I want this!!!

[like children]

Has this been posted yet? I love this thing! Giving serious thought to buying it. Anybody ever play a es-355 before?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=514151

[flatfiver]

A 355 is basically a 335 w/ebony fretboard, block inlays, and fancier binding and headstock inlay, so I've played something real similar.  That looks really hot.

[djetz]

Nice - except for the gold. Way overpriced, like most Gibsons. There are many other makes of semi-solid 335-style guitars that are better value.

[spacecadet]

Nice - except for the gold. Way overpriced, like most Gibsons. There are many other makes of semi-solid 335-style guitars that are better value.

(cough) Epiphone Dot (cough)

Doesn't have a Bigsby, though.  The Epi ES-295 with the Bigsby and P-90's is probably actually closer to this ES-355 than the Dot, even though the Dot *is* an ES-335.

Epi's are 90% of a Gibson for about 30% of the price.

[djetz]

(cough) Epiphone Dot (cough)

Doesn't have a Bigsby, though.  The Epi ES-295 with the Bigsby and P-90's is probably actually closer to this ES-355 than the Dot, even though the Dot *is* an ES-335.

Epi's are 90% of a Gibson for about 30% of the price.

Yes, an Epi Dot would be a good choice. Hagstrom Viking or Ibanez Artcore AS73 are other good choices. You could buy and install a Bigsby and your choice of pickups on any of those and still save most of the price of a Gibson ES-335.

I have a Viking, it's a great guitar at any price, and I'm very impressed with Ibanez Artcores and the Epi Dots. I've played a number of Gibson semis, and there really isn't anything about them that makes them worth 5 to 10 times the price of the others except for name brand snobbery.

I've heard good things about other brands with 335-style guitars, too, but Epi, Hag, and Ibanez I know from experience to be very good instruments.

[northern_dirt]

Reminds me of my Epi

[northern_dirt]

The P90s would be cool in mine.... and the block inlay.. and black knobs

[djetz]

Reminds me of my Epi

Cool. You could throw some 'bucker-sized P90s in there and it'd be practically the same thing as that Gibson.

[djetz]

The P90s would be cool in mine.... and the block inlay.. and black knobs

Ha, posted at the same time as my last comment.

I'm not a big fan of block inlays, myself, though the inlays and neck binding on the Gibby do look pretty nice.

What would a set of black knobs cost you, $10? 

[northern_dirt]

Reminds me of my Epi

Cool. You could throw some 'bucker-sized P90s in there and it'd be practically the same thing as that Gibson.

For less than 1/4 of the cost..

[northern_dirt]

The P90s would be cool in mine.... and the block inlay.. and black knobs

Ha, posted at the same time as my last comment.

I'm not a big fan of block inlays, myself, though the inlays and neck binding on the Gibby do look pretty nice.

What would a set of black knobs cost you, $10? 

Prolly no more than that... Pups prolly cost $200-$250 for the pair...

[cmatthes]

The Hamer Newport would blow that away for @ 1/2 that price new (1/3 to 1/4 that price used).

Worth trying out and way better made!

[spacecadet]

This interview is old, but the guy who runs Gibson comes off as a real jackass:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies ... bson_x.htm

They raised the prices to astronomical levels because he says every time they did, sales went up because people assumed the quality was better.  He also separately says the quality actually *is* better, but he doesn't explicitly link the two when talking about price.  And he seems to imply that they raised the prices first.

"I said we are going to increase prices. Prices were ridiculously low. And people said, the price has been decreasing 20% a year, how can you reverse that? I said I'm just going to double the prices on a lot of models."

He also says he wants Gibson to emulate... Nike!?

Anyway it pretty much confirms what a lot of people think about Gibson... not bad guitars, but way, way overpriced.  They're priced as high as people will pay, not at what they're actually worth.  They price their guitars on almost an auction system, not cost of materials + labor + X percent profit.  In a way, I guess it's no different than most "premium" products, but like other premium products, you can always find competing products that work just as well, look just as good and cost much less.  You really are paying for the name.

[mezcalhead]

They raised the prices to astronomical levels because he says every time they did, sales went up because people assumed the quality was better.

Yeah .. I think he got a standing ovation the first time he announced that .. if your main motivation is to deliver profits to shareholders then increasing demand by increasing prices must be a wet dream. Apparently it's a well-described phenomenon in the literature.

He also says he wants Gibson to emulate... Nike!?

Gibson pretty much is a "lifestyle brand" now and Nike are one of the most successful of those, so that's what he's saying there I guess.

Let's face it, guitars and amps are mostly leisure toys these days rather than tools to earn a living .. partly, I suspect, because the job of musician is no longer profitable for most people.

[like children]

This interview is old, but the guy who runs Gibson comes off as a real jackass:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies ... bson_x.htm

They raised the prices to astronomical levels because he says every time they did, sales went up because people assumed the quality was better.  He also separately says the quality actually *is* better, but he doesn't explicitly link the two when talking about price.  And he seems to imply that they raised the prices first.

"I said we are going to increase prices. Prices were ridiculously low. And people said, the price has been decreasing 20% a year, how can you reverse that? I said I'm just going to double the prices on a lot of models."

He also says he wants Gibson to emulate... Nike!?

Anyway it pretty much confirms what a lot of people think about Gibson... not bad guitars, but way, way overpriced.  They're priced as high as people will pay, not at what they're actually worth.  They price their guitars on almost an auction system, not cost of materials + labor + X percent profit.  In a way, I guess it's no different than most "premium" products, but like other premium products, you can always find competing products that work just as well, look just as good and cost much less.  You really are paying for the name.

I fear I've fallen for this trick. Damn. You guy's are right it is waaaay overpriced I just love the way it looks.