At first glance, the Gibson ES-339 looks just like its "big brother," the ES-335. Upon closer inspection, though, you realize it shares its body size with another best-selling Gibson model, the Les Paul. So, what you've got with an ES-339 is the ES-335 look and sound with the feel of a Les Paul. Sounds wonderful in theory, right? Let's look at the particulars a little more carefully.
The ES-339 body and top feature a maple/poplar/maple laminate while the neck is made of mahogany with a rosewood fretboard and 22 frets. The bridge is the tune-o-matic and stop tailpiece variety, and the guitar is also outfitted with Kluson tuners and '57 Classic Humbuckers in both the bridge and neck as well as chrome hardware. Some ES-339 particular features include "Memphis Tone" electronics and a 30/60 neck profile.
The working value of the "Memphis Tone" electronics is plain. For starters, when you turn the volume down, the guitar's highs stay seamless throughout the taper. Normally, you lose high end when you decrease a guitar's volume, so this is a welcome add-on. The volume decreases logarithmically, so the volume lessening is quite smooth and even, comparable with the actual volume knob numbers!
The neck is called a "30/60" because it has a 60's style neck, but with an extra.030" back to front. This neck profile helps keep that basic Gibson semi-hollowbody tone while enhancing playability. Really nice. As we put the ES-339 through its paces, that's really the thing that stood out to us, the playability. Both chording and lead work were exceptional. It was a nice change to get ES-335 tones from a Les Paul sized instrument.
Regarding the sounds, we were delighted with the distinct diversity available. Although it will chiefly appeal to blues and jazz guitarists, this is an instrument that could conceivably appeal to guitarists from a broad range of styles. To be sure, though, there are some great semi-hollowbody tones available here!
Feedback was useful and easy to control when we cranked it up. We plainly couldn't get a bad sound out of the ES-339. From rock and blues to jazz and country, this is one of the most complete and well-playing guitars we've critiqued in a while. We particularly liked the "Memphis Tone" feature. Call it what you will, it's no selling ploy. We really enjoyed getting different settings out of the volume and tone control settings.
It was refreshing not to feel compelled to swap out the pickups right away as well. The Classic Humbuckers unquestionably did the trick, as did the 30/60 neck, which made for some effortless chording and fast runs. We can't conceive of anything to improve on this guitar. The fit and finish were faultless from the factory, and is a testimonial to the quality of the Gibson Custom Shop. We commend this instrument highly.
The Gibson ES-339 is an incredibly versatile instrument. If you need to purchase yours today, then you should head on over to Ray's Guitar Shop, which offers the best prices on all used and new acoustic and electric guitars. It doesn't matter if you need a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender Telecaster, or a PRS Mira, they offer the best deals online.
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