Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Vintage guitar and amp.

I have inherited a Gibson ES 335? with an early 60’s build date. It has the Bigsby bar. It possibly needs some restoration work but I need to get it to the proper place for an assessment and advice on maintaining its history but maximizing its value.

It is completed by a Fender Bassman Amp with the large cabinet with head unit. Dual 12” speakers. It’s fully functional. A quick search indicates a 1966 build date which is after Columbia? had bought out Fender?

I know that there are some music guys on here so I thought I’d throw this out for discussion. If anyone knows the place in Nashville to take a Gibson for appraisal (or is it Memphis for the electrics) I’d appreciate the help. Also, what do you guys think these things are worth; what dollar range would be realistic for each?

Traveling today so it would be late afternoon before I could put up pics.

Dibs!

Send me pics!

What kind of repairs does it need?

Original case? Pickups? Altered in anyway? Headstock repaired?

You’ll need to figure out what year in order to nail down value but could be quite valuable.

Silver face Bassman not worth anything crazy.

The immediate names for an appraisal which pop into my head are Gruhn's and Carter's.

A written appraisal from Gruhn's holds some weight in the vintage guitar world.

Personally, I wouldn't try to put a number on it.

By the way, if you think vintage guns are an addicting and expensive hobby, guitar guys say, "here, hold my beer."

I’ll try to pull some more details together tonight.

^^^This!^^^

[url=http://http://customfret.com][/url]
Here is a great place to go for repairs.

Lol. Yea. These early electrics are like crack. I play a little bit but not enough to make this guitar and amp shine. Instruments like this need to be in the hands of people that will keep them alive rather than sitting in a dark closet of a neophyte relative who remains clueless.

Reverb has become THE place for selling vintage gear. It’s fairly easy to determine value if you know what you have. 1960 dot necks in superb condition are valued rather high.

https://reverb.com/p/gibson-es-335td-1960

1966 es335’s are considerably less valuable.

https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=1966%20gibson%20es335

Call Joe Bonamassa, he'll buy anything and pay top dollar too.

That's for guys that watch Norman's Rare Guitars.

Call Charley’s Guitars in Dallas. FaceTime or Zoom and let them look it over. They are as good as anyone in the business. SRV, Clapton, John Mayer, and lots of top players deal w them exclusively. Another option from a different region.

JYa but even that pigs ass is still some pretty good pork!!$

^^^This^^^

Gruhns for appraisal if your close to Nashville.

And much like collecting guns, Condition is EVERYTHING.

I grew up in the heart of south central Kentucky born in 1966. The area was very rural and Mayberry-like in the buckle of the Bible Belt.

Back in the day it was commonplace for
Churches to have “singings”. Most of these were as much a social event as anything else. Several groups would be invited and basically do a few sets in rotation.

My mom and dad grew up in musical families so music was a large part of my life for many years. My dad wasn’t much of a singer but played the guitar. My mom was a soprano and together they were part of a quartet, The Sunshine Quartet. One of my maternal great uncles sang tenor with them so I spent more time with him until I was 8 than I did with both my grandpas combined.

We were ALWAYS gone somewhere over a 7-8 county area. Special church singings, revival services, a weekly live program on the local radio station. I absolutely hated it. From several years before I was born until I was 8 this was my life. Even Friday nights were busy taken up with practice sessions. My childhood was definitely unique because of this lifestyle but looking back, even with the fond memories, it’s not a lifestyle that I would choose.

When we moved back to the area my wife wanted to go to a “benefit singing” where an offering is taken up to help someone in need. We went to support a friend of hers. About fifteen minutes in I couldn’t sit still so I went out with my oldest daughter and watched moths and bugs flitter around the security light until the shindig was over.

It was more than a thirty six year old man could take so you can imagine the horror of growing up hostage to atrocious singing by well intended souls with limited talent. Those were the other groups. For amateurs the Sunshine Quartet was decent.

This old Gibson was the guitar that my dad used for many of those years. I remember him trading for it when I was four or five years old. It was a rainy Saturday afternoon and he traded an Airline electric and some cash to L J Tucker and took possession of the guitar, it’s been in the family ever since. That was around 1970.

The guitar has been a thing of legend for years. No one one knew exactly what it was but everyone knew that it was an old instrument and had some value. Thanks to Higgenez for helping me start to figure out what it is. We’ve already determined that it’s a 1961 ES 330 with the anomaly of having a Bigsby bar and bridge on it.

Somewhere along the way my dad ended up with a Fender Bassman amplifier. It’s a big beast with a cabinet with two twelve inch speakers and a head unit, a setup for two guitars. If memory serves he bought that from the son of Azro and Christine who made up the rest of the Sunshine quarter.

That’s pretty much the story behind the pair. Hope you guys enjoyed the little write up.

renegade says:












pics or it didn't happen.

Thanks for the update, I always enjoy the personal history behind things that I find interesting.

I love vintage guitars and their stories. Really enjoyed yours. That's a great guitar, obviously.

There is a difference between assumed, restoration work and a repair.
If it looks scratched and maybe a few chips in the finish and surface rust on the metal parts, these need to be left alone as they make the guitar authentic and "player grade" which is a price category and more valuable than something "restored" in the eyes or most users or collectors.

If the guitar has something broken that makes it unplayable, I'd recommend sending it to Gibson which is also in TN. I had them do some work on a 1966 model of mine a few years back and it is not only done properly, you have the paper work from Gibson which offers far greater value that Joe Bloe from Box Spring Ln. If it isn't Gibson, it is not Gibson's work.

Good stuff worthy of a few pics!

It's a great guitar from when Gibson was firing on all cylinders.

Lol.


The Sunshine Quartet



Left to right my dad, Uncle Earl, Christine, mom, Azro.