Welcome to the Gibson ES 335/345/355 Blog

This would be post number one, I guess. I probably know about as much about the ES series of guitars from Gibson as anyone on the planet. They have been a passion for more than 40 years. I've owned  every year from 1959 though 1968-never a 1958, though. I've had a few from the 80's as well. The current models are beginning to approach the "Golden Era" guitars and that's a good thing. The Historic line of 335s (the dot and the block) are extremely pricey but very well made and they sound almost as good as one from the 50s or 60s.  As a collector, I'm always interested in acquiring these guitars and as anexpert, I'm happy to share my knowledge of them.  If you have one to sell, let me know and if you post a photo or email it to me, I'll should be able to tell you what year it is and approximately what it might bring on the open market. I'm  not going to post a chart of what these are worth because the range is huge and the prices change on just about a weekly basis.  I will make a few general points though. A 335 is nearly always going to be worth more than a comparable 345 or 355 because of demand. A natural finish will be worth more than others since they are rarer. This goes only for vintage. Guitars from the 50's through 1964 are worth more than any other in this model. Mid to late 60's examples can be great guitars and pretty valuable. I would avoid 70's guitars unnless you have a limited budget and you're a player. They are not particularly well made. This improved in 1981 with the "dot reissue". These can be terrific players and, I believe, are a collectible of the future. The ones with a one piece neck are the ones to look for. The 3 piece can be just as nice-I just don't like 3 piece necks.  No reason given. I don't need one. My blog.  The dot reissue continued through the sale of Gibson to Henry Juskiewicz in 1986. Mr. J has made considerable improvements to the model and reintroduced the 345 and 355 as Custom Shop models. Along with his improvements came much higher prices. More later