I met Chris this week purely by chance. We chatted for an hour over a drink. I can confirm that the guy is absolutely as nice and thoughtful as he seems on his videos. His passion for the instrument is so inspiring and of course he’s a masterful guitarist. I suspect there is no guitarist out there who has a better touch when it comes to passing notes. Please keep the content coming and I’m so excited to see what is next for this guy
That's all anybody needs. After years of trying to figure out what my guitar preferences are (and owning almost every guitar type there is), I finally came to the conclusion that the Tele and the 335 (or equivalent semi-hollow with humbuckers) are what speak to me the most. Of course, I own other guitar types, but if I had to pick only two, it would be a Tele and a 335.
@Luthiart ^ tongue firmly in cheek ^ Truly, play whatever the hell you feel like just don't assume that you know what anyone else _should themselves be playing_ without getting an eyeful/earful backatya ! ☮
You can thank Hank Garland for the design and especially the playability of the 335. He’s the guy who worked with McCarty to design the 335 and also work the bugs out of the original design. Hank ended up with the prototype.
Great vid. And yes, to me the 335 is the best guitar ever. Great tone, versatile, extremely comfortable to play, not too heavy, gorgeous looks. A 355 with Bigsby is still on my wishlist 😀.
@5:27 that's one of the best demos I've ever seen of having a flexible approach to right hand technique, using and not using the plectrum. Top Stuff. and yes I'm a 335 fan,
Different guitars I know, but I have always preferred 335s to LPs. I consider them to be more versatile and richer sounding. I love teles for their simplicity, but I think the 335 is in many ways the pinnacle of electric guitar design
That second solo on the red 335 was to my ears way better than the intro part. Much more melodic which is what I prefer personally. It’s not how many notes you play but which notes you play. This is not a criticism of your playing which is always amazing, just my personal preference. I have a 335 (1980), LP (1979) and SG (1972) and love the sound of the 335 but I don’t really get on with it for reasons I can’t figure out. Weight is certainly one factor but not really the reason. I bought it second hand really cheaply and am loath to part with it. Oh well I guess my kids will inherit it. Love the channel - please keep them coming.
I do agree with your statement for the most part which you hear all the time , but if the “tone is in the fingers’ concept is 100 percent accurate , then why do all these other great players like Bonamassa, etc collect and play the finest vintage guitars and amps to achieve their “tone”? Why don’t they just play the crappiest guitars from upper Mongolia?
@@SlavicSon for the same reason that a good big guy always beats a good little guy. That and they can afford it and probably enjoy it like the less talented of us
@@juancarlosgonzalezconde6958 Ask him what? Why he plays expensive vintage guitars to get his tone which are auctioned for millions of dollars and who currently has dozens of them up for sale at Gruhn Guitars in Nashville? In addition to the newer custom shop fender and Martin pieces that cost thousand in their own right?
I have a 335, a les Paul, and a tele and the 335 is the one I grab most often. I love the tele twang, but the Gibson scale length is easier to play in my view, and compared with the Les Paul, it's roughly the same weight and a very similar tone, but again easier to play because the fretboard is so accessible right the way up the neck. So it's become my default choice. Quality of Gibson finish not as good as my PRS or my Ibanez JSM, but it has mojo and that great tone.
That solo starting at 9:44 is amazing! So smooth and in the pocket and I honestly cannot figure out how he developed his fingerstyle technique. Buck is one of my favorite players on RU-vid.
I have a 335 with block and ebony fretboard. Brighter sounding than rosewood. 57 humbuckers. Can’t be beat. Played though single ended 6l6 amp controlled feedback is spectacular.
I only ended up with a 335 because my friend needed money, but I must say, it's really great in a lot of situations and genres. My greatest of all time is the Strat, but you could definitely make a case for the 335. Thanks! 🎸
I had the opportunity to play a couple of '59 ES335's a number of years ago. The PAF mystique is well deserved. Never heard such a wonderful balance of warmth, air and chime. Not especially loud pickups, just especially beautiful sounding. No doubt the 335's structure and its combination of woods helped the PAF's deliver that sound.
IBZ AS73 here....close enough (don't need a Bigsby). This bought in '06, just before my 50th BD, seeing EC. Blues Jr, Bad Monkey and the 73 for GoodBye's Sitting On Top Of The World, stereo jam. Pretty great. show was good, too.
I've been learning the guitar for over half a century. Frankly I'm crap, but I love the instrument. Quite a few electics have passed through my hands, for me the best most/versatile of all is the Epiphone es 339 (with coil splitting). Seems it does most of the 355 and Les Paul tricks plus a bit of the Fender single coil stuff too. Love mine anyway. Rgds P
One of my favorite guitar players I grow up with and seen in concert in 73, played a Gibson ES335 and that was the great Peter Banks. Peter of Yes, then later Flash and Alex Lifeson of Rush were the only ones that knew how to use a lot of effects tastefully in my opinion.
Nice video Chris, I have 4 different versions of the ES-335 style. Gibson dot 335, Gibson Trini lopez, Epiphone Riviera and a casino. Looking to add a 355 to the collection soon.
@@benallmark9671 that is a tuff one, it would be between the dot 335 and the Trini. The dot is 32 years old, sounds amazing. The Trini lopez has a lovely neck, un-potted pickups and the G string never slips with that string through Firebird headstock.
@@Fretter18 nice. I’ve been eying up the 335 dot’s , I’d prefer a 60’s for a slimmer neck but it’s fairly significant price jump from the 58 re issues to the 60’s. That’s new , here at Long & McQuade in Canada.
@@Fretter18 I checked the prices to make sure and ya the 58 re issue is $4500 CDN and the 64 335 VOS ( whatever the means ) reissue is $7600. The 58 has a rounded C neck and the 64 has a medium C. You know what the difference is between those two necks ? I’m not huge fan of the fat 58 style neck.
I've got them both as well and love them both. I say a Tele is the best Fender guitar and a 335 is the best Gibson guitar. I adore my 335 and I'm a "Fender guy" overall. I've got 3 Strats, 2 Teles, and a 335 and love them all equally but still say the Tele is the "best" from just an objective perspective. There are things a Strat can't do. There are things a Les Paul can't do. There are things a 335 can't do. There is nothing a Tele can't do.
Your accent/voice is very very similar to Paul Hindmarsh from Line 6 /HELIX videos. Your videos are very interesting and entertaining and full, full of good knowledge, Cheers from a Englishman living in Southern California. subscribed mate!
I love the 335 - but if I were friends with Mr Yamaha I'd take a long hard look at the SA2200 (and siblings) - try one, you might like it. Here's Nikolay doing a back to back comparison. Thanks - looking forward to next episode
Have to agree that I love a great 335 or 335 style. My latest venture and first purchase of the type was Carlton's new signature model from Sire and I have to say, the tone and feel is quite astounding. Cheers!
One thing I have found with semi hollowbodies, is that most of the ones from companies other than Gibson, sound closer to a solidbody when they have a stop tailpiece, but Gibsons sound more in between the two. When they have trapeze tailpieces they all sound closer to hollowbodies. If I were to get one though I would prefer a trapeze tailpiece as it is more different than my solidbodies
I felt the 335 too big and unwieldy so I found a slightly smaller 336 - and love it...Just discovered Jon Herington does too...so it can't be bad can it?
I used to have an Epiphone 335 and i was never in love with it. I now own a 335 style by Peerless with gibson P-90s and also an Ibanez 335 style with their high end PAF humbuckers. Those two are my favorite guitars, but kind of show off that a 335 with low end or average pups just aren't going to overcome average pickups, which is a thing that single coils are known for. You can get a lot of mileage out of a cheap tele. The same cannot be said fir the 335, whee you have to lay out some bread to get a good sound.
For semi-acoustic my choice is always my Aria Pro-II TA60, very similar to the ES330 (no woodblock) and it can handle anything from jazz and blues to full-on rock....
It does not matter but I was annoyed/ pleased with how they painted the sunburst on the back, much preferring the around the edges and not a big tear drop.
Another very good FF, thank you Chris! Point taken about vintage 335s though... I had a cherry '66 (like yours I think) and honestly the boutique McKay 335 I bought a few years ago is just a better guitar... so I sold the '66 and kept the McKay (Made in Michigan USA... they're fabulous guitars). I also agree that, as much as I love the 335, the Telecaster is the most versatile guitar of all!
Many of us can't afford a real Gibson ES335 but the Epiphone "Inspired By Gibson" Series has come closer to the real thing than ever before... There are other alternatives but for my money I'll take the Epiphone 24/7 365!
I have a 335 and it’s a tone machine, but I find it bit big in the body, and I have to fight neck rise. I much prefer the slightly smaller 339’ which sounds equally as good.
I've had my ES339 since they first came to the UK. It's a beauty but I'm sure it's sounding better and better as the years pass. I wish they'd have not put so much nitrocellulose on to try and emulate PRS's. I reckon that's why it's sounding better as the lacquer thins with all my polishing !
I tried out a 339 in a store, for all the reasons you noted, and I have to say it just felt...wrong. You're a taller lad than I am, but still there is something comforting about the large bass bout of a 335 resting against one's chest. Maybe it's being able to feel the resonance of the notes against your chest. My co-guitarist in our band years back had a luscious cherry red mid-'60s ES-335 that I lusted after. The "greatest guitar ever made"? Hard to say. But there are few other guitars that give one the sense that you could play *anything* you wanted with it.
Interesting that most of the 335's shown have all had a refret and the NIBS removed. I wish Gibson would do a 2 year run of 335's with NO nibs, they would sell a lot more for sure. They did the 2014 LP std anniversary with no nibs! Please Gibson drop the nibs on the 335. Thk u👍🙂
I own a Nazangi Thara - semi hollow, Fender style scale length and with a removable control panel ;) it is the green one from the video from @eytschpi42 from 2016 here at RU-vid. A great guitar I found at the Guitar Summit in Mannheim in 2018 :) I hope I can make it to the Guitar Summit again this year - would be great to meet you in person!
I think the Stratocaster is the greatest guitar made, design-wise and ergonomically... I have a good Strat that I love, but I also have a gold top Les Paul (p-90s) that just sounds better... but it's a little awkward to sit with and it's heavy. Would love to get a 335 (and a Tele, of course).
Great job on this. great playing.. as far as the geatest guitar desjgn of all times.. I think that although great pioneers especially in the 50s...non of these original designs were perfect. The 335 is a fantastic guitar.. but even as Larry Carlton said it can be used to play many types of music.. but other intruments may be better for a specific genre... In the end I think the perfect guitar design needs to be that which a musician works on with a luthier to meet their soecific needs... all of us have different hands., ears and preferenced in tone and touch... the perfect design is the one you come up with.. but sadly it wi only be perfect for you!!!
And you left out Miss Dolores O'Riordan ... And you can always stuff a bit of foam rubber into that upper "f" hole to tone down that feedback. And I don't believe there IS a one greatest guitar design of all time ... they all serve a purpose and do a particular job, in my humble opinion. God bless.
Chris, it has been a long time since a guitarist has made my face pucker, eyes squint, and body contort all while you feel tears welling up, and the only release is that next cathartic way you Chris choose to phrase that next run. Man thank you so much. Don’t stop! Come back to the states please and thank you!
Alex Lifeson's a big fan who was, when I was growing up, my hero. He's just sold his 355 at auction (£380,000). His first main guitar was a sunburst '68 335 which was damaged at a gig. I think he still has it. I once got to play a chap's early 70's 345 through a Roland space echo. La Villa Strangiato was first, of course!
No question at all. I remember the first time I plugged one of these "jazz boxes" in to an old super bass head with greenbacks. Goodness me. I had a religious experience. Back then you could buy Epiphone dots for
This is one guitar where an Epi gets you in the EXACT space as a top tier Gibson CS 335. Upgrade the pick ups and never look back. I still just favor single coils and strats télés and jazz masters to my ear let you channel a wider range of tone. Still my 59 Epi with Throwbacks begs to play those Steely Dan lick ( thank you Larry Carlton, Danny Dias, Skunk Baxter..). In the end it’s the imagination and execution of the guitarist and man these videos are transcendant!
Hey Chris, I grew up in Germany but I moved to the US in 1979 when I was 22. English is my second language. So maybe that is why I am so aware of the fact that you not only have an impressive command over your guitar, but also the way you express yourself, using the English language, is equally astounding. There is something calming, lyrical and beautiful about the way you speak. You would be hard pressed to find anyone here in the US who could keep up with you. I am mainly a bass player but I love playing the guitar as well andI truly enjoy your videos.
I was born and raised in the US and I'm listening to this video simply because I like the way Chris Buck speaks. My wife and I were talking about how much we enjoy British English (a blackbeltbarrister video had just ended). So I pulled up a Chris Buck video for an encore. David Bennett Piano is sure to be next. :)
I can't think of any other current players in this genre, if that's the right word, that even come close to his expressiveness. Maybe Eric Gales. But Chris is definitely a phenom.
Hi Chris, I loved the jam at the 5:27 mark, the rhythm and flow that you have when you play is out of this world, I’d love to hear your opinion on budget models such as epiphones inspired by Gibson range and also the Manson meta series guitars, I’m looking forward to next weeks Friday fretworks already 🤘🏻
Hi Chris great as always, but I feel mention should have been made of the great Bill Nelson of Be Bop Deluxe, he was a ES 345 player who brought the guitar to rock prominence, the guitar sound he got on "Crying to the Sky" was an early inspiration for me, but from what I have read it was for Prince as well. A gift from his dad in the mid sixties, It was pretty much the only guitar he played back then.
