Gandalf_Sr

Thanks, I don't really do diplomas although I do have a BSc (Bachelor of Science), I'm really an electronics guy - old and close to retirement - I have a couple of prototype pedals I've made (Germanium Fuzz Pedal and Compressor) if anyone's interested? Is there an electronics/pedal section here? The more research I do, the more it seems like this cheap guitar was originally made for Epiphone, clues that point in that direction so far are: The screw in the pickguard - Gibsons don't have a screw Three screws on the truss rod cover - Gibsons have 2 both on the center line of the neck Unpainted interior and white edges on the 'f' holes Anyway, it really doesn't matter, I like the guitar and would reveal the full history of where it came from if I ever sold it.

I'm back home and have finished the changes to my mystery guitar. I think it's a nice guitar now but I wouldn't recommend that you buy one; it's just more work than it's worth and, if you got one that had a serious issue like a twisted neck, I think you'd be stuck with a dud. The exercise has added to my luthier skills and equipment and allowed me to work on a guitar that was not very expensive. Thanks to all here for your help and advice.

Hmmm, I looked for white edges of the f-holes and found them in many cheap clones like the Indio but the Ibanez AS73 also has them. I also too measurements of my guitar's body and found it's closer to the 335 than the 339. Mine is 16.5 inches at the widest point, the 'waist' is 9 inches, and 19 inches from the tip of the 'ears' to the bottom. Full length is 42 inches. I looked at the Gibson and Epiphone web sites but neither gives those dimensions but I did find this http://es.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Compare-The-ES-335-And-ES-339.aspx Now I'm back home (was away last week) and all the parts I ordered have arrived: new Tusq nut, roller bridge, and Chrome 11 flatwound strings. At the risk of gilding the turd, I'm trying to make this particular guitar work as it just feels (and sounds) right in my hands; I own a Gretsch G2622T Streamliner but it's slightly too big and the nut seems slightly too far away from me meaning that my beginner hands struggle to get the right angle on the low frets. On reflection, I might have been (might still be) better going for an Epiphone ES-335 Pro which can be had in the US for around $500.

I know I'm confused (and dyslexic) as I used ES533 instead of ES335 in the title but now I'm realizing that mine is ES339 sized, not ES335.

Correcting myself, mine is clearly not the same as an AS73; if it's made by/for Ibanez, it's an AS53 which has a smaller body like mine.

Thanks curtisa, so you think that the method you suggest is safe to work with for the purposes of filing the nut down; is that right? Just so people can have an idea of what the body of mine looks like while I rant on about who I guess made it, I've attached a (not very good) picture here.

Thanks; Tusq gave me the same guidance as you, press at 3rd fret and then measure clearance of 0.01" at the low E and 0.006" at the high E for fret 1. I'm an engineer and have some good tools including feeler gages, digital calipers, and a diamond nut file set. I would normally check the fret 1 height with no strings pressed but I guess that leaves me open to all the variance from neck relief.

I've been 250 miles away from home getting my second Covid 19 jab but will be back on Thursday. More online searching leads me to strongly suspect that my guitar is a reject Ibanez Artcore Series AS73; the way the 'f' holes are painted white on the inside edges and the square fret zero marker are exactly the same; the main difference is a slightly different shaped protector panel. A load of stuff has arrived while I have been away including: New Tusq nut Flatwound 11 Chrome strings Roller saddle bridge Diamond fret file and set of erasers There appears to be some fret buzz on the thicker strings but, through the amp, it's barely noticeable. The current (old) nut is pretty low but any thoughts to what the fret 1 clearance should be and what is the state for measurement?

LOL, keep up the kitchen psychology, it's making me feel much better. Once I get those Gibson decals on the headstock and the fake orange label glued in, my belief will be complete and transform my playing such that I will be indistinguishable from George Benson! (OK, I clearly need more help; I will come to next week's session). Next time I'm in Finland, I'm buying the beers!

I now realize that I made a typo in the title of this thread, it should be "ES335 clone", is there no edit capability or am I missing something?

Forgery? YOU'RE the one telling me to believe that it's a Gibby factory reject.

I'm a believer! I also won't feel so bad when I put Gibson decals on the headstock

I was playing it this morning, sounded nice. I also notice that GF has a 'B Stock' version of this here https://www.guitarfetish.com/B-STOCK--LIMITED-OPPORTUNITY-Semi-Hollow-SETNECK-BELOW-COST-Cherry-Red-Two-Humbuckers--TWISTED-NECK_p_41726.html complete with twisted neck I guess I was lucky that I got a 'good' one. Mine looks extremely like this one https://www.amazon.com/Best-Choice-Products-Semi-Hollow-Electronic/dp/B08CS2GFDW/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=epiphone%2Bes335&qid=1616587972&s=musical-instruments&sr=1-9&th=1 including the square fret markers and a fret-1 square. Seems for spending another $5 (actually less as I'd get free shipping from Amazon which I didn't from GF), I could have saved myself a load of trouble. Sigh!

Fret ends are good actually, is the stocking test that I can slide a silk stocking along the side of the fretboard and not have them catch? As for added value, it's taken me 3 days to do all 22 frets - prep, wax, setup press, glue, press, wait 10 minutes, cleanup, prep... If I added $160 to the value, think I should report myself to the authorities for working for less than minimum wage! More seriously, the fret action and tone of this guitar is really nice and I've ordered some D'Addario ECG24 Chromes flat wound strings, Jazz Light, 11-50 for it; I put the old strings back on to test the action, raised the bridge a tiny bit, and all my buzzing issues have gone away. The new Tusq nut is supposed to arrive this week and I will fit that, polish the frets, and do a final clean up when that's all done. I never tried flat wound strings before but I'm only an intermediate player right now, been learning for just over 6 months but practicing twice a day. It's really bugging me as to who the original manufacturer was, apart from the loose frets and the clearly botched nut, the workmanship and parts quality on this guitar is good. I am not at all sure that it's Firefly. I am pretty sure it's an ES-335 copy but feel free to tell me if I'm wrong. Maybe this was out of the Gibson factory? (I can dream). I tried to follow the text of the original advert but that's probably BS; they had the fingerboard radius wrong.

Well the wax was a great idea. I went and glued and pressed down every fret on the entire fretboard, then leveled the frets that were still high then went through a full setup and I am VERY happy with the results.