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pjr wrote:Thanks for all the info and comments everyone - very much appreciated.
JN thanks for the heads up on Ebay, it's given me a pretty good idea about how much to ask for it.
I'll restring it and spend a couple of hours setting it up over the next few days and report back with my opinion of it.
Thanks again all,
Pete

It'd look better without that incorrect scratchplate.

I agree!





Pete

OK guys, here's a picture of the finished article.
Cleaned, scratchplate removed, 12's removed and replaced with 10's, 2mm packing piece removed from the neck pocket and some very drastic work on the bridge to get a comfortable action,
The bridge is hardwood (ebony?) and adds a certain warmth to the sound I believe. If it was mine to keep (it has to be sold on behalf of someone) I would fit a metal bridge unit to get a bit more sparkle in the sound.
Overall it now plays very well. It's a pity it doesn't have the full length block in the body to give a bit more sustain but it was no doubt made to a price.

I assume the guitar is meant to be a knock-off of a 335 and I've tried to attach a small sound file to this post.
Guitar - compressor - Mesa Lone Star preamp section - bit of plate reverb from a Q20 into the computer.
It doesn't sound quite the same as Tony Peluso's mind you............


Cheers all,

Pete

When that guitar was made, it was very unusual for any guitar of its general appearance to be constructed with a solid centre block.

The Gibsons 335, 345 and 355, yes. But Gibson 330, no. It and similar guitars from Fender, Gretsch, Guild and the well-knwn European makers were effectively hollow.

Solid centre blocks became a well-known design feature (familiar enough to be incorporated into other makers' designs) only from the mid-to-later seventies onward. Before that, a guitar was a 335 copy if it merely looked the same shape.

Nice job Peter!

Looks nice, and sounds OK too...you shouldn't have too much trouble finding a buyer!

Thanks John and thanks to JN for sharing his extensive knowledge.


Pete

I think you might lose a bit of character if you fitted a metal bridge. The wooden bridge helps the vibrations from the strings 'escape' into the body which of course has an effect on the sound - what you lose in sustain, you make up for in tone.