R. Fjestad
is author of
Blue Book of
Acoustic Guitars,
Blue Book
of Electric Guitars, and
Blue
Book of Guitar Amplifiers.
For more information, visit
bluebookinc.com or email
Zach at
guitars@bluebookinc.com.