1980 335-S Pro Deluxe

[dan_silverburst]

Hello folks

First time posting on the forum but you've been a great source of help and info over the years.

I feel the need to share with you the virtues of my latest purchase and hopefully give a bit of knowledge back to this excellent resource.

So I noticed a 1980 335-S Pro Deluxe Silverburst on the website of a local shop here in northern England. At first I thought it was ugly as sin, then after a while I liked it for that reason. I always sway towards the stranger guitars. I went to check it out this weekend - and tried a 1980 The Paul and an Ibanez AR350 Special Edition.

At first I slightly preferred The Paul but when I plugged them in - no contest. The Dirty Fingers and coil tap of the 335-S blew them all away. You can't believe the range of sounds available. All of them great.

It has: brass nut, bound ebony fretboard, greening silverburst, zebra exposed Dirty Fingers, very stable tuners, coil taps and a bomb-proof feel to it.

About the looks: It's funny, as soon as I stopped seeing it as a solid ES 335 and more as a better SG (which is essentially what it is) I loved the looks. I also think that some really bad marketing in the Norlin era robbed this jem of the great reputation it deserves.

Sound-wise it sits somewhere between an SG and Les Paul. A very articulate but brutish sound. I got it primarily for playing rock but the clean sounds available are making me consider selling my Am Telecaster. I'm playing it through an Orange Tiny Terror and a 1962 Fender Tremolux Blonde head.

Just thought I'd give the thumbs up to a sometimes misunderstood great axe.

Cheers
Dan

 

[formula73]

Always loved the looks of those. Hopefully I'll stumble across one to put through the paces and maybe take home!

 

[jsa61]

Had one of these in the early 80's. Of all the guitars I've sold, I regret letting this one go the most. Great guitar.

 

[HOT-BRIT]

Welcome mate!
THE 335-S are a great and they are a very versatile guitar
I had one before and was a nice player

 

[dan_silverburst]

Thanks chaps

HOT-BRIT ...Miami Beach eh? Nice place - I've worked there a few times. Got my first (of many) tattoos there when I was 20!

One more thing to point out - a bit off topic - I played the new version of the 335-S when I was testing out an amp a few months ago. It was pretty much the worst 'name' guitar I've ever played. Certainly and by far the worst Gibson. The finish was appalling and it sounded crappy. Maybe you need to live with it a bit but I was totally disappointed.

 

[CRobbins]

Congrats.

 

[SGMM]

some really bad marketing in the Norlin era robbed this jem of the great reputation it deserves.

Agreed....& congrats Dan!!

 

[Calgary Flametop]

These guitars are great, especially the 335-S Deluxe Professional. There was also the 335-S Standard and the 335-S Custom. One really interesting point about these guitars was it was the only model Gibson ever made where the Deluxe was considered a higher model than both the Standard and the Custom. That confusion could have been what led to its demise, LOL.

I have one of these that is actually a Gold Burst. It is not a Silver Burst that has had some serious yellowing. Even the paint in the pot cavity and the paint under the pickguard that screws directly to the top of the body is the exact same gold color. I don't consider it to be extra special, just odd. I have always thought of them as being similar to the double cut specials, but with humbuckers.

 

[dan_silverburst]

Wow that gold-burst sounds awesome. Any pictures going?

Thanks to all who replied to my post - nice folks on this forum

 

[fatbird]

Nice one Dan.

 

[rxbandit]

I've been gassing over those for a while, great guitars

 

[HOT-BRIT]

you should also post it in the Norlin era sub section

 

[dan_silverburst]

Yeah I've seen mention of the Norlin era sub section. Where does that live?

 

[HOT-BRIT]

Yeah I've seen mention of the Norlin era sub section. Where does that live?

its below the Gibson forum

 

[dan_silverburst]

Gotcha, cheers mate

 

[dspelman]

One more thing to point out - a bit off topic - I played the new version of the 335-S when I was testing out an amp a few months ago. It was pretty much the worst 'name' guitar I've ever played. Certainly and by far the worst Gibson. The finish was appalling and it sounded crappy. Maybe you need to live with it a bit but I was totally disappointed.

Ditto. The "reissue" really isn't -- the spec is well below any of the three original models, almost as if it were a "chinese copy" version. It's certainly not going to get the model any new friends.

Gibson never put out a true Custom version in the Professional series (there were actually nine potential models of this thing scheduled, believe it or not), and that's a version I'd love to have... Maybe the custom shop can do something like that...

 

[solly]

Thanks chaps

HOT-BRIT ...Miami Beach eh? Nice place - I've worked there a few times. Got my first (of many) tattoos there when I was 20!

One more thing to point out - a bit off topic - I played the new version of the 335-S when I was testing out an amp a few months ago. It was pretty much the worst 'name' guitar I've ever played. Certainly and by far the worst Gibson. The finish was appalling and it sounded crappy. Maybe you need to live with it a bit but I was totally disappointed.

Very nice guitar, id love to chase one of the originals down some day.

I have one of the reissues and absolutely love it. Finish was perfect and sounds amazing. I guess no Gibson model is immune to some dogs getting out!

 

[dan_silverburst]

Nine?!

I'd agree about the Custom shop thing. It'd be nice to see them do versions of all these stranger Gibsons. Real vintage spec - not a 're-imagining'. Obviously still run normal specs because not everyone has that amount of cash to spend.

Solly - glad you've got one you love and to hear that the one I tried was a lemon and not the rule. Do you like the Burstbuckers with the maple body?

 

[dspelman]

Nine?!

They had big plans to produce three different "dealer levels" of guitars with three guitars in each. You can see how far they got with the 335-S...
Yours is the bottom of the top group...

 

[X–Ray]