The Electra Forums

I recently found a gem of an Electra PCM ES 335 copy (abalone 'X' on head-stock along with metal name plate. No serial number.) and thought I would share. It has the appearance of other PCM ES 335 copies out there on the web -- except for the silver/black tone and volume knobs, which appear to be of a different style. It has an antique sunburst finish and overall the guitar is in quite good shape. What is surprising is how sweet the tone is and how well the guitar plays. The neck, which is quite narrow, is very fast. The action is low, smooth, and even. You can really fly. Pure butter. The intonation is also near perfect. The rather microphonic single coil pickups are also just wonderful. The neck pickup is full and warm and the bridge pickup is super hot and grouchy. Also, a nice solid Bigsby style vibrato arm on the trapeze bridge. It is an odd combination -- a vintage guitar with something of a budget feel that plays very well and sounds great. Mojo and character. I noticed that several years ago there was a post describing a PCM ES 335 copy of similar quality and was starting to wonder if these particular early ES 335 style Electras tend to be notch above.