NGD: Epiphone ES-335

Alex Kenivel

Alex Kenivel

Rock Star
TGF Recording Artist
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The above pictures were right after I got it home.

I took my son to Guitar Dumpster Center and proceeded to try out all of the semi hollows that I could reach. They had a handful of Epiphone 335's, a single Epiphone 339, old used Ibanez Artist, a used hagstrom with a neck that was way too skinny, a Lucille that was chambered and felt really good to play, and four Gibson 335's that were up high physically and financially.

After playing around with all of the Epiphone 335's they had available I wasn't really satisfied with any of them. They were either dead and dull sounding, or had extra crackly electronics. Then I moved on to the Lucille and played that for a while. It was really nice but still had some Electronics issues. The used Ibanez needed all kinds of work, jacked up electronics and Rusty Hardware. No Sires in sight.

After I was putting the Lucille away an employee asked me if I was finding everything okay and I asked him to get me down one of the expensive cherry red Gibson's from the top. He obliged and my son and I swapped guitars back and forth, comparing the Gibson to different epiphones on the floor. The Gibson resonated so much more and sounded much more alive than any of the epiphones we had played. I gave the Gibson back and was about ready to leave when I noticed another Epiphone hiding against one of the central pillars near the pro audio department. I picked it up and it was the most resonant of all the Epiphones in the store. I plugged it in and had a blast playing on it while talking to an older gentleman who happened to pick up the Lucille I was playing. It came home with me at a cool price and I went to work on the sharp frets and cleaned it up, restrung it and gave it a bit of a setup.
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It's not the color I would have chosen but I like it better than a teardrop burst. Need to lay down now, it's getting late. I'll play it tomorrow, maybe take it to work.
 
Solid choice, The newer Epiphone guitars are way better built then even a few years ago and for the money hard to beat. I remember the first batch of Chinese ones when it arrived OMG it was almost as sloppy as Gibson. They have come a long way. I think it is down largely to the fact that they have a better budget to play with now . A Les Paul Std was £249 srp in that first lot. How that is even possible was probably the problem.
 
Eagle said:
Solid choice, The newer Epiphone guitars are way better built then even a few years ago and for the money hard to beat. I remember the first batch of Chinese ones when it arrived OMG it was almost as sloppy as Gibson. They have come a long way. I think it is down largely to the fact that they have a better budget to play with now . A Les Paul Std was £249 srp in that first lot. How that is even possible was probably the problem.
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All of the Epiphones at GC seemed so inconsistent from each other that it warded me away from ordering one online. The Gibson almost sounded banjo-like when strummed acoustically much like this one does. None of the other ones sounded close at all! Imagine if I had left it up to an online roulette.
 
Congrats mister and very glad the trip to GC worked out in the end. It's beautiful and I hope you love it long time!

I've been hearing nearly 100% good things about recent IBG Epi's, other than the price increase! :grin The others you played are likely older?
 
Alex Kenivel said:
View attachment 19483View attachment 19484View attachment 19485
The above pictures were right after I got it home.

I took my son to Guitar Dumpster Center and proceeded to try out all of the semi hollows that I could reach. They had a handful of Epiphone 335's, a single Epiphone 339, old used Ibanez Artist, a used hagstrom with a neck that was way too skinny, a Lucille that was chambered and felt really good to play, and four Gibson 335's that were up high physically and financially.

After playing around with all of the Epiphone 335's they had available I wasn't really satisfied with any of them. They were either dead and dull sounding, or had extra crackly electronics. Then I moved on to the Lucille and played that for a while. It was really nice but still had some Electronics issues. The used Ibanez needed all kinds of work, jacked up electronics and Rusty Hardware. No Sires in sight.

After I was putting the Lucille away an employee asked me if I was finding everything okay and I asked him to get me down one of the expensive cherry red Gibson's from the top. He obliged and my son and I swapped guitars back and forth, comparing the Gibson to different epiphones on the floor. The Gibson resonated so much more and sounded much more alive than any of the epiphones we had played. I gave the Gibson back and was about ready to leave when I noticed another Epiphone hiding against one of the central pillars near the pro audio department. I picked it up and it was the most resonant of all the Epiphones in the store. I plugged it in and had a blast playing on it while talking to an older gentleman who happened to pick up the Lucille I was playing. It came home with me at a cool price and I went to work on the sharp frets and cleaned it up, restrung it and gave it a bit of a setup.
View attachment 19486
View attachment 19487View attachment 19488
It's not the color I would have chosen but I like it better than a teardrop burst. Need to lay down now, it's getting late. I'll play it tomorrow, maybe take it to work.
Click to expand...
The electronics thing drives me bonkers -- I don't know what it is in the Epiphones that causes so many issues on this front -- you'd think the plug-in harness would be less susceptible to bad solder joints, etc.?

Glad you found a good one!
 
Alex Kenivel said:
All of the Epiphones at GC seemed so inconsistent from each other that it warded me away from ordering one online. The Gibson almost sounded banjo-like when strummed acoustically much like this one does. None of the other ones sounded close at all! Imagine if I had left it up to an online roulette.
Click to expand...
Yes anything less than $2k is budget these days and the qc lottery is the main factor after spec. It's hard to fuck up the tone of a plywood guitar though.
 
FuzzyAce said:
I'd love, love to get one of those 90's Sheratons.
Click to expand...

Fwiw, mate of mine bought one of the new Sheratons. Really nice guitar IMO and I seem to pretty much dig the "Probucker" mini humbuckers (even if they seem to be dirt cheap on eBay, not sure whether they're the same...).
 
Sascha Franck said:
Fwiw, mate of mine bought one of the new Sheratons. Really nice guitar IMO and I seem to pretty much dig the "Probucker" mini humbuckers (even if they seem to be dirt cheap on eBay, not sure whether they're the same...).
Click to expand...
Checking one out on Sweetwater now. I dig the mini HB -- but I'd have a hard time paying $1300 for MiC guitar here in the states. No way I'd do that. I'd be better off getting an old used one.

edit: wait, I see the cheaper versions now. $899
 
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