Epiphone ES-335 Semi-hollowbody - Vintage Sunburst Review

Epiphone 335

Ok long time gear head ,been there done that, yup I used to have one of those kind of guy . I'm 60 years old been in music sense I was 15 first gig at 16. No buyer's remorse for this guitar. Let me add I have had many occasions when purchasing instruments online and the guitars I received were just fine, just not my cup of tea. For six hundred dollars this guitar is amazing ! Opened… read more it up, Tuned it up , plugged it in and no issues.I had told my wife before it arrived I wasn't going to use it on stage for a few weeks till I had it dialed in. I received it on Friday played it live on Saturday and Sunday! Even with factory strings! Ok the strings are out of here but wow . It stayed in tune ain't that something? Pickups sat great in the mix ( three piece band ) Lots of unsolicited positive feedback from the band and regular listeners who would have no problem telling me my sound was garbage. As I would in turn tell you if I thought this instrument was garbage. All the stuff you instantly think about upgrading when you buy a Epiphone… Forget it! Perfectly gigable as is. I will have the frets dressed and the action lowered but that's just personal stuff. I got this one as a demo so I received a excellent deal and the Stuff that was supposed to be scratched and dented? Is microscopic. Honestly I just don't see the damage.That tells me the Sweetwater team is a little OCD . Good for us right? I would have bought this guitar regardless of the discount but let's face the facts the groveling… I mean the " Hunny can I get this Conversation " is easier approached with " I can get it Right now for a screaming deal!! Thanks Sweetwater, Thanks Dan, Thanks Wife , Digging on the new ax . Tom

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Guitar guitar

Love this guitar! Plays amazingly! I play mostly jazz, soul, and R&B on it, but I can also rock Radiohead!

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Great Guitar, Even Better for the Price

This is a high quality guitar regardless of the price, but the low price makes it even better. My guitar has no flaws that I've noticed and it plays well and sounds great. The components appear to be high quality. I have been impressed with the tuners and the overall quality of the guitar. The only thing I will probably do is buff the fret ends a bit to make them smoother, but… read more this can be done rather easily. Overall, I'm very happy with this purchase.

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The Real Truth

First thank you Sweetwater for your timely delivery and service as always. Second the playability is great. I have had no issues with this guitar and I have been playing it for a while now. It holds tune very well and it looks clean. For the price point I would say it is a great buy. Having owned a real Gibson ES335 I have to say this is on is not far off from the real thing. I… read more bought this Epiphone over the Gibson because it is solid wood and not laminate. The pickups do not have the growl but you can get that with a pedal when you dig in. All in all I have to say I saved my self some money buying this and I am very pleased overall with the performance of the sound and the playability of this guitar. I say, if you are thinking of buying a ES335 style guitar you can pull the trigger on this one. I hope this helps. I can't find anything bad to say about this guitar or I would say it! Keep on playing your heart out and best wishes to all.

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Such a deal!!!!

Purchased this "Inspired by Gibson" as I had already bought the Epi Les Paul Jr. I was so impressed with quality I figured the 335 had to be as nice. Yup. I never owned a 335 and always wanted. Would never be a main guitar but they always fascinated me. I considered a Gibson '58 ES but too much money for a guitar that wouldn't be played as much as my Lesters. Wanted the '58 for… read more the baseball bat neck which I prefer. Regular USA 335's all had the slim '60's neck which cramps my hand after too long. The necks on both Epi's are almost identical and although far from ball bat fat, very comfortable to the hand. Quality Control I'd give an 8 as this is almost indistinguishable from Gibson quality. The only reason not a 10 is electronics. The input jack got loose and dropped into body. Catastrophe!!! With the wonder of Youtube I fixed it fairly easily and now know how semi hollow bodies get worked on. The pickup selector switch is fried, gotta bang it into function. Will get new electronics, hopefully find '50's style harness with paper in oil caps. The pickups normally I would change out with some Seymores but these Epi's sound fine. Eventually I have a set of Manalishi pickups in a Lester for the Peter Green out of phase tone. Thinking I want those out of phase awesome PAF's moved to the 335 to cop a BB King thing. I know this is not the shortest review but I want to share my happiness in purchasing this guitar. As nice as any Gibson and almost indistinguishable. For the money, this Epi is no slouch. Saying, "Yeah, but it's not a Gibson. Robben Ford plays an Epi Dot I believe. Good enough for Robben Ford, good enough for me.. Buy one before there are no more... Enjoy!,,

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