A Gibson 335 and a Westone Rainbow 1 side by side

Today I had the pleasure of an afternoon with my old mates 1998 Gibson 335 Dot and doing a side by side comparison with my Westone Rainbow 1.

The build quality of the Rainbow 1 is by no means inferior, Weight-wise both guitars are almost identical and the necks feel pretty much the same to me.

Through an amp the Gibson was slightly louder, had a little more bite and sounded dirtier than the brighter sounding Rainbow 1.

I took some (not very good) photos






When my friend (Martin) took the Gibson home I wasn't left with any thoughts of "oooh I really want a Gibson now", more like I feel very lucky and happy to own a Westone Rainbow 1

It would have been nice to have played around with the 335 a bit more but Martin had also brought with him a Rickenbacker 4003 bass in fireglo amber...

This is the first time I've ever played a Rickenbacker bass and I fell in love with it, a real beauty of a bass.

Seeing as how the Westie is a finer instrument, you meant the G****n is not inferior quality, right? Thanks for the comparison, its pretty cool to see them side by side. I like the larger body of the Rainbow, my wife calls the 335's the "mickey mouse" style. Those Ricks are amazing huh, i'd LOVE one but they ain't cheap. Ever seen the Lemmy Ricks, there were only 50 or 60 made i believe and all were hand carved, my favorite bass in the world.

Ricks are crazy, even the Electra Corsair Rickenfakers go for up to and even over $1000. And I was surprised at just how much different the Rainbow is from the 335!

I won't hijack this thread, but just in case noone has seen one - the neck thru beauty! Drooooll

Fugly but I want it

Fugly to some, gorgeous to others. Very much a distinctive bass and i could see how it could be seen as fugly. I guess only 60 were made and the carving was hand done instead of c&c and each carving is a little different. Even some patterns vary so each is 1 of a kind.

I was very surprised at how small and light the Rickenbacker was, When I first played the bass it felt like a short scale. The sustain on it is amazing. (Spinal Tap... The sustain, listen to it. )

I have serious gas for one but unless I was a millionaire I could never justify paying more for one guitar than my whole collection is worth.

Hey thanks for that comparison! Very eye opening.
That's about as close I'm likely to get to a Rainbow...just never see 'em here. (I do however have an ES330 so I can't really complain eh? )
Funny, you don't really notice the Mickey Mouse connection until you lay the Rainbow next to the Gibby.

The Rainbow 1 and the Gibson 335 both have the same lovely curve shape at the back.....do all 335 copies? I don't know

The Gibson




The Rainbow 1




Both beautifully made guitars. I only wish I'd had the 335 for longer so I could take better photos and do a more extensive sound comparison.

My Hondo II is curved the same as those. It's pretty much a direct copy of the 335, and very well made. The pickups are pretty weak, thats my only complaint. Then again, when i play it and compare it to my Rainbow there is no comparison. The Rainbow is far superior. I'll post some pics in the " More Hondos" thread when i have a little time. Played a hometown gig last nite and i'm off to the coast for a gig tonite. I'm havin fun!

The Gibsons will have Alnico 5 magnets in the pups, more attack, slightly louder.
Rainbows are Alnico 2, sweeter sounding, clear as a bell.
I've always said if the Rainbows had Gibson on the headstock, folks would be paying £££££'s for them.
Think ourselves lucky, we weren't overcharged just to have a 'name' on the headstock. But dont tell everyone!!! to late.