brentrocks Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Or did Heritage come up with this body style? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 The ES-339 and ES-336 are similar in the basic execution of the concept of a smaller version of a semihollow. But the dimensions are slightly different.. Theirs tend to be very slightly thicker , longer, and wider.. not by much. The big difference is the floating block ( and Heritage craftsmanship ) .. which is a feature that I'm really sold on. I was lucky enough to have Marv walk me through the process at the last PSP. He demonstrated the construction with the raw materials ready to assemble at the plant, explaining the difference in a floating and a semi-hollow . The other Gibson that resembles the Prospect is the Midtown model. But it is actually very different... It is a solidbody with a large chamber made in the general shape of the 335. By using a solidbody that is computer routed they save a ton of time vs the usual semi-hollow/ hollow method used, so it is a well priced instrument. But it is very different. As to who was first... I'd have to research that. .. and I'm not sure that Gibson does any floating block versions... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 ... There are also versions from the custom shop .. CS-336 / CS-356. These may have different dimensions than the regular ES versions. Strange that while many details are posted on Gibsons site, they leave out the body dimensions on the ES versions on the page I visited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genericmusic Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Just a guess but I would suggest ES-339. Whoa, I guess I'm a little late to the party. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidsmoke Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 The other Gibson that resembles the Prospect is the Midtown model. But it is actually very different... It is a solidbody with a large chamber made in the general shape of the 335. By using a solidbody that is computer routed they save a ton of time vs the usual semi-hollow/ hollow method used, so it is a well priced instrument. But it is very different. As to who was first... I'd have to research that. .. and I'm not sure that Gibson does any floating block versions... Isn't that also the approach of the Gibson Vegas? Basically a HEAVILY routed solid mahogany body with a maple cap. As opposed to a weight relieved LP, which has multiple small chambers, they carve out one massive chamber, leaving meat for the p'ups and the stoptail, then slap a cap with F-holes on it. More similar to the Millie than a semi-hollow, it seems to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Hey .. here's photo from Eljay.. a Prospect next to a ES-336...( I think the ES-336 is smaller than the ES-339 ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DetroitBlues Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Seems unique to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Here are examples of an ES-339 Wiki shows ES-339 started in 2007 ... the ES-336 was introduced in 1996 .... But the Prospect is a bit of a different shape ( I like better ) and again a floating block. It looks like the CS series were chambered mahogany back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skydog52 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 The story I heard was Jim and Marv came up with each. I forget which for each. They named them after Prospect and Academy St. in Kalamazoo. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Prospect+St,+Kalamazoo+Charter+Township,+MI+49006/@42.2925963,-85.6036912,17z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x881777e11a3f015f:0xb4ab9191a86923db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredZepp Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 1991 was the year the Prospect was introduced.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalismanRich Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 To me the Midtown is more like a Millennium Double Cut with slightly larger "ears". I don't see anything in Gibson's range that is like the Prospect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobmeyrick Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Was Ibanez the first with the concept of a small bodied semi? I have an AM50 which was made in 1983. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
111518 Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Simple answer to the original question, to the best of my knowledge, is no. But, Gibson did make small thinlines as 3/4 scale guitars, during the 50s and 60s: this is a es140T --a 3/4 size guitar. Not exactly a scaled down 335, but a small thinline hollowbody. The Kay Jazz II was a 15" double cut hollowbody, from at least the early 60s. These are now being reissued. And, although hollowed-out rather than thinline construction, and single cut, there were also the Guild M-65 and M-75 Aristocrat style guitars, originally made as 3/4 guitars but then offered with full scale necks. I've always wondered if Duerloo's time at Guild might have influenced Heritage's move towards smaller hollowbodies or chambered-bodied guitars. These were the first small, hollow-type guitars I encountered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Simple answer to the original question, to the best of my knowledge, is no. But, Gibson did make small thinlines as 3/4 scale guitars, during the 50s and 60s: this is a es140T --a 3/4 size guitar. Not exactly a scaled down 335, but a small thinline hollowbody. The Kay Jazz II was a 15" double cut hollowbody, from at least the early 60s. These are now being reissued. And, although hollowed-out rather than thinline construction, and single cut, there were also the Guild M-65 and M-75 Aristocrat style guitars, originally made as 3/4 guitars but then offered with full scale necks. I've always wondered if Duerloo's time at Guild might have influenced Heritage's move towards smaller hollowbodies or chambered-bodied guitars. These were the first small, hollow-type guitars I encountered. cool info, thx!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soybean Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Was Ibanez the first with the concept of a small bodied semi? I have an AM50 which was made in 1983. I believe you are correct. Some of them are labled Greco too. I recently sold a 1982 Ibanez AS-50 which is slightly bigger body than your guitar, but still smaller than a Gibby 335. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gitfiddler Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 The main difference between the Prospect and all of the examples given above is the FLOATING BLOCK of the Prospect. All of the other comparisons have variations of either full hollow or semi-hollow designs. Guitars like the Ibanez AM series and Gibson 336/356 have a hollowed out mahogany solid core body. The only Gibson I know of with a floating block like the Prospect is the Howard Robers Fusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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