Memphis or Nashville? What the Factory Behind a Used Gibson ES-335 Tells You

Short answer: For a used ES-335, the factory tells you the era, not whether that particular guitar is good. From about 2000 to 2019, essentially every Gibson ES-335 came out of a dedicated semi-hollow plant in Memphis. In 2019 production went back to Nashville, where it's now split between Gibson USA and the Custom Shop. Some Memphis guitars were great and some weren't, and the same goes for Nashville. Judge the guitar in front of you. If you hear that "Memphis 335s are bad" or "Nashville ones are better," don't take either as a rule.

The question keeps coming up on the Gibson forums and in our inbox, and I get why. A used 335 is serious money, and the internet has a habit of turning one bad experience into a reputation for a whole factory. Here's what changed and what didn't, and what I'd actually check.

A Nashville-built 2022 Gibson ES-335 Satin, currently in stock. It's a regular Satin 335 that happened to get unusually figured maple laminates.

A short history: Kalamazoo, Nashville, Memphis, Nashville again

The ES-335 was born in Kalamazoo in 1958, and the early-'80s Dot reissue started there too. When Gibson closed Kalamazoo in 1984, production moved to Nashville. Around 2000 (published sources say 2000 or 2001), Gibson opened a plant in Memphis just for its semi-hollow and hollowbody guitars. That covered the regular 335s and their offshoots like the ES-339 and the Studio models, plus the Historic reissues of the era.

How those guitars were labeled changed over time. For a stretch in the 2000s and early 2010s, many Memphis-built ES models were sold under the "Gibson Custom" banner, which confuses people to this day. Then in the mid-2010s Gibson started putting "Memphis" right in the model names. That's why one 2013 ES-335 Dot is just a "Gibson ES-335," while a 2014 Studio from the same building is a "Gibson Memphis ES-335 Studio."

The Memphis chapter ended in 2019. Gibson's lease was up, the company was coming out of its 2018 Chapter 11 restructuring, and it moved ES production home to Nashville. FedEx took over the building. Starting around 2020–2021, Nashville-built ES models showed up in Gibson's Original and Modern collections, with the Custom Shop building the Historic-style ones.

Diagram: where the ES-335 has been built, and four quick ways to work out which era a used one comes from.

What changed when ES production came back to Nashville

Less than the forum arguments suggest, but some things did change:

• The tooling got a refresh. Gibson's Mat Koehler has said the presses that came up from Memphis were the original Kalamazoo ones, "on their last legs," and that the press plates had to be re-cut to get the historic contours right. That's a real manufacturing detail, though I'd be careful about claiming you can see it on a production guitar.
• The line was reorganized. Nashville split the ES models between Gibson USA (the Original Collection for vintage-leaning specs, the Modern Collection for player-friendly ones) and the Custom Shop. Gibson says the Original Collection models picked up Historic-style parts and vintage-style wiring that the Memphis standard models didn't have.
• Pickups and necks shifted by model. The Modern Collection ES-335 Satin, for example, launched at NAMM 2021 with Calibrated T-Type humbuckers, a Rounded C neck and 22 medium-jumbo frets. Memphis models used a mix of Burstbuckers, '57 Classics and others depending on the year and model.

What didn't change is the basic recipe. A 335 is still a laminated maple/poplar/maple body built around a solid maple center block, with a set mahogany neck. Our in-stock 2022 ES-335 Satin is a good example of current Nashville spec: Calibrated T-Types, a Rounded C neck, an ABR-1 with an aluminum stopbar, and that three-ply body. It weighed 8.21 lbs on the scale.

The Memphis reputation, and why it's only half true

Read enough forum threads and a pattern shows up. Players call Memphis quality "a little patchy," especially early on, and plenty of owners say the later Memphis guitars, from the mid-2010s, are some of the best 335s Gibson made in the modern era. Both things can be true. A factory that ran for nearly twenty years went through different management, staffing and specs. Koehler himself has talked about "leaky roofs" and labor shortages there. Gibson wasn't standing still in Memphis either. The 2015 Memphis ES-335 Satin got a TonePros AVR-II bridge, a locking tailpiece, a bone nut, a larger Teflon-coated truss rod and a thicker headstock transition aimed at fewer breaks.

A 2017 Gibson Memphis ES-339 in Faded Cherry that came through our shop (now sold). It arrived with a straight neck and frets with plenty of life left.

The Memphis guitars that have come across our bench back that up. That 2017 ES-339 got a fresh setup with the neck dead straight and frets in great shape, and its glossy neck had worn in smooth. A 2014 Memphis ES-335 Studio, the stripped-down two-knob version with no pickguard, had excellent frets and intonation right on with its original pickups. Memphis also took chances. One of the stranger ones we've had was a 2014 Memphis ES-Les Paul, a semi-hollow Les Paul with f-holes that weighed 5.87 lbs on the scale.

A 2014 Gibson Memphis ES-335 Studio from our past inventory, with the two-knob layout and no pickguard. Memphis built plenty of variations like this one.

Weight is a good reality check too. The Memphis 335 Dots we've had ran 7.72 lbs (2010) and 8.1 lbs (2013). The Nashville Satin was 8.21. An early-'80s Dot came in at 8.39. That's no pattern by factory, just the normal spread you'd expect from one piece of wood to the next.

My take: buy the guitar, not the city

I wouldn't pay extra just because a listing says Nashville, and I wouldn't knock anything off just because it says Memphis. The year and the model tell you more. A mid-2010s Memphis Traditional or Historic and a 2022 Modern Collection Satin are aimed at different players. Neck shape, frets and pickups vary more between model lines than between the two cities. Once you know the model, the things that matter are the same for any used semi-hollow:

• Headstock. Look hard at the back of the neck-to-headstock joint. A 2013 Dot we had was 8.1 lbs and otherwise near-mint, but it had a small, non-structural fracture on the back of the headstock that had been professionally repaired. It was perfectly stable and priced accordingly, and it was disclosed. Make sure you know which kind you're buying.
• Finish and checking. Both factories sprayed nitro, so light checking can show up on either. A 2010 Memphis Dot we had showed light checking near the neck joint that you couldn't feel. That's age, not a defect.
• Mods and originality. That same 2010 had an added kill switch. The 1982 Dot had Kluson-style tuners in place of the originals, with the original Grovers in the case. Neither is a dealbreaker. Just price them as what they are.
• The semi-hollow-specific stuff. Look at electronics you can only reach through the f-holes, the binding, bridge height and neck angle, and the top around the bridge. We cover all of that in our used ES-335 checklist.

A 1982 Gibson ES-335 Dot in Natural from our past inventory (now sold), built years before Memphis existed. Its frets were in remarkable shape for its age.

How to tell where a used 335 was built

Start with the year. Date it from the serial (here's how to date a used Gibson by serial number), and anything from roughly 2001 to 2019 is a Memphis guitar. On most of these, the orange oval label you can see through the bass-side f-hole names the city at the bottom. "Memphis" in the model name or on the paperwork places it in the mid-2010s to 2019 stretch. If the case candy says Original Collection or Modern Collection, it's a Nashville guitar from 2020 on.

If you're shopping, the guitars in stock collection shows what's on the bench right now. If you're thinking about moving on a 335, whether it's Memphis, Nashville or older, our cash offer page is the quickest way to get a number.

FAQ

Are Memphis-made Gibson ES-335s bad?

No. Memphis built essentially every Gibson ES-335 for about two decades, including well-regarded Historic reissues. Owners often describe early Memphis quality as inconsistent and the later years as very good. Judge each guitar on its own frets, neck, headstock and electronics.

Are Nashville ES-335s better than Memphis ones?

Not automatically. Since 2019, Nashville has reorganized the line, refreshed the tooling and changed pickups on some models, but the basic construction is the same. The specific model and the condition of the guitar matter more than the city.

When did Gibson stop making ES-335s in Memphis?

In 2019. Gibson left the Memphis facility when its lease ended, during the restructuring that followed its 2018 bankruptcy filing, and moved ES production to Nashville.

How do I know if my ES-335 was made in Memphis?

Check the year from the serial number. Roughly 2001 to 2019 means Memphis. The orange label inside the f-hole usually names the city, and mid-2010s models often have "Memphis" in the model name.