Gibson ES355 - No COA?

TeleMaster

Hey all. 

I bought a 2009 Gibson ES-355 and it’s got Custom Shop all over it, on the back of the neck, on the case, but no COA. I’m not sure if it’s meant to have one as it’s from Memphis not Nashville, which is the Custom Shop. It’s got the extended warranty leaflet with the details on it but no COA. My searches are giving me mixed messages so I wondered if anyone knew if it’s meant to have a COA or not?

Ta!

Philly_Q

I'm pretty sure my CS-336 has a CoA and I suppose it's a Memphis guitar (not providing much certainty here am I...?)

tomajoha

Yup it should, Memphis guitars with and without the 'custom shop' label had them, my 2009 fat neck did

TeleMaster

Hmm my one didn’t come with one. It was priced somewhat lower than eBay used so maybe that’s why but I’ll ask them about it in any case. 

stickyfiddle

I don’t know that far back, but my Memphis 2018 ES-330 has the little black COA book in the case. My early (2002-ish) CS336 is Nashville made, I think, and came with the paper cert

susbemol

I also think it should, at least both my 335 from 2012 does and another one I had in the past from 2011 also did.

meltedbuzzbox

stickyfiddle said:

I don’t know that far back, but my Memphis 2018 ES-330 has the little black COA book in the case. My early (2002-ish) CS336 is Nashville made, I think, and came with the paper cert

Same as mine from 2016 or there abouts.

Personally,  the last time I saw it I used it as a coaster for my tea. It's a fucking book and has nothing to do with how good the guitar plays.

I have a similar issue with my Fender coa. 
God knows where they are, again they have nothing to do with how the guitar plays

TeleMaster

@meltedbuzzbox You completely right. I am someone who goes through guitars like anything. I am fickle and will give one up for another at a moments notice, so if it’s gonna affect the value that does annoy me, but it was £3500 and they’re up for about £4K on eBay so maybe I got it a bit cheap, or priced appropriately anyway. 

Thanks everyone else. Wiz’s given. I’ve emailed Gibson directly too.

meltedbuzzbox

TeleMaster said:

@meltedbuzzbox You completely right. I am someone who goes through guitars like anything. I am fickle and will give one up for another at a moments notice, so if it’s gonna affect the value that does annoy me, but it was £3500 and they’re up for about £4K on eBay so maybe I got it a bit cheap, or priced appropriately anyway. 

Thanks everyone else. Wiz’s given. I’ve emailed Gibson directly too.

Apologies for my abrupt response.
I think you got my gist though.
A 500 quid discount sounds like a bonus to me. Especially if it's a keeper

TeleMaster

meltedbuzzbox said:

TeleMaster said:

@meltedbuzzbox You completely right. I am someone who goes through guitars like anything. I am fickle and will give one up for another at a moments notice, so if it’s gonna affect the value that does annoy me, but it was £3500 and they’re up for about £4K on eBay so maybe I got it a bit cheap, or priced appropriately anyway. 

Thanks everyone else. Wiz’s given. I’ve emailed Gibson directly too.

Apologies for my abrupt response.
I think you got my gist though.
A 500 quid discount sounds like a bonus to me. Especially if it's a keeper

It was blunt sure but you’re right. It’s just I’d just rather have it than not. 

The guitar came ‘newly strung’. You should have seen how it was strung. Two winds, a metre apart. Restrung it and it’s much better. 

RaymondLin

I think they went from the A4 piece of paper to the little A5 booklet thing in around 2003/04.  Gibson do not reissue certificates, unlike Fender with the floor traveler. 

Philly_Q

RaymondLin said:

I think they went from the A4 piece of paper to the little A5 booklet thing in around 2003/04.  Gibson do not reissue certificates, unlike Fender with the floor traveler. 

I thought I was being lazy not checking... my CS-336 was made in 2003 or 2004 I think (it has a non-standard serial number so I can't tell for sure).  There's a receipt in the case dated 2006, but I don't know if that was the original sale or a subsequent one.  It has a paper certificate.  

TeleMaster

Well, I think I’m going to return it. Lots of tuning issues. May need a new nut, tuners may be slipping, who knows? I can’t be arsed to diagnose it and I find these things can take a lot of effort. 

Thanks anyway!

meltedbuzzbox

TeleMaster said:

Well, I think I’m going to return it. Lots of tuning issues. May need a new nut, tuners may be slipping, who knows? I can’t be arsed to diagnose it and I find these things can take a lot of effort. 

Thanks anyway!

Sorry to hear that fella. Hopefully all goes well

ICBM

TeleMaster said:

Well, I think I’m going to return it. Lots of tuning issues. May need a new nut, tuners may be slipping, who knows? I can’t be arsed to diagnose it and I find these things can take a lot of effort.

Seriously? You got it for £500 less than you expected. If you can’t fix it yourself, a tech can do it for about a tenth of that.

TeleMaster

ICBM said:

TeleMaster said:

Well, I think I’m going to return it. Lots of tuning issues. May need a new nut, tuners may be slipping, who knows? I can’t be arsed to diagnose it and I find these things can take a lot of effort.

Seriously? You got it for £500 less than you expected. If you can’t fix it yourself, a tech can do it for about a tenth of that.

No I got it for the price I got it for. I didn’t expect to pay more for that, I paid what it was advertised for. Prices are also very high currently. 

My experience is that these things can be a rabbit hole, especially with Gibsons. And what’s the point in getting a guitar for £500 less and then having to spend another £500 on a new nut, or new tuners or, if it doesn’t work, a Mojoaxe bridge that I have to wait to come from America? I’ve done this many times with Gibsons that can’t stay in tune properly and I have no desire to bother with all that I’m afraid. It’s a shame but I’m returning it. I’m not all that enamoured with it in any case, it’s huge. 

ICBM

TeleMaster said:

I’m not all that enamoured with it in any case, it’s huge. 

That’s a good reason . I don’t get on with 335-size guitars either. Just too long to the left and too big to the right... feels like playing a snow shovel!

TeleMaster

ICBM said:

TeleMaster said:

I’m not all that enamoured with it in any case, it’s huge. 

That’s a good reason . I don’t get on with 335-size guitars either. Just too long to the left and too big to the right... feels like playing a snow shovel!

I do think it’s cool but it is very, very big. It did sound great though. At least now I know they’re not for me.

ICBM

You probably need something like a CS-356.

I’ve really never understood the size of 335-series guitars - completely unnecessary for an electric guitar.

prlgmnr

ICBM said:

TeleMaster said:

I’m not all that enamoured with it in any case, it’s huge. 

That’s a good reason . I don’t get on with 335-size guitars either. Just too long to the left and too big to the right... feels like playing a snow shovel!

stickyfiddle

ICBM said:

You probably need something like a CS-356.

I’ve really never understood the size of 335-series guitars - completely unnecessary for an electric guitar.

+1 and I'm 6 foot tall. The 336/356 is the perfect size for a thinline. The ES-330 is just about manageable because of the shorter neck. 

I assume they originally made them that big because their target market was the guys used to playing huge jazzboxes - ES-5, ES-125, ES-300 etc so they wanted something halfway between those and the LP to tempt them into the new style.